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The Cybersix comic book series is the first and original instalment of the Cybersix series, written by Carlos Trillo and illustrated by Carlos Meglia. The series follows the titular protagonist, Cybersix, as she fights against her creator at night and lives as a male literature teacher during the day.

Cybersix was originally commissioned and published by the Italian publisher Eura Editoriale as a mature series for the local magazine, Skorpio, making 24 weekly issues and 45 monthly issues from 1992 to 1999. It is also the only publication to conclude the series on the 45th monthly issue, "Final Challenge."

Cybersix had also been translated and published into other languages and countries, although all publications were eventually cancelled before reaching the series conclusion. This included Argentine Spanish for Argentina, Spain Spanish for Spain and French for France.

Cybersix has never been translated into English or published in the US or Canada, although unofficial fan translations of the comics have been released online. The translations have not, of as yet, reached the conclusion of the series.

Cybersix was overall deemed a success in Italy but soon saw several difficulties, including the cost of papers increasing, the workload overbearing and ultimately the series having ended due to disagreements between the Argentine creators and the publishers.[1]

Story overview[]

The story follows the eponymous character, Cybersix, a genetically engineered woman who had escaped the Nazi scientist, Doctor Von Reichter, who had created her and now fights to survive the monstrous creations he sends after her in the bleak city of Meridiana. Cybersix's past is full of mystery and tragedy, having been raised in isolation in the Brazilian rainforest with her five thousand brothers and sisters, all named with the combination of their series (Cybers) and numbers, created for the sole purpose of serving Von Reichter as super-soldiers as he attempts to rule the world. This plan was delayed, however, as the rebellious nature of the children forced Von Reichter to have them all destroyed and eventually replaced with a more subtle approach to world domination, the Technos, as they take positions of power in government and various other jobs. Due to one of Von Reichter's slaves, one Cyber had survived to adulthood to take on the disguise of a male literature teacher at a delinquent high school as Adrian Seidelman, the identity of a real boy who had died in a fatal car accident and taken by Cybersix to be able to live in the city. By night, she fights Von Reichter's creations sent out to kill her. Throughout the story, Cybersix bonds with the various characters she meets, and soon, she finds herself surrounded by friends and not as lonely as she had been. She also reunites with her long-lost brother, Cyber29, who had been put into the body of a panther and now named Data 7, and also becomes romantically involved with Lucas Amato.

Conception[]

The main idea and script for Cybersix came from Eura Editoriale in 1991, who wanted a new weekly series consisting of 12 pages, and entrusted Carlos Trillo and Carlos Meglia to create a character. They were given 20 days and a week after submitting the character, the two were set to work on the first chapter.

An early idea of Meglia was of a woman who would dress as a man to get into the police department, because her father had been killed, and her patrol partner would be Lucas. Fellow writer and friend of Trillo, Guillermo Saccomanno, came up with the title for the story, "Black Baby."[2] They continued to make changes and draw inspiration from numerous sources, such as video games, music and newspaper stories.

One particular true story was included in the introduction of the first chapter of the comic; in 1984, Elsa and Mario Rios died in a plane crash in Chile, leaving behind 2 frozen embryos in Australia, causing an international controversy and raising moral and legal issues in regards of what should be done with them. They were ultimately destroyed.[3] Trillo then asked the hypothetical question of what if they weren't destroyed but stolen by a mad scientist and they survived to this day.

Trillo and Meglia also consulted a psychiatrist to better understand a woman like Cybersix.

Publication[]

Argentine publication[]

Cybersix was translated into Spanish and published in Argentina for the first time in April 1993 in the magazine, Puertitas, in three issues and having about 4 pages each. The first issue was No.33 "Epilogue", the second No.34 "Intermediate" and the last No.35 "Chapter 13". El Globo Editore then made a comic brand dedicated entirely to her as "Meridiana Comics", starting with the 3 issue coloured miniseries "The City of Monsters", which was later collected in a single volume titled "The Book of the Beast". Four specials were later released in 1995 from January to October: "Meridiana Blues," "The Book of the Beast," "Kidnapping in Meridiana," and "Chip Woman." The Argentine monthly magazine Comiqueando had also released 10 issues with Cybersix, having about 12 pages each, starting from No.10 in March 1995 to No.19. These issues featured previously unseen stories in the country, which included altered pages taken from the Italian issues, presumably to fit with the shorter length it was given.[4]

