Aphrodite IX
Encyclopedia
Aphrodite IX was a comic book series published by the Top Cow imprint of Image Comics
. The comic series carries a sci-fi theme and is named after the central character of the series, Aphrodite IX. Aphrodite IX is written by David Wohl
and drawn by comic book artist David Finch.
s attempting to undermine the legitimate government.
magazine on November 30, 1996. Originally appearing on the Top Cow solicitation schedule as a monthly title, to date only 6 issues and one trade paperback have ever been published. The 2000 publication year saw the release of issues 1 and 2. Before issue number 3 was released in early 2001, Finch was replaced with artist Clarence Lansang (the issue features artwork by both artists), yet only two more issues would be published during Lansang's tenure (number 1/2, a place-holder issue recapping previous story events and containing ten pages of "pin-up
s" by various artists, and number 4 which continued the story but did not finish it). Aphrodite IX still appears on the Top Cow website as a "current" publication, although Wohl has since moved on to other projects.
A trade paperback, Aphrodite IX: Time Out of Mind, collecting all extant issues, was released in 2003.
An anime of Aphrodite IX was being developed, but aside from a trailer released in early 2005 there has been little apparent activity or news on the project.
An android similar to Aphrodite IX, identified as Aphrodite IV, appeared in a page from Top Cow's ongoing series Cyberforce
.
An Aphrodite is featured on the cover Witchblade
#119, where she is shown wielding the Witchblade itself. The Aphrodite is confirmed to be IV, the same one stalking the Cyberforce
. The cover, showing Aphrodite IV wielding the Witchblade, may seem a bit misleading, as she does not actually wear the Witchblade in this issue. During the Artifacts limited series, Aphrodite IV is hired by an unknown person who desires to bring all Thirteen artifacts together.
at the end of each mission, apparently to protect her masters if not herself.
The character's appearance is her trademark: kelly-green makeup and hair (including an oversized spot on one cheek), form-fitting outfits ringed with ammo belts, thigh-high lug soled boots. She typically carries a very large knife on her belt and one or more large guns.
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. The comic series carries a sci-fi theme and is named after the central character of the series, Aphrodite IX. Aphrodite IX is written by David Wohl
David Wohl
David Wohl is an American comic book writer and editor. He is best known as an editor at Marvel Comics and Top Cow Productions and, at the latter, writing The Darkness and Witchblade.-Biography:...
and drawn by comic book artist David Finch.
Plot
Aphrodite IX is a female android who suffers from amnesia shortly after being sent on undercover missions. This leads to ongoing confusion about what she does and for whom, exacerbated by subsequent episodes of amnesia. Although she becomes aware that she is intended as an assassin, she finds the idea increasingly distasteful and experiences dreams and desires like a human. This begins to undermine her morale but not her efficiency, for her conditioning takes over as her masters or survival circumstances require. When she seeks out clues to her past and true identity, she stumbles onto a conspiracy involving a secret society of cyborgCyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s attempting to undermine the legitimate government.
History of the series
Issue number 0 was released with an issue of WizardWizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
magazine on November 30, 1996. Originally appearing on the Top Cow solicitation schedule as a monthly title, to date only 6 issues and one trade paperback have ever been published. The 2000 publication year saw the release of issues 1 and 2. Before issue number 3 was released in early 2001, Finch was replaced with artist Clarence Lansang (the issue features artwork by both artists), yet only two more issues would be published during Lansang's tenure (number 1/2, a place-holder issue recapping previous story events and containing ten pages of "pin-up
Pin-up girl
A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall...
s" by various artists, and number 4 which continued the story but did not finish it). Aphrodite IX still appears on the Top Cow website as a "current" publication, although Wohl has since moved on to other projects.
A trade paperback, Aphrodite IX: Time Out of Mind, collecting all extant issues, was released in 2003.
An anime of Aphrodite IX was being developed, but aside from a trailer released in early 2005 there has been little apparent activity or news on the project.
An android similar to Aphrodite IX, identified as Aphrodite IV, appeared in a page from Top Cow's ongoing series Cyberforce
Cyberforce
Cyberforce is an Image Comics super-hero team created by artist Marc Silvestri and writer Eric Silvestri in 1992. Silvestri would begin performing both the plotting and pencilling chores, but the series was subsequently drawn by other artists, including David Finch...
.
An Aphrodite is featured on the cover Witchblade
Witchblade
Witchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
#119, where she is shown wielding the Witchblade itself. The Aphrodite is confirmed to be IV, the same one stalking the Cyberforce
Cyberforce
Cyberforce is an Image Comics super-hero team created by artist Marc Silvestri and writer Eric Silvestri in 1992. Silvestri would begin performing both the plotting and pencilling chores, but the series was subsequently drawn by other artists, including David Finch...
. The cover, showing Aphrodite IV wielding the Witchblade, may seem a bit misleading, as she does not actually wear the Witchblade in this issue. During the Artifacts limited series, Aphrodite IV is hired by an unknown person who desires to bring all Thirteen artifacts together.
Main characters
Aphrodite IX - Aphrodite IX is a self-aware android designed to carry out undercover missions of infiltration and assassination. Although she has been trained to kill, Aphrodite IX retains no memory of her actions; her brain is designed to experience an episode of amnesiaAmnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
at the end of each mission, apparently to protect her masters if not herself.
The character's appearance is her trademark: kelly-green makeup and hair (including an oversized spot on one cheek), form-fitting outfits ringed with ammo belts, thigh-high lug soled boots. She typically carries a very large knife on her belt and one or more large guns.
External links
- Top Cow "Current Comics" page, including a link to the Aphrodite IX listing (note that all of the listed publication dates are incorrect — the trade paperback is listed as having appeared a year to the day after it actually was released, and all other issues are listed as having been released on November 30, 1999).
- Aphrodite IX at the Internet Movie DataBase