Aphrodite IX: Rebirth Vol. 2

Aphrodite IX (Collected Editions) #3

by Matt Hawkins, Stjepan Šejić (Artist)

Collects APHRODITE IX # 6-11 and APHRODITE IX: HIDDEN FILES #1 Determined to never be controlled by outside forces again, Aphrodite IX seeks revenge against those who manipulated her. Plus the secrets behind the generational models revealed by Aphrodite XV and Artemis IX.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Comics Manga, Ebooks, Graphic Novels Comics

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 16, 2014

Reviews

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are given more insight into the Earth's past. The cataclysm that created this world was predicted by the humans of Aphrodite XI's past, hundreds of years ago. They created several different species in an attempt to make sure some survive and the two warring factions on the surface aren't the only ones still alive. The war between the gens and cyborgs becomes bloody at the end, but it is far from over. Another faction from Aphrodite's past rises in this arc and it is capable of a great deal of destruction.

There is more focus on the religious aspect of Marcus's faction. He has become like a messiah to them, uniting the tribes and building an army against the cyborgs. Meanwhile, an exiled Aphrodite is being hunted by another Aphrodite, model XV. It turns out that XV was only testing her and then she is take to what XV calls Sanctuary VI, an underground vault where several more Aphrodities await activation.

They infiltrate the cyborg facility to find Burch, but he reaches Aphrodite first, right after an impressive, but one-sided fight between her and a mind-controlled XV. The latter was controlled by another IX model. It's revealed that there are nine IXs in total, all trained by Burch and seven of them are banded together. Aphrodite is restrained and the cyborg council decides to put her in stasis, but Ares IX attacks using his android clones, the XVs. He recovers Aphrodite to fulfill a plan to destroy the world and remake it in their Mother's image, the woman Aphrodite refused to kill in the very first arc.

Marcus's assault on the cyber city is in full swing, aided by the guards being in disarray from Ares' previous attack. Aphrodite asks Marcus to stop killing the civilians, but he is blinded by his religious fervor. Meanwhile, the IXs Mother orders that the gen city be destroyed as well. The plan for the gen and cyborgs was never to see who is strongest, but who is easiest to rule over. A furious Marcus orders that the attack continue until they are all wiped out, then he gives command to one of his men. In the end, Aphrodite realises she can't love Marcus in his current state of mind. She later frees herself from any more mind control by breaking Burch's neck in a quick and painless scene.

[David Raz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the previous volume, I got this ebook as part of the Humble Comics Bundle: Sex & Science by Top Cow, so I can't comment about the price.
The story of Aphrodite and the IXs is taking shape. There is much more story in this volume, and it nicely opens the scene for the next volumes. On the other hand, without spoilers, I did not especially like one major plot turn, which seemed a bit arbitrary (and immediate) to me. I'm sure some will actually think it was brilliant, the authors certainly did.
The character building is still quite lacking. Aphrodite is mildly interesting, but I can't say there are any other characters that shine.
I was also slightly disappointed with the graphics. Don't get me wrong, they are still excellent, but Stjepan Šejić changed his style for this, and the new one is less phenomenal. There are still amazing two-page panoramas which catch the eye, and this is still a strong part of this volume as well.
Overall this is three and half stars out of five. I'm going to round to four this time.
I am going to follow Matt Hawkins's recommendation and read Cyber Force: Rebirth, Vol. 1 and Cyber Force: Rebirth Vol. 2 next, before moving on to Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force #1.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trade contains Aphrodite IX (vol. 2) issues 6-11 and Aphrodite IX: Hidden Files.

Volume 1 of Aphrodite IX: Rebirth took the core concepts and characters of a semi-decent, fan service heavy, action-fluff series from the late 90s and turned into a compelling, layered story of identity and survival amidst warfare in a fascinating post-aocalyptic world.

This second collections builds well off that strong start and escalates both the stakes and Aphrodite's understanding of the world and her intended purpose in it. The war between the Gen and the Speros continues, but forces outside of both dominant cities have plans of their own. There's a ridiculous amount happening in these six issues but it all unfolds logically and with enough framework to follow, while still managing several organic twists and surprises. There is also good effort made to tie this incarnation back to the original Aphrodite IX mini-series (providing just enough context and explanation that anyone who hasn't read it won't be lost).