The Argentine publishers Napoleones Sin Batallas released four volumes for Cybersix. The first volume was released in July 2012, the second in November 2012, the third in July 2014, and the fourth and final volume in September 2015.[5] The cover art was done by Fabian Mezquita and the volumes are stated to having 200 pages each. The publishers had intended to release thirty volumes, but it was canceled for unknown reasons.

Napoleones Sin Batallas had also released another work by Carlos Trillo and Carlos Meglia, "Book of Gabriel" (El Libro de Gabriel) in July 2012, featuring the characters archangel Gabriel and Michael who are born into human bodies. Cybersix uses elements of this work in the story "Angels and the Damned" (Angeli e Dannati) from the fifth Italian monthly issue. "Book of Gabriel" had also been coloured by Carolina Azadte, being originally black and white.[6]

Spain publication[]

Cybersix began publication in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini in September 1997 and ending in February 1998, making 6 issues and a total of 12 chapters.[7] It was unsuccessful and ended prematurely.[8]

French publication[]

Cybersix was first published in France by Editions Vents d'Ouest from November 1994 to September 1998, releasing 12 volumes consisting of 16 chapters each, making a total of 192 chapters. The series ends on a cliff-hanger, and they were possibly planning to continue it but ultimately did not due to conflicts between Meglia and Trillo with the publishers.[9]

Italian Publication[]

Cybersix first began publication in Italy by Eura Editoriale on the magazine Skorpio as a weekly instalment, starting from issue No.22 on June 4, 1992, to No.18 in 1996, making 24 issues and a total of 117 chapters. The 24 weekly issues were compiled in 4 special editions, consisting of 8 chapters each. The first special edition served as a supplement to Skorpio No.37 in 1992 and published a second time in Skorpio No.42 in 1992, both may have been accompanied by two alternate covers[10][11] the second special was attached to Lanciostory No.1 in 1993;[12] third attached to Skorpio No.1 in 1993[13] and the fourth and final special was attached to Skorpio No.22 in 1996 to No.24 in 1997.[14] The cover sheet could be requested from the publishing house.[15]

Cybersix began its monthly instalments in November 1993 and ending in January 1999, making 45 issues consisting of 96-page. Beginning with issue 26, "Hate, Fear and Pain," on December 1, 1995, Cybersix transitioned to a bi-monthly schedule (once every two months.)[16][17] The story concluded abruptly in issue 45 due to disagreements between Meglia and Trillo with the publishers.[18]

On April 24, 1996, Eura Editoriale published "The Adventure of Cyb" in Skorpio No.16, a 12-page page story featuring full colour.

From 2009 to July 2010, Coniglio Editore released 3 volumes, ordered differently than the Eura Editoriale editions and translated directly from the French editions, before cancelling due to bankruptcy.[19]

