This is Cyberpunk 2077 Library Edition Volume 1. It is Written by Bartosz Sztybor and Cullen Bunn. It is Illustrated by Miguel Valderrama, Jesús Hervás, and Roberto Ricci. The Coloring is done by Jason Wordie, Giulia Brusco, and Fabiana Mascolo. The Lettering is done by Frank Cvetkovic. The cover used above is Illustrated by Roberto Ricci and Colored by Fabiana Mascolo. It is Published by Dark Horse Comics. Trigger Warning: This book contains elements that one might find disturbing such as extreme violence, gore, organized crime, gang violence, depression, suicidal thoughts, overdosing, references of drugs, and hallucinations. Readers discretion is advised. This book contains three stories that take place in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. One of which is about the organization known as Trauma Team. Where a women, who has just been transferred into another team due to a mission gone wrong, needs to help save and protect the man who killed her previous team. The second, a women is on a revenge quest after her daughter is mysteriously murdered in Night City. And third, a braindance developer wants to plan a bank heist to try and change his fate. Will any of these individuals succeed in their efforts, or are they the next victims of Night City?
The first story is named Trauma Team. It is Written by Cullen Bunn, Illustrated by Miguel Valderrama, and Colored by Jason Wordie. This story is absolutely masterful. It really shows how grim and screwed up the Cyberpunk 2077 world is. While also bringing context to a faction of the game that didn’t get much attention in the first place. Which is surprising since they are easily one of the most powerful and dangerous factions in the entire game. But I really loved this story because it both gives more information on this faction and represents the harm that comes with working for them. Working for them is truly horrible. You are ordered to only help a person with platinum coverage and each other, that is it. If anyone gets hurt in the crossfire, you are expected to just leave them to die. Of course, this does take a toll on the main character’s psyche, which is one of the main focuses of the story. Overall, this short story is extremely good and my favorite of the collection.
The second story is named You Have My Word. It is Written by Bartosz Sztybor, Illustrated by Jesús Hervás, and Colored by Giulia Brusco. This story is pretty good, but not as fantastic as the other stories in this collection. It is a classic revenge story, where an elderly women named Teresa must go back to Night City to find out who killed her daughter. One thing that I absolutely love is that the first issue centers around the daughter and the events that surround her death. The story showcases her as being the main character, and it is a bit of a subversion that she is killed off so early. I thought that element of this story was extremely well done. For the main parts of the story, it was a pretty standard revenge plot with little deviation. But I do like the main message of the story on who and who not to trust. It was very interesting and fit the themes of the Cyberpunk 2077 world perfectly. Overall, this story was very well done but still pretty standard for a revenge plot.
The third and final story is named Blackout. It is also Written by Bartosz Sztybor, Illustrated by Roberto Ricci, and Colored by Fabiana Mascolo. This story is absolutely incredible. This story, similar to Trauma Team, gives focus to an aspect of Cyberpunk 2077 which didn’t get much from the game. This time around, it is Braindance, a form of entertainment where individuals can experience a recorded event with all sensations involved. It is a rather fascinating element of the Cyberpunk 2077 world that doesn’t get much attention. So this story giving more context on how Braindances work and how they are developed was incredibly fascinating. I also love the themes that this story is representing. Is it possible to overcome your worst tendencies? The story gives this question a lot of nuance, stating that it is extremely difficult and the solution takes a lot of work. But that it is possible to change, and particularly for the better if enough effort is put in. Overall, this story was incredibly well made.
Spoiler Alert: I will not be giving specific spoilers for any of these stories, since all of them are really awesome and I want you to read them yourself. But what I will do is describe an overarching theme that is shown throughout pretty much all cyberpunk media. There are no happy endings. Each one of the stories I have described above does not have a happy ending to them. Most of them have either a sad or bittersweet ending with different scenarios getting the story there. That is extremely cyberpunk. That no matter how much people fight, the situation still doesn’t come out in their favor. It is incredibly cynical, but hey, that’s cyberpunk for you.
The art for this book is really good. Each different art style fits within the cyberpunk aesthetic while still being completely unique. Firstly there is Miguel Valderrama, who is an incredible artist. The art is so incredibly detailed in every single panel which isn’t always seen with a lot of comics. I also see some inspiration from manga and anime within his work on this book. It isn’t completely inspired, but there are some similarities in the best way possible. Then there is Jesús Hervás, who’s style is much more slick and realistic. His art style is fantastic on showing how gritty and dark Night City can be within its deepest levels. And lastly, there is Roberto Ricci, who has the most stylistic and colorful art style of the three artists in this collection. The way he distinguishes from the real world and Braindances was incredibly fun. I also have to give a massive amount of credit to the colorists of this collection including Jason Wordie, Giulia Brusco, and Fabiana Mascolo. How each of these colorist adds so much depth to their respective artists can not be overstated. Overall, the art for this collection is incredible and adds so much to each respective story.
Overall, this book is an incredible collection of stories. Each respective story adds an incredible amount of depth and context to the Cyberpunk 2077 world. While also being fantastic stories on their own without the name recognition attached to them. The art for each story is perfect in representing the tone and themes to completion. So, overall, this book is fantastic and I would recommend it to both people who are familiar with the series and new comers.