More From Hugh Sterbakov on TITANS #14

Here's some of Hugh Sterbakov's (Top Cow's FRESHMEN, ROBOT CHICKEN) comments about his upcoming issue, TITANS #14, from comicbloc: "I've always loved Cyborg, and I'm stoked to crack his head open and really explore the whole man vs. machine argument. Your first instinct about that debate, I think, is to automatically run to the defense of humanity and expect someone in Vic's metal shoes to cling to the flesh, but you can't just do that blindly. In fact, as I was discussing this with the editors, one of the things that came up was, "Well, it's starting to sound like the machine aspect is better." These are emotions you have to crack, you can't just take them for granted and assume you know how someone would feel in this situation.

My comic, Freshmen, has a pretty cool mechanic where every issue is narrated by a different character, and I try to make sure you learn several new things about the narrator in every issue. Things that aren't inherently obvious. Like, for example-- hang with me here-- we've got a talking beaver (it's true) who sort of becomes the reluctant brains of the team, because he's super-smart. But he's still a beaver-- he's still obsessed with building dams-- and when you get inside his head, you realize just how much of an outcast he is with human kids. It's not all fun and games, he's the only talking beaver on Earth and he's all alone, no matter how much this other species tries to relate to him. In some ways, that's Vic, too.

I don't want to give too much away, but Vic will be in a pretty dark place at the beginning of my story, and I'll be exploring whether he even wants to climb out of it, let alone how. It's a way, way different tone from Freshmen, but I'm really excited about it.

Now all that having been said, you're probably thinking this sounds like a morose issue re-examining a character with the same themes you've seen a thousand times, but trust me-- that ain't all there is to it. The core of the story is a cool mystery that spins out of a small detail in Deathtrap and leads Vic into his past, and there are plenty of great action scenes that will make you think about Vic's tech in a whole new light. And the ending is a nice little surprise.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think!"

Sounds like a lot for one issue. But that's a GOOD thing.

OK, now I'm a bit intrigued.