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Cyblade is back!

This is the comic I wanted to win Top Cow's 2007 Pilot Season contest.  Original creators Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rick Mays are continuing where things left off in the Pilot issue.  What I liked about that issue is rather than Cyblade the superhero, we have Cyblade the spy.  This is Cyblade when she's 19 years old and working for Cyberdata.  The Pilot Issue left off where Cyblade was breaking free of Cyberdata's control and found she was developing feelings for her handler, Rashell.  Things started getting (more) complicated when Rashell was targeted to be assassinated for going against Cyberdata and Cyblade is to be the one to do the killing.

Fialkov has said he wants to give this series an Alias type feel (the tv show, not the comic), concentrating on the espinage and action rather than have Cyblade from her Cyberforce days.  (You can read the Comic Vine interview here).

As you can see from the cover, there is a shower scene.  I suppose it makes up for the shower scene in the last issue of Witchblade (with Detective Patrick Gleason).  But that's not the reason to pick up this issue.  You can't help but want to root for Cyblade.  She's being forced to carry out Cyberdata's evil schemes and we can see her in a defenseless state while also kicking butt.  The idea of a villain made up of an evil organization is almost more intimidating than a single bad guy.  You never know what they're going to do. 

This issue does focus a little bit more on Rashell.  Things are going to get interesting in the next issue when we see more of Cyblade's interaction with Jocelyn, a woman who seems to have been responsible for making Cyblade the killer she is today.  Fialkov is setting things up for new readers and those that read the pilot issue.  Rick Mays does a good job with the art.  He has an interesting style that isn't too over the top.

I give this a 4 out of 5.  I suppose I would've liked a little more action with Cyblade but it does a good job bringing everyone up to speed and setting things up for the next issue.

Here's the preview:

Cyblade #1
(W) Joshua Hale Fialkov(A) Rick Mays(Cov) Rick Mays, Kenneth Rocafort

It’s the “season premiere” of one of last year’s Pilot Season winners! You voted for it, you got it! From the pages of Marc Silvestri’s Cyberforce comes a solo series for Cyblade!

Set in the days before she joined Cyberforce, Dominique Thiebaut has been leading a double life. By day she’s an awkward teenager, but at night, a chip in her brain changes her into the deadly master assassin Cyblade. With the ability to create psychic blades of energy, she’s an expert in everything from thieving to assassination, performing industrial espionage for the seemingly benevolent Cyberdata corporation. But with the help of a spy sent to infiltrate the company, Cyblade has broken free from Cyberdata’s control. She must find a way to escape from their clutches for good, all the while trying to discover who she really is beneath.

Cover A – Rick Mays
Covers B – Kenneth Rocafort
Baltimore Comic-Con cover – Kenneth Rocafort
Full Color      32 pages        $2.99       Ongoing Series