Sejic has tweaked his painted art style a bit in these issues but it is just as impressive, detailed, and atmospheric.

Hidden Files is a collection of supplementary material with more about Aphrodite IX and her world. There's a timeline and character biographies that both provide a lot of detail that helps flesh out and solidify the background of Hawkins' tale. There's also a fantastic section entitled "Science Class" where Hawkins shares research related to the comic and the scientific background used/adapted, and a cover gallery (including variants) to close the trade.

This appears to be the end of the Aphrodite IX solo for now, with the next advertised trade/series to be Aphrodite IX/Cyberforce. While I'd prefer a little more time spent on Aphrodite's personal story (in fact a couple more issues wouldn't have hurt this trade), connecting the larger Top Cow Universe also has potential and I'm interested to see where Hawkins takes things from here.

Overall more incredible work from Hawkins and Sejic. Highly recommended.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe 1'5

Collects APHRODITE IX # 6-10 and APHRODITE IX: HIDDEN FILES #1

So... really?This run is proving to be some eye candy but not much... naked Aphrodite, naked Artemis (male), and some easy plot that jumps from place to place with some very identical characters that sometimes make it difficult to be up to date. I mean, the one with Artemis really looks like one of those cyborg people... the creation of David, the Executioner Jezebel's son with the backgrund voice of Aphrodite seemed like her birth... confusing.
And the story... let' just say it has managed to convince me not to keep following this line...

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know, I just don't care about the story. As I said in my review of the first volume, Aphrodite IX is way overpowered. Basically if she fights anyone, she always wins easily. If she tries to do anything, she pretty much always accomplishes her goals easily. I don't find her very likable either. And her design! She looks like a freaking clown! (Apparently she can alter her appearance so as to sneak around more effectively--so she can change the color of her hair and stuff, BUT she can't change the color of the GIANT GREEN DOT on her cheek. WHAT THE HECK?!??!? Great disguise, Aph, but everyone will notice your HUGE GREEN DOT on your cheek!)

Not to mention she offs Burch, the dude who was controlling her, mega-super-easily and frankly out of nowhere at the end of the book. I mean, early in the book, she has to team up with another Aphrodite Super Woman in order to get close to him. Then at the end, we see her thinking to herself something like, "I still need to kill Burch"--then the next page she has found him and I don't even know where or how or why.

After six issues of largely tedious storytelling. we get a seventh issue which is just a babe sitting in a chair reading world-building documents so readers can catch up... I mean, read basically everything they read in the last volume, but in a condensed and even more boring fashion.

Then we get "science class" in which the author includes lots of poorly written and scatterbrained paragraphs about his "research" on Wikipedia and other websites for his book, with lots of google weblinks so we can't even know what websites he was using.

But hey, if you want to use his comics for educational purposes, you can email him and he might give you the PDF for free use in your classroom! This is actually pretty cool, even if his research and writing didn't really impress me. He definitely comes across as enthusiastic, though!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 of Rebirth improves on elements of Volume 1, but then misses the mark slightly by ramming a lot of extra plot points into the mix. Its surprising how we go from a fan service based assassin, to future war, and then this.

Its still however an enjoyable read, full of character building, and the background story arc of Cyborgs vs Mutants is decent. The overall plot revelations are a little convoluted, but I appreciate the call backs to the 90s comic run. At the back of the Volume, there is a complete run down (3o ish pages) giving you additional information, such as timelines, character bios etc. This is so all the story actually links together, and makes sense. This probably would have been better incorporated into the actually comic panels instead, but its addition is still welcome.

The art style, its no longer screaming uncanny valley, and is now much restrained. Personally I prefer the new look here, but your mileage may vary.

