REVOLUTION 9

In author London and illustrator Reno’s comics collection, a young assassin in the San Francisco Bay Area confronts the unresolved contradictions of her past, which requires her to make some unsettling choices.

Zealotry exerts a powerful pull on the mind, but it only takes one contradiction to weaken it. Velveteen learns this lesson the hard way as she carries out her grim assignments for the Order of Nine, a shadowy cabal with roots in ancient Rome. At first, she thinks nothing of her latest task—to kill Jasper Dean, a young hacker whose incredible coding abilities pose a serious threat to the organization. Just how much of a threat quickly becomes apparent when Jasper’s hackery reveals that the story of her own origins, as told to her by the Order, is a lie: “There’s no revolution. No great plan,” she concludes. The realization that she’s essentially been programmed to do someone else’s bidding hits hard, but it’s one that Velveteen has precious little time to ponder, as the Order is soon targeting her. She must find a way to keep herself—and Jasper, with all his secrets—alive. Readers will find themselves engaged by the pair’s navigation of the situation, in which the impulse to do right and the instinct to do what’s necessary to stay alive are often mutually exclusive. The resolution of this first installment, which covers the story’s first four issues, is delivered amid some graphic, eye-popping action sequences, and it serves as an effective repudiation of the brutal mindset of Volta, the Order’s extremist leader. As the author suggests, the end doesn’t always justify the means, nor does empathy equate to weakness, despite what Volta’s declaration that “Emotions are what make you untrustworthy.” It’s a timely and compelling reminder that readers will surely appreciate, especially in today’s hyperpolarized social climate.

A fast-moving but thoughtful tale of betrayal and enlightenment.