The Italian publishers Editoriale Cosmo released ten volumes for Cybersix in 2018, each consisting of about 200 pages. The first volume was published in January and is titled "Fantastic Creature of the Night" and is a reprint of Italian monthly issue 1 and 3 (Fantastica Creatura della Notte and Veleno nel Sangue, respectively). The second volume was published in February and is titled "Angels and the Damned", it contains Italian monthly issues 5 and 7 (Angeli e Dannati and L'Eroe e la Vittima). The third volume was published in March and is titled "The Stunt Double And Death", it contains Italian monthly issues 9 and 12 (Che fine ha Fatto Frank Rabitti and La Controfigura e la Morte). The fourth volume was published in April and is titled "Requiem for Adrian", it contains Italian monthly issues 15 and 13 (Un mago a Meridina and Requiem per Adrian). The fifth volume was released in May and is titled "Short Stories" (Le Stori Brevi), it contains Italian monthly issue 10 (Grogro) and weekly issues 1-8. The sixth volume was published in June and is titled "Deadly Sex" (Sesso Mortale), it contains the Italian weekly issues 9-24. The seventh volume was published in July and is titled "Face to Face" (Faccia a Faccia), it contains weekly issues 25-40, which was originally published in Skorpio and reprinted in Special 4. The eighth volume was published in August and is titled "A few Hours at Dawn" (Poche Ora All'Alba), it contains weekly issues 41-56, which was originally published in Skorpio and reprinted in Special 4. The ninth volume was published in September and is titled "Created to Seduce" (Creata Per Sedurre), it contains weekly issues 57-72, stories which was previously seen in Special 4. The tenth and final volume was published in October and is titled "Black and White" (Bianco e Nero), it contains weekly issues 73-84, with issue 73 being the last story having been reprinted in Special 4. The rest have been reprinted for the first time since its original Skorpio release. The Cosmo publication for Cybersix was canceled before they could reprint the remaining 85-117 weekly issues, which has only ever been published in Skorpio.

Controversy[]

Sometime after seeing the "Dark Angel" series when it was released on October 3, 2000, Trillo and Meglia filed a lawsuit against director James Cameron and Fox for plagiarism. However, the two were not able to go through with the lawsuit due to financial issues. Possibly due to the allegations, Cameron attempted to change the story of "Dark Angel" in its second season, which was received poorly, and the series was cancelled.[20]

Reception[]

The comics were well received in Italy on its initial release, leading to Cybersix becoming from a weekly series to monthly, increasing the total number of pages released. The series did not do well in Argentina and Spain.

Adaptations[]

The Cybersix comic inspired two adaptations:

Trivia[]

  • In the monthly issue "Presidents Prefer Blondes", Miao Yashimoto re-imagines Cybersix's alter ego as a police sergeant named Anita Fatal. This is a possible throwback to the early idea of Cybersix being a police officer.
  • Eura Editoriale had released a limited edition of collectible cards in Italy of 1995, 3000 sets of 50 cards, 3 being special colored cards.[21]

References[]

  1. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti.html Production Difficulties
  2. http://www.quintadimension.com/node/49 Carlos Meglia interview
  3. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/21/us/new-issue-in-embryo-case-raised-over-use-of-donor.html Newstory of the frozen embryos
  4. http://www.cybersix.it/argentina.html Argentina comics info
  5. http://www.cybersix.it/argentina.html Napoleones release dates
  6. https://www.whakoom.com/ediciones/341922/el_libro_de_gabriel-rustica_56_pp Book of Gabriel
  7. http://comicbookdb.com/title.php?ID=31854 Spain comics info
  8. http://www.cybersix.it/argentina.html Spain comics info
  9. http://www.cybersix.it/canada.html French collection info, cliffhanger and conflicts
  10. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti/fumettospec1a.html Special 1/A
  11. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti/fumettospec1b.html Special 1/B
  12. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti/fumettospec2.html Special 2
  13. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti/fumettospec3.html Special 3
  14. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti/fumettospec4.html Special 4
  15. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti.html Italian comics info
  16. https://www.goodreads.com/series/58269-cybersix Goodreads- Italian info
  17. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/cybersix/4050-29304/ Comic Vine- Italian info
  18. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti.html Disagreements with publishers
  19. http://www.cybersix.it/fumetti.html Coniglio Editore bankruptcy
  20. http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-history-of-plagiarism-claims-against-james-cameron-690974718 Dark Angel and claims of plagiarism
  21. http://www.ebay.fr/itm/MEGLIA-TRILLO-CYBERSIX-COLLECTION-COMPLETE-DE-50CARTES-TL-3000EX-TBE-/112393479001?hash=item1a2b2c6359:g:XIQAAOSwR29ZCNN- Collectible cards on Ebay

External links[]

Gallery[]

Spanish Covers[]

Argentina[]

Spain[]

French Collection Covers[]

Italian Covers[]

Skorpio[]

Specials[]

Collections[]

Monthly Issues 1-45[]

Adventure of Cyb[]

Live-Action[]

Other[]

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