Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word is one of the Cyberpunk 2077 spin-off fiction comics by Dark Horse comics. I’ve enjoyed several of these comics and had mixed feelings on others. Basically, they’re short adventures set in Night City. If you aren’t a big fan of the world of Mike Pondsmith and the later CD Projekt Red setting, then these are probably not for you. If you are, it’s good to check on whether the spin off fiction has some value other than a cash grab.
The premise of this comic is a revenge story. A family living out of Night City in the Badlands, not quite Nomads but closer to them than the city folk, is one struggling to survive in their trailer park existence. All the family has secrets. One of them being a former Militech soldier with an exaggerated belief that the company cares about its veterans after they leave their service. Another being a former Edgerunner with a legendary reputation. A third being an up-and-coming Edgerunner who is supporting her family with the violent dangerous lifestyle.
Things go horribly wrong in Night City because, well, that’s how life goes in the post-capitalist hellhole built on the Pacific Bay. One of them is killed and a mission of revenge begins that starts to unravel all the various secrets that all of them have been hiding. The people involved in the murders are also far closer to the family than any of them would have imagined.
I’m going to state this is probably the best of the Cyberpunk 2077 comics. I had my issues with Where’s Johnny and Trauma Team, but this manages to capture most of the essence of the game as well as its complicated plot. So much of it that I kind of regret this is just a miniseries and wish it had been part of an ongoing storyline. However, I will give the comic the additional praise of saying that it sticks to the landing.
The best part of You Have My Word is the fact that the ending is earned. A lot of the comics end in tragedy or despair but this one is just an organic follow-up of the events that happened throughout the story. Plus, it fit the characters as we know them. When there’s a twist, you may not see it coming you but understand how the persons involved came to the decisions that they made. Which is rarer than you think in these kinds of stories.
Indeed, the biggest failure of the comic is that it is only four issues and at the very least, this could have had two more issues of character development for what is genuinely interesting and well-written characters. I understand why they may have dialed down the size of the work but I think the comic deserved more space.
The art in the Cyberpunk 2077 comics is always beautiful with a mixture of gritty and colorful that makes them enjoyable to read. The action is subdued but visceral and the writing is excellent. It’s not necessary to buy, there are no characters from the main game, but it’s a nice piece of side content that I think people will enjoy.
