Preview: IXth Generation #3
IXth Generation #3
Story By: Matt Hawkins
Art By: Stjepan Sejic
Cover By: Stjepan Sejic
Price: $3.99
Diamond ID: JAN150667
Published: April 1, 2015
The Darkness returns!
Tag Archives: ixth generation
Preview: IXth Generation #2
IXth Generation #2
Story By: Matt Hawkins
Art By: Stjepan Sejic
Cover By: Stjepan Sejic
Price: $3.99
Diamond ID: DEC140717
Published: February 18, 2015
Aphrodite IX has the Witchblade and several other Artifacts have also appeared, destroying the delicately balanced utopia. Who is wielding the Darkness and why is it so hellbent on killing all of the IXs?
Around the Tubes
It’s a new week. The second week of comics for the new year! Who’s excited after all of those Image announcements?
Around the Tubes
The ComiChron – Amazing Spider-Man, Saga top 2014 bestseller lists; comics market ends year up 4% – Interesting.
Kotaku – How One Piece Characters Have Evolved – Very cool to see.
Around the Tubes Reviews
Talking Comics – Ant-Man #1
Man Cave – Batman ’66 Vol. 2
CBR – IXth Generation #1
Review: IXth Generation #1
In the future there is no more natural death, no needs unfilled and everything you could ever want is yours… as long as you’re one of the ones chosen to live in this new Utopia and you’re willing to subjugate yourself to these new self-proclaimed gods with “IX”s emblazoned on them. Do the ends truly justify the means? Is a utopia built on genocide worth the price? Aphrodite, Velocity, Hades, and the other Nines establish fiefdoms in this new world and attempt to rule. Their internal clashes have escalated, but they are forced to put that aside as they face off against the relentless hordes of the Darkness. The sins of the past have come to claim those who would pretend to be Gods.
Top Cow has shaken up their world a few times now with a rejiggering of the companies Darkness and Witchblade line of comics, and then rebooting Aphrodite IX and Cyber Force into two futuristic dystopian series. The latter with the help of Kickstarter. The company has also had a weird mix of supernatural and tech focused series with the two coming together every so often. Now, Top Cow is introducing their 13 Artifacts, like the Witchblade, Darkness, and Spear of Destiny in their futuristic reboot.
This big change has been hinted at for a while with the discovery of the Coin of Solomon in the head of Aphrodite in her series last year. Ever since that moment it felt like it was only a matter of time before we’d see more artifacts, and here we go. That’s not a spoiler, Top Cow has actively promoted that, and that’s the big draw. To see how the companies “tech” based characters handle the supernatural elements is an interesting idea.
The thing is, the first issue is all about war, setting up the world that exists now that the IXs have taken over. It’s a world of war, so some of the more subtle elements of the modern day Artifacts stories seems a bit lost, with their presentation as nothing but weapons in this first issue.
The art is as fantastic as I’d expect with Stjepan Sejic providing the amazing art you’d expect. His art is amazing and a draw in every series he’s a part of. This is no exception, it’s a beautiful style that’s unique and a signature look.
The first issue is interesting, and I think fans of Top Cow’s two different tracts will be excited to see where this all goes, I definitely am. For folks who haven’t ever checked out a Top Cow comic, this could be a nice start for those who dig futuristic settings.
Story By: Matt Hawkins Art By: Stjepan Sejic
Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in! Below are ten suggestions of comics, graphic novels, or trade paperbacks you should spend some extra time checking out and think about picking up.
Pick of the Week – Feathers #1 (Archaia/BOOM! Studios) – A recluse boy born covered in feathers must help his first-ever friend, a young girl named Bianca, as she tries to return to her home beyond the slums of the Maze. They must dodge street gangs and child-snatchers along the way, and perhaps together will learn the secrets to his mysterious past. The first issue is beautiful, magical, just fantastic. A great start to the new year.
