In this review of Revolution 9 #1, readers are introduce to Velveteen, an assassin who decides to turn on the order who taught her everything she knows. But why?
Revolution 9 #1
Written by: Mark London
Art: Carlos Reno
Main Cover by: Rossi Gifford
Variant Covers: Raymund Bermudez
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: September 25, 2024
When I first got a glimpse of Revolution 9 #1, my first thought was that it was a typical assassin series. However, Mad Cave Studios promised that as a piece of a larger universe they’re calling Underworld, readers would be surprised. They were correct. Revolution 9 #1 turned out to be a great start that mixes a lot of different ideas from previous works into a unique story of betrayal and payback on several levels.
Revolution 9 focuses of an ancient group of nine “bosses” tasked with ultimately saving the world. The ninth boss, Volta, controls 9 premiere assassins. Velveteen, the ninth of these assassins, serves as Volta’s best. Velveteen herself has secrets as well. We’ll look at the most important one a little later. However, London immediately introduces us to Velveteen’s early history. She was one of two sisters in an orphanage. She protected her sibling and killed a guard who hurt her. He sister was adopted. Velveteen was not. Instead, she was taken in by Volta and the Order of Nine, who trained her as a killer with the “mission” of killing those who would destroy the world.
Velveteen is sent to kill Jasper, a young hacker who has stumbled upon the history of the Order of Nine, but has zero clue as to what to do with it. She doesn’t go through with the kill order, however. In fact, Velveteen turns on the Order of Nine, taking the information that was hacked and running off with her target. In the process, she kills one of her closest friend in the Order. She and Jasper finds themselves at a safe house set up by someone named Pazzi.
It’s here readers learn the ancient history of the Order of Nine and their place throughout history since then. We also learn more about their mission to create a “planetary monarchy.” It’s also the point where we learn Velveteen’s biggest secret and likely the reason she ultimately turned on the Order of Nine. They assigned he to take out a presumed American activist. Velveteen succeeded with that mission with ease. As she looked upon her kill, she recognize familiar “alien eyes.” Velveteen had been ordered to assassinate her own sister.
We don’t get much further, however. The issue ends with an explosion at the door. The Order has found Jasper and Vee.
After reading Revolution 9 #1, flashbacks to several movies that I’ve seen in the past. The Order of Nine, and particularly their “mission” gave me vibes of Wanted and how the Loom of Faith “determined” who needed to die. You get a similar feeling in seeing how Velveteen was tricked into killing her own sister, much like James McAvoy’s Wesley was tricked into killing is own father. The question for readers, however, is why? Vee’s sister was described as an activist. But how was she a threat to the Order? Was it due to the work she did or was it because who she actually was (as Velveteen’s sister)? Also, who is Thorn? Despite being a member of the Nine, Volta appears to take orders from this person.
It will be interesting to learn about the other figures in Velveteen’s life, past and present. Who who Cain, the guy that Velveteen was in love with before he was killed. Did the Order of Nine demand his death. Pazzi appears to be some type of government agent, but could she be more. Mark London lays down a lot of groundwork with these questions. Can he answer them within the series’ four issues while establishing the overall universe that is Underworld?
Carlos Reno’s art in Revolution 9 #1 is really nice. the linework is really good. Is there is one complaint, it’s that the action and movement of a panel doesn’t show through as much as I would prefer, particularly in the fight scenes. The colors from Jão Canola, however, just really sets the tone for what we are visually reading throughout the pages of the issue. I do wonder if Velveteen and her sister were meant to be twins. Whether a the beginning of the issue or as Velveteen looks into the dead eyes of her sister, the two look exactly alike.
Final Thoughts
Revolution 9 #1 is a good kick off to the series. It ends with several thought-provoking questions that I hope get answered by the time issue #4 hits the stands. I hope the series lays better groundwork as to how it fits in to this new universe Mad Cave and its creators are developing.
Mad Cave Studios provided The Comic Book Spot with an advance copy of Revolution 9 #1 for review purposes. Find more reviews here. If you would like to buy a copy of this title, and help support the Comic Book Spot at the same time, consider purchasing this book at Amazon, My Comic Shop, or at Things From Another World.
