Comic Book Review - Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout #2

Rob reviews Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout #2...

The narrative of Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout continues to ramp up it's tension as Arturo continues his plan. However with Night City being a literal city of dreams, could our renegade Braindance technician be living out someone else's memories? 

It's this question that's been at the back of my mind since Blackout kicked-off its story last month. This all stems from some subtle hints that Bartosz Sztybor has already given us. Not only is Artuo stuck in a dead-end job, but the technology he excels at is also used as a form of incarceration. Could the hook of Blackout be that Artuo is in-fact strapped to a BD suite himself? Or maybe he's being forced to replay his own memories?

Anyway, back in the here-and-now and Artuo is continuing to plan his heist. It's a fairly simple one too. Utalising the blackouts that are plaguing Night City, Artuo plans on breaking into one of the cities many banks. With the codes to the many safety deposit boxes being reset back to default, and the buildings security system being offline - its the perfect crime. With friend - and former Edgerunner - Al-Beta already on board, Artuo now needs to continue to build his crew. 

The main building blocks for this boils down to cause and effect. For Arturo'a plan to succeed he needs the best getaway driver that Night City has to offer. This comes in the form of Rearview, who's brother just happens to be the prisoner who Arturo help back in issue 1. Arturo's reasoning that she'll help is thanks to the cause of helping her brother will effect Rearview into joining the team. 

NCPD officer - and now recovering alcoholic - Kayshap is next on Arturo's list. Not only does Kayshap trust Arturo due to the latter helping to sober him up in the last issue, he's also got his own issues with the Corporations tha really run Night City. So when the chance to get a little payback springs up he's more than happy to help. Only problem is that Al-Beta has quite a poor reputation and rumor has it that the former Edgerunner sold out every team she worked with. With the seeds of doubt now in his mind how does Al-Beta regain Arturo's trust? Again it all falls down to cause and effect and breaking the cycle. 

While Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout #2 continues its world building, it does so at a quick pace. There's three individual plots running concurrently throughout this issue, and Sztybor manages to tie them together within the 26-pages without sacrificing any meaningful character building. Even though he is dealing with a different cast of characters, Sztybor knows this world and its intricacies extremely well. 

The central theme of cause and effect runs straight through this issue - and looking back it's also prevalent across issue #1. It's great to see how those small inconsistencies are actually there on purpose. Such as the close-up view of the "random" prisoners cell, who just happens to be Rearview's brother. Or even Arturo offering a sympathetic ear to a "random" drunken cop. It's these small details that make Blackout a brilliant page-turner, and a comic book that's really worth revisiting after you've read it's latest issue - just to see how it's plot is all entwined.

Away from the writing and Roberto Ricci's art is just as great as always. Ricci perfectly captures the dank hell-hole of Night City with great emphasis on its cybernetic citizens, towering Corpo towers, and graffiti laden streets. Fabiana Mascolo adds to this with a varied colour style that makes Ricci's linework pop from the page. I especially like the use of "bubblegum" colours to highlight Al-Beta! 

All in all, Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout #2 continues to be a well written and thought out story, that has its fingers in so many pies. Bartosz Sztybor continues to build the world around his central characters whilst retaining that distinct 'Cyberpunk 2077' style. You don't need to have played the TTRPG, or the video game, or even read 'Trauma Team' and 'You Have My Word' to pick this one up and instantly understand what's going on.

Blackout is a perfect testament to both Sztybor's writing AND the Night City location as both can easily adapt to tell a varied and interesting story, that's both different from what has come before - yet remain familiar. While it's perfectly accessible for newcomers, fans of Cyberpunk 2077 will get a real kick out of revisiting the vibrant world of Night City.

Rating: 10/10 

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Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev