John Semper Jr. is one of the most consistent writers I’ve found. His work on Cyborg tends to not vary too much, usually good but not perfect and this issue follows that trend. The art stays consistent but the inks make the pages a little dull.

One of my favorite things about Semper Jr.’s run is his awareness of how black characters have been treated in comicbooks. This issue featured dialogue that references blaxploitation of the 70s, a trend that created Cyborg as a character. The reference was unexpected but fit perfectly. Semper Jr. has been writing this arc with distance in mind. It seems he plans to tell a story that takes time to build and allow everything to come together. And while each issue may not always work, they work together as one large story. This is a series that would be best read in trade or read in large amounts as opposed to one book per month. But this issue itself is intriguing, as usual. It ends on a cliffhanger that doesn’t hit as hard as in previous issues. That doesn’t mean, however, that the reader is dissuaded by the following issues because the main story continues to keep the reader interested.

Semper Jr., yet again, seems to struggle with dialogue. He has characters state what they’re doing or what they did, as opposed to having the art display it. He seems to rely too heavily on telling as opposed to showing. Although it has improved, it does still stick out and can make escaping into the story more difficult for the reader.

Will Conrad’s art is consistently great but the colors by Ivan Nunes and Guy Major actually take away from the art itself. The colors feel dulled down at times and the reader isn’t as drawn to experience them.

All in all, this is another solid issue by John Semper Jr. He may not create legendary stories but he does create consistently good ones. I am excited to see what comes next.

Rating: 8/10