Some thoughts about DC's Cybernetic Summer #1

How do some of the strangest heroes in the world spend their summer?

It's summer vacation for most people and this includes superpowered people. One can only wonder what they could do in such time though.

Yet another special is here. The last few oversized issues I've read have been pretty solid and fortunately, this is no different although I have to say that some of the stories are shorter than I what previously saw.

First there's a story about Batman (Obviously, everything has to start with Batman) written by Corinna Becko and Gabriel Hardman focusing on his fight against Brother Eye. It's decently written and weirdly enough seems to be suited during a time when Alfred was still alive (which shows how much of a mistake killing him was, damn Tom King's run) but at the same time seems like hinting at a future storyline.

Then a story about the Metal Men, especifically about Platinum, and Wonder Woman arrives written by Andrew Constant which is pretty fun for the most part because of the entertaining interactions between the two heroines but again, it ends rather quickly and abruptly. Nicola Scott's artwork is solid but not as polished as her usual work.

Stephanie Phillips presents a tale about Red Tornado spending his vacations with his family and is pretty charming with a few Silver Age-like concepts being thrown there which seem appropriate for the character, if I have a complaint though, is that is pretty short too. Leila Del Duca handles the art and it fits the plot thanks to the expressive characters and vibrant style.

One of my favorite segments is about Blue Beetle and Booster Gold written by Heath Corson which is centered around their friendship that trascends many eras, is pretty funny seeing how each character changes with time and how Ted keeps getting scared of himself getting fat (which is a nice reference to a Justice League International story), is just really entertaining. Scott Koblish handles the art and his detailed pencils manage to depict every moment perfectly.

Joshua Williamson arrives with what else? A Flash story! This time about an android Flash from another universe that is running against Barry Allen which ends in a pretty sweet way. I must say that I love how Williamson builds The Flash universe. David LaFuente handles the art and his unique style allows for interesting panels and storytelling.

Then there's a tale about Superboy & the Legion of Super-Heroes written by Liz Erickson which is heavily inspired by the Silver Age in both its tone and presentation, focusing on a robot Superboy who suddenly falls in love with a girl at school, a rather sweet tale that sadly doesn't end happily. The art is provided by Nick Virella who is also heavily inspired by such era of comics with a clean and charmind style.

Steve Orlando returns to Apollo and Midnighter in a story about love, no matter even if is between a gorilla and a brain. The whole story has a pretty queer vibe which is expected from the writer and the characters and is overall handled pretty solidly. The always solid Paul Pelletier provides the art and his work is pretty effective in terms of expressions and storytelling.

Che Grayson offers a segment about Harley Quinn and appropriately Sy Borgman about how they spend their vacations and is typical Harley fun and I'm glad that the characters from Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner's run keep getting used everywhere. Marguerite Sauvage handles the art and is colorful and unique, fitting for the tone.

I consider Max Bemis a pretty hit and miss writer but he brings a pretty solid story about Robotman trying to live a normal life among people and his own friends which seems pretty believable while offering both fun and charming scenes. Greg Smallwood's semi-cartoony style really helps to emphasize such aspects.

Finally Stuart Moore brings a segment about Cyborg, Superman and the Cyborg Superman (Most likely on purpose) which weirdly enough also involves alternate universes but it doesn't take itself seriously and even creates fun moments between Batman and Superman. Cully Hamner handles the art and is pretty detailed in every aspect.

Overall a pretty satisfying special although I find odd that not all the stories were about cybernetic beings. Eh, still good.