IXth Generation 1 review

One series I very much enjoyed from last year and somehow forgot about in my “favourite comics of 2014” post was Matt Hawking’s Aphrodite IX, which sadly ended with issue 11 in June. The series took place in a post-apocalyptic future where two offshoots of the human race, the gens and the cyborgs, were at war with each other. The series ended with a bunch of Generation IX’s from the Aphrodite Protocol (each named after a Greek god) awakening and taking over Speros, the central city to the Cyborgs. With each of the IX ruling over a section of the city and proclaiming themselves as gods, they pretty much rule the world.

IXth Generation 1 takes place 25 years after Aphrodite IX ended, with the different leaders infighting and Aphrodite doing her best to remain neutral. Things get out of hand when the Darkness unleashes itself on both Aphrodite IX and Hephaestus IX when they try to awake Velocity (the all-mother of sorts). It makes for a fascinating combination of the brilliant science fiction world of Aphrodite IX and Top Cow’s own artifact mythology. If this goes where I think it’s going, with the IXth Generation leaders each taking an artifact, this series will be amazing.

Even though this comic is awesome, it might be hard to follow for those who aren’t familiar with the Top Cow universe. It explains the basics of what you need to know without slowing down the story and you won’t be confused, but without a deeper knowledge, you won’t fully grasp the sheer scale of this comic’s events.

Stjepan Sejic’s art is nothing short of fantastic. The opening pages demonstrate the breathtaking Speros City, damaged by years of constant war between factions and the brutality of the less moral IX rulers. The environmental detail continues when Aphrodite and Hephaestus fly to the moon to awake Velocity, with a base complete with a large observation dome to look upon the stars and fancy sci-fi lighting. His grasp of facial expressions perfectly captures a variety of moods and reactions. The impressive detail on both the Darkness and the Witchblade is the real highlight, along with all the green goo covering Aphrodite and Hephaestus after the fight. How Sejic manages this series, Death Vigil and his Deviantart webcomics at the same time is beyond me.

This is my favourite comic of the week. It combines science fiction, mythology, good action and wonderful art to form a complete package. Although you won’t appreciate this comic the same way unless you’re familiar with Top Cow’s Universe, it’s still worth checking out if a dystopian future mixed with ancient artifacts of power sounds interesting.