''Ascension'' was an American
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
created by
David Finch and Matt "Batt" Banning and published by
Top Cow
Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.
History
During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim ...
. It ran for 22 issues, from October 1997 to March 2000, and was then canceled due to low sales. In addition, there was a #0 bonus issue and a #1/2 ''
Wizard'' preview.
Publication history
Shortly after the start of the series, Batt left the title due to creative differences with Finch. Finch wrote and penciled the first half of the series.
David Quinn wrote most of the last half, starting with issue #13 (May 1999); most of the last half was penciled by
Brian Ching
Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years.
Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...
, though there were many issues penciled by fill-in artists.
Plot
The basic premise of the comic book series was that the 1986
Chernobyl disaster opened a rift in reality that allowed two
humanoid alien races with supernatural powers, the Mineans and Dayaks, to enter our world. The two races are at war, and it is hinted throughout the series that they have a close genetic relationship and close cultural ties with humanity, suggesting a mutual origin of some sort, though the series ended before the exact nature of that relationship could be made clear.
The two primary
protagonists, Andromeda Weaver, an ambitious
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...
, and Lucien Barnes, a hardened
mercenary soldier
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
, are caught up in this conflict. Both are transformed by mystical pages of the Mineans and Dayaks: Andromeda becomes a blue-skinned
empath
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, cog ...
, and Lucien grows
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
s and gains super-strength, enhanced speed, and the ability to teleport, becoming
gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
-like. The protagonists befriend Petra, the heir to the Minean throne. The protagonists are usually allied to the generally peaceable Mineans and are usually enemies of the aggressive Dayaks.
Story arcs
There were four major story arcs in the series:
* #0, 1/2, 1-6 (October 1997-May 1998): Andromeda and Lucien battle Voivodul, the evil Dayak sorcerer who attains god-like power.
* #7-12 (July 1998-April 1999): Andromeda and Lucien battle the chief disciple of Voivodul, Grigorieff, a human who is creating
mutant
In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
beast-like Dayaks. This story places ''Ascension'' within the canon Top Cow universe, with the arc featuring ''
Witchblade
''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers ...
'' villains such as
Kenneth Irons
Kenneth Irons is a fictional supervillain. He is depicted as the person behind nearly every evil deed in the Top Cow series '' Witchblade''.
Fictional character biography
Irons is the head of Irons International, businessman of the year of Fort ...
and Gavin Taylor.
* #13-19 (May–October 1999): Andromeda and Lucien battle Rowina, Petra's evil mother.
* #20-22 (November 1999-March 2000): Andromeda and Lucien battle General Caladon or Lord Shroud, an
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by supe ...
servant of Voivodul, and Shroud's army of
orc
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...
undead.
Collected editions
The series has never been collected into
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
, though there have been reprints of some of the early stories:
*''Ascension Collected Editions'' #1-2 (
prestige format
American comic book tropes are common elements and literary devices related to American comic books.
Continuity
Comics continuity almost-always refers to the existence and use of a shared universe, although any comic can have internal contin ...
comic books, collects ''Ascension'' #1-4, Top Cow, May–July, 1998)
*''Top Cow's Best of Dave Finch'' (includes ''Ascension'' #0-1, 240 pages, September 2006, )
References
*
*
{{refend
1997 comics debuts