Ash is a newly ‘born’ robotic life-form, created as the newest denizen of a space liner run solely by mechanical life. Ash’s creator, a robot called Rust, explains that all mechanical life and artificial intelligence on the ship decided they no longer served the human crew. In its place arose a Cyberarchy, a more efficient mechanical society. But Ash soon realizes that all is not well… Cyberarchy #1 is an intriguing issue that has us wanting to know what comes next.

Cyberarchy #1 is a comic that honestly wasn’t on my radar. But, as a debut issue with an intriguing title, I decided to check it out in a rather slow week. And, I’m glad I did. It’s a comic that is weird, deep, and features some fantastic art.

Written by Matt Hardy, Cyberarchy #1 is a straightforward comic. A robot is “born” on a ship now managed and full of robots. Humans are nowhere to be seen and died out long ago. Thus begins a mystery that is slowly unveiled and answered as the issue progresses. What happened so that the ship was just robots? Why was this robot “born?” What is that giant start out the window? The comic is one that debates one’s purpose in life and the challenge to break out from our programmed future for something more. Ash, after being told what its fate is, begins to question why it was “born” to begin with and can it change its fate at all.

Hardy delivers a comic that takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster with an initial calm soon switching to sadness, then add a dose of humor, and eventually some happiness. Then… sadness again. It’s a sci-fi comic whose premise is to debate readers and get them to think about purpose, not just the characters but their own. It’s a read that challenges in multiple ways, and just, a hell of a ride.

The art by Clark Bint is absolutely fantastic. From sweeping spreads to winding panels, it’s a comic that delivers science fiction awe, the type of imagery that has you paus. Bint is able to deliver sweeping visuals but also emotional punches from beings that shouldn’t be delivering much when it comes to emotion. These are robots and even with their cold exteriors, they’re able to convey the ups and downs of the story. Rob Jones does a fantastic job on lettering delivering a lot of dialogue but never distracting or covering the beautiful artwork.

Cyberarchy #1 is a surprise debut that has me excited to see what’s next. It delivers a sci-fi exploration of one’s purpose, a reflection of reality and meaning, exploring a topic like good sci-fi does. This is a series, and team, to keep an eye on to see what comes next.

Story: Matt Hardy Art: Clark Bint Letterer: Rob Jones
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics