Trauma Team. Blood, Sweat, and Cyberpunk

I’m a rescuer, but I’m a human as well

What can you imagine when you hear “cyberpunk”? Neon lights, advanced technology, urbanistic dystopian future… And also a videogame from amazing people from CD Projekt Red, who haven’t abandoned their Cyberpunk 2077 universe development, expanding it with new add-ons and also comics series with entirely new characters and plot. This time, we can have an inside on the daily job of guys who are paid to preserve people’s lives – EMTs and paramedics who call themselves “Trauma Team”. And to know more about one of them, Nadia, who is getting through the most complicated period in her life (both personal and professional).

Qualified for service

Nadia joined the “Trauma Team” to help people and to make the world a better place but ended up being a small asset of another big corporation with almighty money and performance in mind. On her another mission she becomes a witness of brutal murder of her whole team by unknown man, but this wasn’t enough for her to leave the job. She goes through rehabilitation, joins her new team, and at one of rescue missions… Nadia meets certain client which she would better kill, but obliged to save. A long road full of enemies and moral dilemmas lies ahead, and Nadia has to choose for herself –

is customer always right?

Blood, sweat and cyberpunk

Complicated plot with totally “grey” morals is, no doubt, a key element for a universe like this, but you cannot call something “cyberpunk” if you don’t put a proper style into it. And this comic totally has it; people who have read the encyclopedia can easily notice familiar colors, graphic elements and other artistic solutions.

The graphic style of this comics is colorful, very “neon”, and every frame is saturated with all kinds of small details which makes fast “scrolling” pages quite difficult. Ukrainian version of it was made with so big attention to inscriptions, sound expressions, every language-indicative details that it makes you think that Ukrainian version is the original one. And you often find yourself rather examining comic book than reading it.

Shades of red, which are dominant here, are greatly referring to the main heroine’s mood and overall tension which holds the reader until the very ending.

Is it worth to buy it? Even if you are not fan of the game universe and just like cyberpunk vibes – you will totally like it. History and characters don’t require any prior lore knowledge, and you will fall in love with this esthetics. Which will make you wait for any new releases from Vovlulaka (and Ukrainian translations from SBT Localization, of course).

Bohdana Vozniuk

Translated by Rostyslav Fedorko

November 27, 2022

Photo: Bohdana Vozniuk