Burton and Cyb

Burton and Cyb
by Antonio Segura (story) and Jose Ortiz (art)
Catalan Communications 1991

These Catalan Communications graphic novels are becoming harder and harder to find, and those that show up for sale often have pretty steep asking prices. However, if you poke around you can occasionally find one for a reasonable price, and such was the case for this compilation of six 'Burton and Cyb' comics from the 1980s.

'Burton and Cyb' appeared in the Spanish sci-fi comic magazine Zona 84 in the mid-80s, and later in that decade English language translations began to appear in Heavy Metal. Several of those strips are compiled in this Catalan Communications graphic novel.

This graphic novel apparently was intended to be the first in a series, but sadly, Catalan went defunct in 1991, and the additional volumes never materialized. So quite a few Burton and Cyb tales remain uncollected.

Burton is a parody of the square-jawed All American action hero, while Cyb (short for 'cyborg') is a trigger-happy misanthrope. Both are amoral con men, grifters, and hardened criminals who have few reservations about fleecing gullible aliens. 

The stories featured excellent artwork by Ortiz, and Segura's plots always combined humor with an edgy, cynical undertone that often is missing from equivalent American comics.

Posted below is one of the entries in Burton and Cyb: 'The Jellyfish from Space', from Heavy Metal magazine, July 1989.