Rick Mays News

This post relates to: Rick Mays, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Cyblade, Cyblade

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

This post relates to: Cyblade, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rick Mays

I like the idea of voting for what comic we want.  The problem is Top Cow isn't making it easy.  This was a very nice, one-shot story that leaves you hanging.  It begs to be continued as a regular series.  I never thought I'd see a Cyberforce character with so much...emotion.  You really start to feel for her.

(W) Joshua Hale Fialkov
(A)Rick Mays
(Cov) Rick Mays


Cyblade - she's training to be an elite super-spy and assassin, but who is she working for?

A cereberal action thriller in the vein of Alias and La Femme Nikita, this is a whole new portrayal of Cyberforces's electromagnetic warrior. Written by Harvey Award Winner Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk's Run, Punks: The Comic) with stunning art by Rick Mays (Kabuki, Zatanna), the true origin of Cyblade begins here.


Full Color

32 pages

$2.99 pilot issue

Early review:  www.comicvine.com/comic/cyblade/19094/114073//#reviews

This post relates to: Ripclaw, Jason Aaron, Jorge Lucas, Velocity, Joe Casey, Kevin Maguire, Cyblade, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rick Mays, The Angelus, Stjepan Sejic

This just in.  I do like the idea of the Pilot Season.  Give some comics a shot.  Let's see if they're any good.  Let's have the publishers put out what we actually want to read.

MySpace To Serve As Exclusive Home for Top Cow's Pilot Season Voting!


Top Cow Productions announced at their panel in WizardWorld Chicago that MySpace, the leading online social networking site, will be the exclusive home of the fan voting for their Pilot Season promotion.

Pilot Season is an innovative promotion in which Top Cow will publish six "pilot issues" starring established Top Cow characters, which are currently without a regular series, and then allows fans to vote which two characters will receive their own series in 2008. The program was inspired in part by the television model of running pilot episodes for new series before greenlighting a series for full production. The first pilot issue debuted at WizardWorld Chicago this weekend starring Cyberforce's resident badass Ripclaw with a story by Eisner nominee Jason Aaron (Scalped, The Other Side) and Jorge Lucas (Incredible Hulk, Annihilation: Ronin) and featuring a dynamic cover by Tony Moore (The Walking Dead, The Exterminators). This issue will be followed in September by pilot issues starring Velocity by Joe Casey (Uncanny X-Men) and Kevin Maguire (Superman/Batman) and Cyblade by Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk's Run) and Rick Mays (Zatana), then in October The Angelus by Ian Edington (Warhammer: 40,000) and Stjepan Sejic (First Born) and The Necromancer by Joshua Ortega (Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer) and Jonboy Meyers (Ninja Scroll), and finally in November, Aphrodite IX by Dan Jevons (Enclave video game) and Eric Basaldua (Hunter-Killer).Voting will commence online in early December after the release of the final pilot issue and will run through the end of January 2008. The two most popular vote-getters will receive their own series in 2008.



In teaming with MySpace, Top Cow has the opportunity to take the level of fan interactivity to new heights. The partnership will be promoted not only to the existing base of comic book fans on MySpace who number over 130,000 but to the MySpace community at large. By logging on to the Pilot Season homepage (www.myspace.com/pilotseason) fans will be able to get all the latest information on Pilot Season, interact directly with creators, receive advanced looks at the issues, and participate in polls. Fans are encouraged to promote their favorite character on MySpace pages and the top fan pages will be placed on the Pilot Season home page as "Top Friends". When voting opens in December, fans will be able to vote on the MySpace Pilot Season home page with one of two options. The first option is a completely open vot, which will not require logging into MySpace. The second option will be to log into a MySpace account and enter a secret voting code (a portion of which will be included in every Pilot Season issue). Voters who opt for the second option and enter the secret voting code will have their votes weighed heavier than those who vote without the code. Neither voting option will have any restrictions on the number of times a person can vote per day. Fans are encouraged to check out all six pilot issues in order to make an educated voting decision.


"I can honestly say that joining forces with MySpace for Pilot Season has me more excited than anything we've done since I've come on board with Top Cow," commented Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Filip Sablik, "From the creative teams, the fresh takes on the characters, and the fans being able to directly tell us what they want to see more of, Pilot Season is a fresh concept for comics. And MySpace is the perfect vehicle to stimulate maximum fan interactivity. Sign up and participate, it's up to you!"



Additional and updated information regarding Pilot Season can be found at its official profile, www.myspace.com/pilotseason.

This post relates to: Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rick Mays, Cyblade

I'm looking forward to this.

The second of six "pilot issues", Cyblade: Pilot Season #1 continues the excitement of Pilot Season 2007 with espionage and style. Pilot Season 2007 is a series of six self contained one shot specials, each featuring a different established Top Cow character currently without a regular series. After all six issues are released fans will be given the opportunity to vote online to determine which two characters receive a series in 2008.

Hot on the heels of August's Ripclaw: Pilot Season #1 by Eisner nominee Jason Aaron (Scalped, The Other Side) and Jorge Lucas (Incredible Hulk, Annihiliation: Ronan), Cyblade: Pilot Season #1 takes readers into a cerebral action thriller by Harvey Award winner Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk's Run, Punks: The Comic) and kinetic artist Rick Mays (Kabuki, Zatana). In this latest Pilot Season special, Fialkov and Mays explore the true origin of elite super-spy and Cyberforce's electromagnetic assassin, Cyblade.

"Getting a chance to rework a character with such a strong fan base into something that both honors the past, and hopefully, gives her some new life for the future has been a real blast," commented writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, "I just hope y'all vote for the book so I get to keep on doing it.".

"A lot of the earlier concepts at Top Cow were a lot of fun, but they didn't always properly establish characters. With Pilot Season, and bringing in a writer like Joshua, we're really able to change that by taking a look at who these characters are and what makes them tick," added Rob Levin, VP of Editorial for Top Cow. "Doesn't hurt that we also wrote a story tailor made for Rick Mays and he agreed to draw it either."


Cyblade: Pilot Season #1 is a 32 page full color comic with a suggested retail price of $2.99. Additional information regarding Pilot Season can be found at www.topcow.com.