Cryptocracy

Cryptocracy #1-6

by Van Jensen (Writer), Pete Woods (Illustrator)

For time beyond memory, the Nine Families watched from the shadows, believing themselves shepherds and manipulating whole societies as they saw fit. Nothing happened that they didn't observe or control. Outsiders knew naught of the Families, much less threatened them. Until now.
Van Jensen (Green Lantern Corps, The Flash) and Pete Woods (Action Comics, Deadpool) join forces for a high-octane sci-fi thriller. Delve into a conspiracy millennia in the making.

Collecting: Cryptocracy 1-6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery

152 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2017

About the author

Van Jensen is the acclaimed author of the award-winning GODFALL trilogy (Grand Central). The sci-fi/thriller genre mashup series is in development for TV with Academy Award winner Ron Howard attached to direct and Jensen serving as executive producer.

Jensen was born and raised in the farm country of Western Nebraska where he wrote and drew stories as soon as he could hold a pencil. He became a newspaper crime reporter, then a magazine editor, and eventually an author of comic books and graphic novels. He has written some of the world’s biggest characters, including James Bond, Godzilla, and The Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics. His original graphic novels include ARCA (IDW), Two Dead (Simon & Schuster/Gallery 13), Two Dead (Dark Horse), and Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer (Top Shelf/IDW).

He also writes and produces for film and TV.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series had me at nine secret families who rule the world, given my love of conspiracy theories.
Jensen and Wood may have bitten off more than they can chew taking on the Illuminati and cryptids though along with ancient prophesies. That being said, if this evolved into more about the cryptids and less about the nine ruling families (We've already seen that done quite well in 100 Bullets.), I'm in. Jason the Bugbear and Gary the Gray were fantastic characters. Chronos, Hum, and Temple not so much.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book one part Conspiracy Theory (does anyone remember this movie?), one part X-Files and one part House of Cards! If that doesn't get you excited about this series I don't know what will!! Recommended

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should be right up my alley, but it isn't. I like the general idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. I had problems with the characterization, pacing and the tone of the art.

[Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between 3.75 and 4. I love conspiracy stories and "shadow governments" (all hail X-Files!) so I was excited to hear about this series. It read well, not too fast like a lot of comics today, and it laid great groundwork for a continuing series. Are we going to get more? Van Jensen's writing and Pete Woods' art blended perfectly together providing an in depth history with art that I enjoyed immensely. Two issues with the series come to mind. Pull back on the use of cryptids, with the exceptions of Jason the bugbear and Gary the Grey. I don't think we need a ton of mythical creatures each story. And please, for the love of Pete, change the font being used when the greys talk. My old eyes can't decipher it!

[Chad Bunch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great concept, poor execution.

The concept is intriguing and very creative: a group of nine families secretly rule the earth and pull the strings of all politicians and world leaders. I loved the book without opening it after reading the solicit.

However, the execution of the story is terrible, in my opinion. Jensen writes a juvenile story for children, while trying to "adultify" it by adding in violence and plenty of profanity. The dialogue was weak and forced; the action sequences were cliche; the forced humor was awful.

With all due respect to Pete Woods, who draws better than I ever could, I did not particularly like his abstract-style art either. If the art were sharper and more eye-appealing, perhaps I would not be so harsh on the book overall. Alas, this is a failure in my eye.

[Debora Santo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get hooked into this comic, as the first one or two issues of this collection jumped from one two-page glimpse into one part of the story to another, not providing enough connection or continuity for the reader who is just getting introduced to this universe. But it kept getting better and I loved how detailed and precise the illustrations are, so I give it four stars in the end. I really like Jason, the Bugbear agent. But I dislike that this is the end of this comic series for now, because I feel it had more in it than just these six issues.

[Jeff Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good secret society story as much as the next guy, and Cryptocracy is a strange one that is sometimes overwrought and other times pretty great. And sometimes there’s a talking bear. Still, there’s a lot of weirdness here, and it’s a multigenerational Illuminati-style tale, so it’s hitting a lot of my notes even though it might not hit yours.

