Review: Aphrodite IX - Rebirth
The Aphrodite protocol was initiated in an attempt to save humanity from a predicted extinction level event. Its mission was to engineer humans that could survive via technological singularity and genetic enhancement to repopulate the Earth.
It succeeded in unexpected ways and two factions arose out of the ashes of the old world, both occupying the same narrow strip of inhabitable land near the equator.
In the East, various tribes of genetically enhanced humans collectively called the Gen live in a city called Genesis under a theocratic monarchy.
In the west, cybernetically-enhanced humans reside in the city of Speros in a totalitarian party controlled state.
Their centuries-long conflict is about to come to an end.
In Speros a spacecraft is being constructed to establish a lunar colony. Before it can be launched it comes under attack from Gen warriors riding 'drakes' - huge flying reptiles - and is destroyed.
It succeeded in unexpected ways and two factions arose out of the ashes of the old world, both occupying the same narrow strip of inhabitable land near the equator.
In the East, various tribes of genetically enhanced humans collectively called the Gen live in a city called Genesis under a theocratic monarchy.
In the west, cybernetically-enhanced humans reside in the city of Speros in a totalitarian party controlled state.
Their centuries-long conflict is about to come to an end.
In Speros a spacecraft is being constructed to establish a lunar colony. Before it can be launched it comes under attack from Gen warriors riding 'drakes' - huge flying reptiles - and is destroyed.
The cyborgs retaliate, giving chase in their airborne 'drones' and shoot down the leader of the saboteurs, a man called Marcus. He and his drake fall into a cave and find themselves in the ruins of an underground city. Regaining consciousness, Marcus sees a glass pod containg a woman with green hair. His violent arrival has damaged the pod, however, and she soon wakes and breaks out of it. She does not speak his language and appears to be as clueless as a newborn.
Armoured cyborg soldiers arrive to search for Marcus. He is outnumbered and outgunned, facing certain doom... at which point the green-haired woman suddenly turns out to be far from helpless...
Aphrodite IX: Rebirth by writer Matt Hawkins and artist Stjepan Sejic is the latest variation of a character originally created by David Finch and David Wohl for Top Cow comics in 1996. In this version of events Aphrodite IX is a human who has been augmented both genetically and cybernetically as the perfect assassin.
Taken in by the Gen, Aphrodite still has no memory of who she is. When she begins to suffer blackouts - during which Marcus' parents, the king and queen, are found murdered - she soon realises that she is being manipulated by an outside force. If instructed to kill Marcus himself, will her love for him be enough to overcome the command?
The plot may not sound particularly original, but there are some satisfyingly imaginative elements here that make it more than by-the-numbers: the two warring cultures are well conceived and detailed. Theocratic mutants versus totalitarian cyborgs is a nice touch as there are no obvious "good guys" here; our heroine has no moral basis for choosing a side. Neither camp has any interest in peaceful coexistence.
Very often a story has "black hats" and "white hats" in the tradition of classic Western movies - a sharp demarcation between good and evil - with this mold being broken sometimes to include baddies who see the light and switch sides... But here we have a third option: basically, they're all jerks.
That does not mean that the reader has nobody to identify with, though; quite the reverse. The motives of all the characters are rooted in the struggle for survival and the complications of the competing insecurities of others.... all very human, ironically for a tale of a war between two post-human nations.
Zejic's artwork brings the story to life and then some; his images are vividly crafted paintings with lifelike characters and baroque designs. The ritualistic mutants and hyper-technical cyborgs are equally exotic. The drakes and other genetic monsters are finely detailed ferocious beasts; the drones are surreal sculptures. This is top notch work.
There is action and drama aplenty here as love, war, duty and the question of identity play out against a desperate backdrop. The two sides are both poised to annihilate each other, Aphrodite caught in the middle... at which point a mysterious third player enters the stage.
She is named after a goddess... can she find her own humanity in the midst of those who have left theirs behind centuries ago?
Zak Webber
Twitter - @sfcomicartist / Instagram - @sfcomicartist
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