Aphrodite IX #5 Review


The odyssey of the amnesiac assassin takes a turn!  But is it still firing on all cylinders?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

Aphrodite IX woke up in a new world with no memory and no idea of her true purpose.  But finding out the truth about herself and how her handler Burch has been manipulating her will change everything.

The war between the technologically inclined city of Speros and the enhanced humans of Genesis reaches a dire crossroads.  Because of what our protagonist has done, while being controlled, the villains have the advantage.  I use that term rather loosely, especially considering the lengths in which the creative team strives to prove that there’s evil on both sides of this conflict.

Complications mount as series writer Matt Hawkins uses religious dogma, a basic rallying cry and a quest for vengeance to fuel the script.  I was immediately captivated by the revelations within these pages, as the dialogue ripped and roared almost as furiously as the soldiers themselves.  There was a lot of action here and the scribe knew exactly when to play up the inner narration and dial it back.  That said I was a bit underwhelmed when we found out that the fix our heroine received might only be temporary.

I wish Stjepan Sejic would stop being so good with his art.  Seriously, it makes being critical of his work really difficult especially when he turns in splash pages like these.  I remember when the talent first began at Top Cow, and watching his skills blossom was surely a treat for any fanboy or fangirl but now he’s gotten so good it’s uncanny.  I have literally no complaints about the visuals found here, except to say that I want some of these aerial battle shots hanging as paintings on my wall.

Aphrodite IX #5 is an excellent release that flows with the essence of what make this universe unique.  If you like science fiction with more than a few moral quandaries embedded within its text than this title deserves to be on your pull-list. Highly recommended.

4.5/5

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