Suspended Animation Review

Cyber Force: Rising from the Ashes/$16.70 and 206 pages from Top Cow/various writers and artists/available from comics and book stores and www.topcow.com

What does one do when you want to write or draw the superhero team, the X-Men, but can’t for any number of reasons? Why, you write or draw Cyber Force.

Imitation isn’t a new concept, and concepts can’t be copyrighted anyway, so you won’t be sued. And there’s no shame in imitation, right? After all, the X-Men are an imitation of the earlier Justice League of America, possibly the first superhero team. And Cyber Force is not even close to being the first imitation.
So what does one do to bring something new to the concept? What does one do.

It’s all about style or substance, buckaroo, because everything else is formula. The formula is certainly abundant in Cyber Force. Conflict. Resolution by force.

The conflict is always something like theft (robbing a bank to robbing the universe of its life force) or dominance (one person/group over another to world domination to universal domination). “Resolution by force” means everything from fist fights to war.

Let’s not forget super-powers and costumes.

So, outside of different faces, super-powers, and costumes, what style separates Cyber Force from the X-Men or Justice League of America or Avengers or Teen Titans or… you get the idea.

Well, there’s, er, ah, uh, duh. Then there’s er, ah, uh, duh. And…

The art is different. Not better. Different.

In this compilation of earlier issues, the team reunites and battles the genetic demons inside and outside of themselves that made them imitations of other superheroes.

Don’t get me wrong; this series isn’t poorly written or drawn. There is much to recommend this title. So if you just can’t get enough spandex-clad, super-powered, world-saving super-teams, here is another one, friend. Enjoy.

MV

Check out Dark Corridor #1 for a new Vance short story: www.mainenterprises.ecrater.com

Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection and Toy and Action Figure Museum? Go to fourcolorcommentary.blogspot.com & www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCARtM5BvvU.