Overall, a 4/5. Cynically I'd suggest Top Cow only brought Aphrodite back to use as a launch pad for other characters, but I'll have to look into that further to see how it pans out

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very confundida.
Siento que intentaron explicarme el final y aun así no me enteré de ninguno de los "misterios". Me gustaba que la historia mezclara tantas cosas, pero creo que eso fue lo que al final me terminó confundiendo jajaja.
La ilustración es HERMOSA un placer visual leer este comic, PERO, insisto, quede muy confundida, creí que entendia todo, pero no.

[Hannah Stranex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was better than the first volume - the art is of course phenomenal, and there was more backstory, but it's strange how everything seems to happen so fast. Aphrodite's love for Marcus came and went at the speed of light, and I struggled to give a shit about the conflict between the gens and the cyborgs. It's a very strange book.

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am starting to like this series. The stories are getting more complex, the characters are developing and a bunch of new characters are introduced.

I got this series as part of the Top Cow HumbleBundle.

[Lolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, the art is gorgeous! The only issue I had with the story is the heavy heavy politics, and I wanted some more backstory between Burch and Aphrodite. I want to know the connection between them and what he did. I loved the ending, and I have to admit this was a good read.

[Phil Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing horrible or great here. Just a very large story crammed into a small book. Two societies trying to save the world. A generation of cyborgs reuniting. God vs. Science. Crap way too much.

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda plot light this volume, but enjoyable nevertheless.

[JL Shioshita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot thickens and the Greek mythology tropes kick into high gear for this second installment. If you dug the first volume, it's definitely worth a read. If you didn't, it's more of the same.

[John Mccubbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aphrodite IX #6 Review

This was an amazing issue and a great continuation to the series so far, also being a great jumping on point for new readers. Matt Hawkins does an incredible job of following on from the first volume, and showing how Aphrodite IX copes on her own now that she has all her memories back, as although the issue wasn't necessarily as exciting as the others, it was very interesting and suspenseful, setting up the future of this story perfectly. Hawkins would also do an outstanding job of changing things up a bit, as although some of the changes seemed slightly sudden, they did add a lot more tension to the issue, making it that much more interesting and dramatic.

Read the rest of my review here: http://imaginationcentre.blogspot.co....

Aphrodite IX #7 Review

Matt Hawkins continues to deliver big time with Aphrodite IX, creating yet more amazing build-up and suspense throughout this issue. Hawkins also continues to add plenty of mystery throughout the story, with the overall intensity constantly growing with ever issue. Hawkins also develops the side-stories perfectly, as despite taking away ever so slightly from the overall suspense, he does add much more intensity and depth in it’s place. On top of that the overall character development also continues to impress me, with Aphrodite IX herself constantly growing into an more interesting character.

Read the rest of my review here: http://imaginationcentre.blogspot.co....

Aphrodite IX #8 Review

Matt Hawkins continued to do a great job with this issue, generating some intriguing development for the current story, whilst also building up more mystery at the same time. What I loved most from the issue was the way that Hawkins built the suspense, as with Aphrodite entering Speros there was always going to be some sort of conflict. Hawkins also continued to build the characteristics perfectly, having Marcus yet again make a background appearance, as well as teasing more about a new character. On top of this there was some amazing action with there also being a tremendous cliffhanger as well.

Read the rest of my review here: http://imaginationcentre.blogspot.co....

Aphrodite IX #9 Review

Matt Hawkins is taking a bold step with this issue by making it his first issue to have now narrative whatsoever. Now there are many writers who have do this on a regular basis so why dose this class as bold step. It does so as Hawkins is a writer renowned for his tremendous narration, being very outspoken for his reasoning of using it so frequently. Hawkins does however prove that he can write a story void of narrative with this being a smooth flowing exciting and emotional development point for Aphrodite IX. Hawkins also introduces more characters related to Aphrodite IX with the speculation of what will happen next having me more than excited.

Read the rest of my review here: http://imaginationcentre.blogspot.co....

Aphrodite IX #10 Review here: http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/comic...

Aphrodite IX #11 Review here: http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/...

[Khae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 continues the story that began in Rebirth Volume 1 and collects together issues 6 to 11 and Hidden Files. Again, the story is Written by Matt Hawkins with Stjepan Sejic as the artist and Troy Peteri as letterer.

