I just read the first three issues of Brian Michael Bendis' creator-owned Scarlet back-to-back and, I have to admit, it is fantastic. Scarlet is a vigilante formed after the killing of her boyfriend by a corrupt cop. She's out for vengeance. But not just anybody. She's out for vengeance against the whole corrupt system within the police department. For now, she's focusing on her own city, Portland, Oregon, but I can see her branching out eventually in her attempt to right the wrongs in the world. To quote her, "If this world has to burn to the ground before all the fuckers learn to stop being fuckers, then that's what its going to do." Love it.
Bendis writes Scarlet like John Byrne used to write The Sensational She-Hulk: the main character talks to the reader. She tells the reader a story...her story. That's one of the best aspects about this comic. When it's done right. And Bendis does it right with Scarlet.
I never found myself bored with any of the story. Bendis kept it moving along. We, the readers, feel like we're right there along with Scarlet. We feel her pain. We understand why she's upset and why she becomes what she's been forced to become.
Alex Maleev is the artist on Scarlet. He also worked with Bendis on the short-lived 2009-2010 Spider-Woman series. His style of art is different. It's dark with rough edges/lines, which suits Scarlet perfectly since it's a dark-themed story. There are bright spots (or highlights), though, in all the darkness, such as Scarlet's red hair. It stands out, much like the red that stood out in Sin City. Or Batwoman.
My only disappointment? I'm paying $3.95 for $2.95 of story. Like the new Avengers comics (that I've dropped for pricing and poor story reasons), the rest of Scarlet is just words on a page. The "filler" contains interview questions and answers from Bendis, as well as letters from readers and the responses to them. Not just one page, but pages and pages and pages. I was literally surprised in issue #3 when the story stopped about halfway through the comic I was holding.
I'm looking forward to reading Scarlet for many years to come, continuing down the same intriguing path. I only hope they can cut down on all the "chatter."
2 comments:
You know, I've had the itch to read some independent projects. Maybe I'll chekc this out. The covers look nice. Bendis is respectable enough. Why not?
I've always been disappointed in "independent" comics, but Scarlet is pretty damn good! Although I guess it's not technically "independent." It falls within the Marvel realm, so it's a bridge between the two.
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