Ascension (comics)

Last updated
Ascension
Publication information
Publisher Top Cow Productions
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
Genresee below
Publication dateOctober 1997 - March 2000
No. of issues22 (and a #0 and #½)
Creative team
Created by David Finch
Written by David Finch
Artist(s) Matt Banning
Brian Ching
Collected editions
Top Cow's Best of Dave Finch ISBN   1-58240-638-3

Ascension was an American comic book series created by David Finch and Matt "Batt" Banning and published by Top Cow. 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.

Contents

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, 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, and Lucien Barnes, a hardened mercenary soldier, are caught up in this conflict. Both are transformed by mystical pages of the Mineans and Dayaks: Andromeda becomes a blue-skinned empath, and Lucien grows wings and gains super-strength, enhanced speed, and the ability to teleport, becoming gargoyle-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:

Collected editions

The series has never been collected into trade paperbacks, though there have been reprints of some of the early stories:

Related Research Articles

A Modest Destiny is a pixel art webcomic created by Sean Howard. The comic started in January 2003 and ran until 2010. It consists of four chapters and one side story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Frank (comics)</span> British comics artist

Gary Frank is a British comics artist, notable for pencilling on Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, both written by J. Michael Straczynski. He has also worked with author Peter David on The Incredible Hulk and Supergirl. He had a creator-owned series, Kin, which he wrote himself, published by Top Cow Productions in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Lanning</span> English comic book writer and inker

Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Silvestri</span> American comic book creator

Marc Silvestri is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He serves as CEO of both Top Cow Productions and Image Comics.

Dwayne Turner is an American comic book artist and illustrator in the film and video game industry.

<i>Superman Adventures</i>

Superman Adventures is a DC Comics comic book series featuring Superman. It is set in the continuity of Superman: The Animated Series. It ran for 66 issues between 1996 and 2002. Writers on the series included Paul Dini, Mark Evanier, Devin Grayson, Scott McCloud, Mark Millar, and Ty Templeton. It is a sister title to The Batman Adventures and Justice League Adventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Zulli</span> American artist

Michael Zulli is an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Jenkins (writer)</span> British comic book writer

Paul Jenkins is a British comic book writer, screenwriter, novelist, and narrative director. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, Jenkins had a big part shaping the characters of the company, helping via the Marvel Knights imprint to propel Marvel from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before choosing to focus on independent publications. He is also noted for his groundbreaking narrative work in the field of video games, and is recognized as one of the world's preeminent "cross-media" creators for his work across such multiple media as animation, video games, comic books, and film.

Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer, known for his work on such titles as X-Force, Scarlet Traces, H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and Leviathan.

<i>Sojourn</i> (comics)

Sojourn is a fantasy comic book series published by CrossGen. The series follows the adventures of the archer Arwyn and her companions as they battle undead dictator Mordath. Unlike other CrossGen comics, Sojourn does not center on a Sigil-Bearer, but instead depicts a villainous Sigil-Bearer whom the heroes are tasked with defeating. It ran for 35 issues from 2001 to 2004 until it was forced to end by the bankruptcy of CrossGen. For a time, this series was Crossgen's highest grossing comic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Dodson</span> American comic artist

Terry Dodson is an American comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work on titles such as Harley Quinn, Trouble, Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and Uncanny X-Men. His pencils are usually inked by his wife Rachel Dodson, who is a comic book inker and colorist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Finch (comics)</span> Canadian-born comics artist

David Finch is a comics artist known for his work on Top Cow Productions' Cyberforce, as well as numerous subsequent titles for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, such as The New Avengers, Moon Knight, Ultimatum, and Brightest Day. He has provided album cover art for the band Disturbed, and done concept art for films such as Watchmen.

<i>Curse of the Spawn</i>

Curse of the Spawn is a spin-off of Todd McFarlane's popular Spawn comic book series. The book introduced other Hellspawns and characters in the "Spawniverse". It was published by Image Comics from September 1996–March 1999 and has been collected into multiple trade paperbacks. There were 29 issues in all.

<i>Hack/Slash</i> Comic book series

Hack/Slash is a comic book series, launched from several one shots of the same name, published by Image Comics. The series was created by writer and sometime penciller Tim Seeley. The series follows horror victim Cassie Hack as she strikes back at the monsters who prey upon teenagers. These monsters are known as "slashers", and are a mix of original villains and crossover appearances, such as the appearance of Re-Animator in Volume 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hine</span> English comic book artist and writer

David Hine is an English comic book writer and artist, known for his work on Silent War and The Bulletproof Coffin.

<i>Tomb Raider</i> (comics) Comic books based on the Tomb Raider video games

Tomb Raider comic book series is based on the video game franchise Tomb Raider, currently produced by Crystal Dynamics, which features the character of Lara Croft. The original series of comics, which were released between 1999 and 2005, were published by Top Cow and were primarily based on the games released by Core Design. In 2014, following the reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, the series was revived and is currently being published by Dark Horse Comics. The new timeline of events is based upon the rebooted iteration of Lara Croft and her adventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Galactus Trilogy</span> Comic books

"The Galactus Trilogy" is a 1966 three-issue comic book story arc that appeared in Fantastic Four #48-50. Written, co-plotted and drawn by Jack Kirby with editor Stan Lee for Marvel Comics, it introduced the characters Galactus and the Silver Surfer. In 2018, The Atlantic called it "the indisputable pinnacle of the so-called Silver Age of comic books".

<i>Marvel Zombies</i> (series) Comic book metaseries by Marvel Comics

Marvel Zombies is a comic book metaseries published by Marvel Comics. The series features zombie versions of Marvel Universe superheroes and supervillains who have been portrayed as both protagonists and antagonists through the different limited series within the metaseries.

<i>Batman: Battle for the Cowl</i>

"Batman: Battle for the Cowl" is a 2009 comic book storyline published by DC comics, consisting of an eponymous, three issue miniseries written and penciled by Tony Daniel, as well as a number of tie-in books. The central story details the chaos in Gotham City following the "Batman R.I.P." and "Final Crisis" story arcs, due to Batman's absence. His disappearance is caused by the character's apparent death at the hands of Darkseid in Final Crisis, which causes dissension in the ranks of his allies and enemies who fight for the right to become the new Batman.

Joyce Chin is a comic book penciler, inker, colorist, and cover artist. She has created content under the Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW Publishing labels. A large portion of Chin's work has been in creating comic book covers.

References