The story starts where the last finished, with the continuing war between the Gen and the Cyborgs and Aphrodite searching for information about her past. From here new characters are introduced who expand Aphrodite's world and present some very interesting ideas in the way of technology, science, philosophy, religion and psychology. The story is in no way hard science fiction, but it is entertaining, and probably drew me in a lot quicker than Volume 1 did. There were elements of the story that were a little cliche, mainly in regards to the character of Robert Burch, but they do serve their purpose for the story in the end.

The Hidden Files issue acts as a general information rundown for interested readers as it gives a bit of background on various characters, the two warring races, technology, locations and the history of the world. It's a nice little addition that I appreciated, but it is, in fact, a little different to the stand alone Hidden Files issues, which also includes information on the 13 Artifacts found within the Top Cow Universe.

The photo-realistic painting that was present at times in Volume 1 is gone in Volume 2, which I think gives the pages a more rounded feel. As much as I like the art of the first Volume, I much prefer the art in this book.

The panelling of the pages is usually quite easy to follow and changes depending on the events of the page. Sometimes they may go down a single page and sometimes they go across two pages, but you can always tell how you are supposed to read it. Even the pages where there's a large image with overlaying panels is easy to follow, and some of them look beautiful.

The only time I got a little confused was during a scene where Aphrodite is narrating but the images are displaying the birth of a cyborg. At first, I thought these were the thoughts of the cyborg but realised that the narration matched more with the title character and that they were contained within the green box that indicated her narration.

A really interesting part of the book is the Science Class section near the end. In here Matt explains ideas behind the different technologies, sciences, religion and other concepts that are present in the story. As well as explaining his use and reason for including it, he also includes links to websites that he used in his research and that explain the ideas more thoroughly.

Recommended to people who enjoy comics with a lot of action mixed with interesting ideas in regards to science, technology and philosophy without being really heavy about it. It's an entertaining read and has fantastic artwork to boot.

[Robert Bussie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this book at a comic convention and was excited to read the sequel. However, I found this book confusing with slow tedious pacing. It was too wordy and had lots of story gaps that needed filling. The relationship between Aphrodite IX and the rest of the characters were very drab and I after reading this book I did not care about any of the other characters. The ending had a brief moment of potential with the other Aphrodite IXs but seems tacked on to end the story.

At the back of this trade is an exhaustive biography of characters and events. It is around a fourth of the size of the rest of the book. This is a problem. Why was this information not included in the actual story? It would have fleshed out the plot and made the reading more enjoyable. As is, the additional materials are written for hard core sci-fi fans who like reading sci-fi novels like Dune. As for me the story disappointed, but the book does have good art work.

[Larakaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a few things changed in comparison two volume 1 but I'm still not sure how to feel about this book. Sejic changed his drawing style to the way he's recognized for today in Sunstone etc. Moreover, on the one hand, the outfits for the women are less pin up, but early on there's a nude scene which is rather unnecessary. However, there are also quite a few topless male characters this time.

the story itself in a way zooms out of the conflict between the bioengineered and the cyborg people and reveals a lot about the time before and what's behind Aphrodite's origin. It's not mindblowing stuff but a lot of interesting topics in there. Like in the first volume there's a knowledge base in the back of the book, which is something I like.

[Keith Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comic continues where the first volume left off, moving beyond the immediate conflicts between cities of the last book and moving into the larger plot. I still, despite all of the details included, find the overall set-up hard to swallow. The action was nice and the exploration of the history of the main character continued well. And the shift in tone of the plot (relative to the first book) is interesting. But in the end, the art was more the star of the book than the plot or characters were. That speaks well for Sejic's art, but not so well for the writing.

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This concluded the rebirth of Aphrodite IX. I liked the whole new take on her origin story, the war between the Gens and the Cyborgs has been ended through an unexpected twist and a lot of promise on the upcoming new sci-fi series by Hawkins and Sejic featuring the Nines! Great read and a visual delight!"

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great graphic novel. I loved learning Aphrodite's origins.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited to see what's to come next for April (Aphrodite IX).

[Nat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow... this made no sense.