Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout is a graphic novel by Bartosz Sztybor and illustrated by Robert Ricci. It takes place in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe and follows a Working-Class Hero who decides The Heist is the solution to all of his problems.
Arturo is a braindance technician who dreams of helping people with his customized self-held programs. After attempting to help a prisoner being tortured by a particularly vicious braindance, Arturo finds himself 500,000 Eurodollars in debt. Unable to pay them back, Arturo decides to take advantage of the frequent Night City blackouts to try and rob a bank. For this, he assembles a team of fellow Night City residents that he's befriended in his day to day life.
Unfortunately, Arturo soon finds out that planning a heist is a lot harder than actually pulling it off due to the crippling personality flaws of his associates. What should be a simple in and out mission ends up becoming increasingly complex as complication after complication forces Arturo to rely on his knowledge of their psychology. But does manufacturing fantasies really give him insight enough to guide them like The Chessmaster?
Arturo's heist team consists of:
- AI-Beta: Arturo's room mate and a former Edgerunner. She has been forced into retirement due to no one wanting to work with her anymore.
- Dinesh Kashyap: An alcoholic NCPD officer who is struggling with the corruption of the city and futility of his job.
- Rearview: A mechanic at Joe's Garage and the best driver in Night City. She is the sister of a prisoner that Arturo helped.
This comic book provides examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Dinesh is crippled by his addiction to alcohol and can barely function during his job or after it.
- All Just a Dream: AI-Beta's "betrayal" and Dinesh relapsing into alcoholism were both fantasies concocted to get them to confront their personal issues.
- Bittersweet Ending: Dinesh overcomes his alcoholism, AI-Beta is in jail but happy about her change in personality, and Rearview reconciles with her brother's memory. Arturo is implied to be killed, though.
- Character Development: All of the heist crew learn valuable lessons. AI-Beta learns the value of loyalty, Dinesh overcomes his alcoholism, and Rearview reconciles with her brother's memory.
- The Chessmaster: Arturo, surprisingly. He manipulates all of his fellow heist members to get them to pull it off, trying to help them in the process.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The reason AI-Beta is no longer able to find work as an Edgerunner. After betraying a couple of her teams, no one wants to work with her and no Fixer will hire her. She gets help with Arturo using his therapy braindances on her.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Arturo is implied to be killed by the husband of a woman who overdosed thanks to Arturo's brain dances.
- Formerly Fit: Al-Beta was in great shape when she was an edgerunner, but has put on a lot of weight since quitting.
- The Heist: Arturo wants to rob the Night City bank in order to make all of his team's financial problems vanish and start his own braindance company.
- Implied Love Interest: While never directly stated, AI-Beta and Arturo live together and have a closeness that could mean they are lovers.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to the other comics and main game, the story is full of humorous oddball characters and hilarious twists. Subverted by the fact that Arturo is implied to be murdered for no reason at the very end.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Arturo rigs the braindances at a prison so they can't be used to torture prisoners anymore. This results in Arturo getting fired. Hong-Jin, the prisoner who he helped, also commits suicide.