If this is something you think you’d be into, you’ll probably like it, but I wouldn’t necessarily take a flier on it if you’re iffy on this genre.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to several other recent series (Lazarus being most prominent) but unique enough to be worth reading on its own merits.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really awesome concept, and I like the idea so much that I am giving it a four star rating, even though it’s probably more deserving of a three. The characters are a little flat; Graham is the hero, but he’s kind of a bumbling idiot who sucks at communicating. And somehow always manages to pull through (everyone in the top two levels has a bracelet - why is he the only one who can manage to survive???) I do like the rebel girl, but they flipped her side too quickly, which cheapened her character. The idea of this ruling body is pretty awesome though. And the explanation for why no scary creatures are in the world. I love Gary and the scrubbers- they’re pretty awesome. The bear guy was just odd. Not sure why he was pulled from the gated place to help the Mars family? Also the names they chose for people was odd, Mars is the god of war, yet Galina from another family had more balls than anyone and actually faced the Hum dude. And how e did he not die? I am curious to see where by are going win Chronos though. I like mythology, so seeing the names, I’m wondering how they will tie into the characterizations of those myth. I plan to continue reading this as more episodes are released, but I’m not blind to its weaknesses. I’m just intrigued enough to want to know more. So I guess that makes it deserving of the four stars.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I groaned when the first page of the first issue was used to depict the Nine Families and their levels. Do I really need to read another Secret Order book, after following Lazarus and the Black Friday Murders? The answer, surprisingly, was yes.
Cryptocracy goes off in a different direction early on, focusing more on external threats than internal politics, with a powerful foe appearing almost immediately and destabilizing the secret order. Our protagonist, Grahame is a little bland, but that's intentional, and it helps to ground the crazy world around him (like his Bugbear familiar and one of the more creative iterations of the little gray men "alien" stereotype). There's a lot of action included, and it all falls straight out of the plot. The artwork is a good balance of cartoony and realistic and the color use makes everything feel a little warmer than it would have otherwise. The world-building served as a basis without subsuming the story, and the story and characters get lots of room for betrayals, secrets, and surprises. All in all, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would from that first page, and will be following to see where it goes.

[Social_Sloth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine families control the world from behind the scenes. They manipulate everything that happens and eliminates the thoughts, and the people behind them, who dare attempt to unveil their operations. Now a stranger from the North comes and fulfills prophecy after prophecy leading up to Kronos' revival.
I like everything about this comic, the concepts, execution, characters, art, everything. Gramhame, pretty much the main character, has an interesting conflict going on, he's loyal to a fault when commands are coming from his Elder, but is up to challenging the next in line to the Elder position if they are not the type of leader that he would get behind. Basically lawfully good trying to change the law... Not sure that makes sense... Then there's Gary the Gray, who is one of the best characters every, Jason the Bugbeard, basically Bramhame's brother, and then some humans here and there.
They're all great, and then they have to stop the world, so what's not to like?

[MonumentToDecency · Rating 4 out of 5]

Draw the shutters and put on your tinfoil hat, the Grays are coming. And the Mothmen aren't far behind.

You want conspiracies that go all the way to the uppermost echelons of our government and military; mind-controlling thought police that can sense when you even nearly think about a controlled subject; corruption in the name of balance and control. Ha, and all this time you though it was the Rockefellers.

Come meet The Nine as they get their collective behinds kicked from here to Kingdom Come by a meek 'hero' named Hum.

And seriously, don't forget the foil.

There are more issues in the Cryptocracy series however this volume stands alone well. The story ends properly and doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger. Though it does suggest 'this is just the beginning'.

My rating: 4 Chemtrails out of 5

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically the Fantasy version of the superb sci-fi comic Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family. It’s about how nine families secretly rule the world, Illuminati style, making it an entry into both the Secret World and Secret History genres. There’s nothing mind-blowing here, it’s just a solid comic book tale with monsters and talking bears and stuff.

