Aphrodite IX

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caption=Aphrodite IX
comic_color= background: #8080ff
character_name=Aphrodite IX
real_name=
publisher=Top Cow Productions
debut= "Aphrodite IX" 0 (1996)
creators= David Finch
David Wohl
alliance_color=background: #ffc0c0
status=Active
alliances=
previous_alliances=
aliases=
relatives= none
powers= Superhuman Strength

Aphrodite IX is 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.

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, as 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 cyborgs attempting to undermine the legitimate government.

History of the series

Issue number 0 was released with an issue of Wizard 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), implying that Finch's work habits were responsible for the delays, 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-ups" 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. The subtitle implies that this is the first collected arc of an ongoing publication.

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.

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 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

* [http://www.topcow.com/comics/3/current 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).