Athena IX #1

FROM THE PAGES OF IXth GENERATION COMES A ONE-SHOT SPECIAL EVENT! Ever the didact, Athena IX specializes in cruel, calculating instruction, manipulating her siblings and supplicants with the intellectual upper hand. But this is the Chairwoman's future, not hers, and some lessons must be taught more harshly than others.

This book takes place in a dystopic city many centuries in the future. The city is run by the tyrannical Athena IX - an entity designed as a god to “save” humanity from its predicted extinction. The story lets us know there are nine siblings that all rule certain parts of the world, but this one focuses only on Athena (though it mentions Aphrodite and Artemis).

What I found most striking about this book was that all the main characters are women. The protagonist and antagonist are both women - women who aren’t light-skinned, typical “beauties” like we see in many comics. As someone who is always longing for more diversity in comics, I really appreciated this touch. I also appreciated that the character of Athena, presented as a tyrannical, unfeeling overlord, is presented as such without any apology or backhanded explanation. She just is that way - something we don’t see in female characters too often.

I think that, in order to appreciate the book fully, prior knowledge of the world would be required. I wasn’t always sure how much I was supposed to know. I didn’t know whether I was supposed to root for Athena, or what the end game is (I still don’t, having finished reading). I didn’t find Athena likable, but the other main character wasn’t given much personality, so I could not root for her either. I think I’d like to see an expansion of the title, or I’d like to read more of the world building so I could have a better opinion.

This seems like a very interesting future world, but as a one-shot standalone it doesn’t really do much for me. It did, however, pique my interest in the world as a whole, and I’ll be seeking out other titles! So in that regard, it’s certainly doing its job.

Grab this one if you’re looking for a new sci-fi world to read about, and if you’re looking for a book that doesn’t throw the same type of boring protagonist at you that you’ve seen over and over.

You can find out more and purchase this title from Image Comics right over here!

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.