Ant-Man #1 (Marvel) – Scott Lang gets the spotlight as Marvel launches a new series that puts the tiny hero forward before his movie hits later this year.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #2 1952 (Dark Horse) – Hellboy is off on his first adventure! The first issue was solid, the second issue really begins to kick things up as the adventure really begins. Watching the B.P.R.D. stumble a bit in their early years, especially Hellboy, is fantastic.
IXth Generation #1 (Top Cow Productions) – Top Cow launches a series originating from their Aphrodite IX and Cyber Force series’. Add in Top Cow’s Artifacts side of things, and the series sounds really exciting!
Lady Killer #1 (Dark Horse) – Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother—but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer for hire! A brand-new original comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival. A fantastic debut issue!
Nailbiter #9 (Image) – Do you like horror? Do you like noir/crime stories? Yeah, you should be reading this.
Operation S.I.N. #1 (Marvel) – The early years of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra featuring Peggy Carter and Howard Stark. The series seems to be a perfect companion to Marvel’s Agent Carter which debuts this week on tv.
Shaft #2 (Dynamite) – The first issue was set up, and now the action begins as Shaft takes up a job as security, and gets roped into an issue with a missing girl, the mob, and dead bodies.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (Marvel) – She beat Thanos and Doctor Doom! The series will either be awesome, or a one note joke. Hopefully it’s the former of the two.
Wolf Moon #2 (Vertigo/DC Comics) – How do you hunt a werewolf if a different person becomes the monster with every cycle of the moon? The Wolf continues to elude Dillon, and now the trail is going cold. Hoping to uncover some clues, Dillon turns to a reclusive expert on werewolf legends, and what he learns crushes any hope of ever destroying the creature. An interesting spin of the werewolf mythos from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Jeremy Haun.
IXTH Generation Bursts onto the Scene
Writer Matt Hawkins pens a new Top Cow IX Utopia—built on a history of genocide and featuring haunting artwork by Stjepan Sejic—in IXTH Generation, coming this January.
Set in the future, IXTH Generation inhabits a world where there is no more natural death, no needs unfilled and everything you could ever want is yours… as long as you’re one of the ones chosen to live in this new Utopia and you’re willing to subjugate yourself to these new self-proclaimed gods with “IX”s emblazoned on them.
Do the ends truly justify the means? Is a utopia built on genocide worth the price? Aphrodite, Velocity, Hades, and the other Nines establish fiefdoms in this new world and attempt to rule. Their internal clashes have escalated, but they are forced to put that aside as they face off against the relentless hordes of The Darkness. The sins of the past have come to claim those who would pretend to be Gods. The cybernetic future established in Aphrodite IX and Cyber Force finally comes face-to-face with the supernatural Artifacts side of the Top Cow universe.
IXTH Generation #1 arrives in stores this 1/7 and can be pre-ordered using Diamond Code NOV140555.
The Top Cow Universe explodes with Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force
Top Cow is pleased to announce a double-sized crossover event unlike any before! Coming July 2, Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force #1, written by Matt Hawkins and with art by Stjepan Šejić, will begin a crossover spin-off series that fans won’t want to miss.
Two teams, seven centuries apart, united by one woman’s diabolical plan. The Chairwoman from Cyber Force and Aphrodite IX had a plan to recreate the world in her children’s image. Things didn’t go as planned. Featuring the present day team of Cyber Force and the 28th century Aphrodite IX, this story lays the origins of the new comic series IXth Generation, launching in 2015.
In a release Hawkins said:
When Marc Silvestri and I sat down to talk Cyber Force two years ago we were building up to this eventual connection between Aphrodite IX and Cyber Force. This book is a self-contained oversized one shot that will explain who all these characters are and their importance to each other and to the Artifacts side of the universe as well. We’re not looking to overburden it with continuity, just show tangentially how they relate.
Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force #1 arrives in stores on 7/2. It will be 48 pages and available for $5.99. Cover A can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code MAY140582 and Cover B can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code MAY140583. A variant cover featuring art by Marc Silvestri can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code MAY140584.