The art is mostly decent, but there are a few times where it’s unclear what’s happening because of the angles chosen. Artists should be less cutesy and more focused on the fundamentals when it comes to storytelling.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many good ideas here but the book felt extremely rushed. Author Van Jensen tells the story of an Earth that's secretly controlled by an uber-Illuminati called The Nine that have controlled everything for centuries. The book has way too many moving pieces for only 6 issues. This would have been much better served by making this story 30 issues. The book is smart and interesting but just sped through so many things. Pete Woods has some really good panels here and then those that look unfinished. Almost as if they were rushed as well. Overall, intriguing but ill-paced.

[Justin Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good.

I wish it was a lot longer. The story in these six issues really deserves to have been 30+, which would have let us really flesh out the characters and worldbuilding. There’s so much cool stuff going on; I just want to revel in it longer. As it is, it feels more like a highlights reel than the full story.

But it was really good, and set up an excellent plot moving forward that I hope gets continued someday.

[Lukas Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great, but I feel like they could have padded it a bit more and given some of the story a bit longer to develop. It's very fast, which is fun, but some of the mysteries or story lines exist for only two pages before resolution. While that can be very fulfilling, I enjoy it so much I would not mind some better pacing. Still great though.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this series was continuing, as the series is at a cliffhanger. However, from what I've been able to find the last issue/TPB came out in 2017 so I imagine this is it. Without any sort of continuation, the world building was a bit whack and the fact that it doesn't continue makes the story feel sort of pointless. It was a fun read, interesting concept and I absolutely love this art style.

[Nadine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The world is secretly controlled by nine families that are so technologically advanced it seems magic. The concept is fine, the characters are fine, the art style is typical (but good) super hero comic book. The story was a bit too quick and heroic, I would've liked more intrigue and small scenes instead of action scene after action scene.

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know I love a good conspiracy theory, and this comic brings forth a worldwide, all-encompassing one. Solid comic-y art, with easy to follow action and distinct characters. Not outstanding, but I'd read more.

[Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Lazarus where the globe is carved up by ruling families. 5 stars because of the Denver International Airport secret base and Blucifer shown in one of the panels. Also, bugbears and grays and fun plot.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept and story. Read this as part of Book Riot's Read Harder 2018 Challenge. Normally I wouldn't gravitate towards graphic novels, but this was a nice surprise, even if I wouldn't likely read more.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great artwork and story. I believe this book is the basis to my roommate's conspiracy theories. First day I met him he told me a lot of crazy things. Then I read this book and said to myself "This sounds familiar" LOL

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor dialogue and plot. Characters that were not believable. Not good.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's going to be more of these, right? There has to be, this was epically fascinating, and I *have* to know what happens!

Real rating: 4.5 stars

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an original premise in general but the writing is good and it kept me interested. I'll certainly give volume 2 a chance.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was clearly written to be the first part of a series that ended up not being continued, which is sad because it was interesting and the art was very good.

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for something a little more convoluted. It seemed a pretty straight forward story; With a title like cryptocracy, I was hoping for more.

[John Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nine Families have ruled the world in secret
forever.
Their rule is absolute.
Controlling every aspect of our lives.
All from the shadows.
Unknown.
Unchallenged.
Until a prophecy from their forgotten past
returns to break their empire apart.
One son of Nine Families is thrust
into this war and must learn secrets kept even
from him to save everything he has known.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world is ruled by families who work behind the scenes, pulling strings, manipulating events to be what they want. Until a mysterious man named Hum begins to kill the family patriarchs in an attempt to bring about a dark prophecy.

Jensen and Woods have created a fascinating and terrifying world where conspiracies are more than just theory. I appreciate how they attempted to blend mythology with science fiction technology. Talking animals, aliens, dragons, and Mass Effect-like wrist holo-computers blend together to create an action-packed, no holds barred fight for the future of the planet. The fun part is, who are you supposed to cheer on?

While it appeared that this was a stand alone volume, the ending (no spoilers!) hinted at further volumes to come. Phew!

http://novelmyths.blogspot.com/2017/0...