Featured Post

HotShot Pickleball @hspickleball is Live on @kickstarter

Image
Pick Your Pickle and Prepare for Puns: Pickleball's Board Game Just Launched. A fast, fun, irreverent board game that celebrates the joy of Pickleball. Fans of silly puns, pickles, and fast-paced games alike have a new game to add to their list of must-haves: HotShot Pickleball. This delightful card-drawing board game is quick to learn and gives a surprising amount of opportunity to lightly strategize as you race to the ball and attempt to hit it back over the net to your opponent. The debut release from indie studio Midnight Trading Co., HotShot Pickleball was made while game designer Robert Gelb was recovering from an Achilles injury sustained, ironically, by playing Pickleball. For those who haven’t heard of pickleball, it's the fastest-growing sport in the world, with over 32 million players last year. HotShot Pickleball is a lively, family-friendly game that combines the fun of the sport with a cast of quirky, pickle-themed characters like Stew Cumber, Kim Chee, and Corni...

Featured Review @TopCow Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force @TopCowMatt @StjepanSejic @Marc_Silvestri @ImageComics


Aphrodite IX/Cyber Force #1

A double-sized crossover event unlike any before! Two teams, seven centuries apart, united by one woman’s diabolical plan. The Chairwoman from CYBER FORCE 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 foundation for the new comic series IXth GENERATION, launching in 2015.



Preview





Review


See the Review Rating Overview page for more information on how I rate each comic


Cover & Solicit 5/5


This issues includes multiple covers. The first two are by interior artist Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade, Cyber Force and Army of Darkness) , which combine to show our two teams Cyber Force and the IXs. The other two variants are by the talented Marc Silvestri (Uncanny X-Men, Cyber Force, The Darkness) and feature Aphrodite IX. All four covers are beautifully done by the aritists.

Art, Colors & Inking 4/5


Sejic's continues his style of art from the final arc of Aphrodite IX and I have nothing to complain about. His images are breathtaking and the colors are vibrant. Sejic also does does a great job with the facial expression and the little background details. If you want to see him at his best just check out any of the double-page spreads throughout this issue.

Layout & Flow 5/5


The flow of this issue was very good as Hawkins and Sejic have been working toward this since issue #1 of Aphrodite IX. The issue explains a lot of what has been happening in both Cyber Force and Aphrodite IX and ties them together nicely without giving too much away, or too much repetition for existing readers. Mark also mentions that while they try to make it new user friendly that the issue is more toward those who have read both series, I'll have to slightly agree to a point as I feel this is a nice jumping on point for those who didn't have the chance to pick up both series. Now they can see what they were missing and it builds the excitement to read both series.

Story 5/5


Matt Hawkins (Cyber Force, Avengelyne, Think Tank) has done an excellent job of building this universe with Marc Silvestri, and this issue just emphasizes that. In this issue we finally get to see the details that lead up to the end of the world and the rebirth that has been Aphrodite IX: Rebirth's premise. Matt does a great job of tying in the last issue of Cyber Force with their mission to Russia. While it appears some time has elapsed and we know from solicits we will have more Cyber Force issues, I feel even without them they did a good job if this issue was considered Cyber Force's wrap-up. We also finally discover Chairwoman Turner's plans and how she planned to live on in the future not thru her daughter but in Aphrodite, and it somehow failed. She also planned her death by her daughter, Velocity aka Mother, knowing it will cause her to complete the endgame of CDI. I like the way Matt portrays Aphrodite in this issue, while all the other IXs seem to act if they are better, Aphrodite seems to have a soul and questions the morality of many things throughout the issue. The final pages lead into the future of the upcoming IXth Generation which will include Soloman's Coin and the Darkness.

Verdict - 4.7 (9.5/10) (Buy Aphrodite IXSAVE 10%


This issue I've wanted to read since I read issue #1 of Aphrodite IX and Cyber Force and realized they were somehow connected, and it definitely doesn't disappoint. Matt Hawkins does a great job of tying the universe he created along with Marc Silvestri's. The art by Stjepan Sejic is some of his best and I love seeing his take on Marc's Cyber Force characters. While not really intended for new readers I feel even if you haven't read either series this is still an excellent jumping on point, and will compel you to go back and read them. This is a must read, and I'd hurry because when IXth Generation comes out, I can guarantee you will want to add it to your pull-list.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

HotShot Pickleball @hspickleball is Live on @kickstarter

StarDriven: Gateway by Rock Manor Games Coming Soon to Gamefound