You know, I think it's fair to say that almost everyone has a moment in their life, somewhere in the teen years, where they realize that a lot of crummy stuff goes on in the world for no discernable reason. It's a pretty painful moment, passing from the naive innocence of youth to the pessimistic negativity of adulthood. That moment is why most teens have a pretty grumpy, angsty, few years where they work out how they, personally, are going to deal with life. Some people just let life make them angry and unhappy, some people try to find positive ways to make the world a better place, some people try to ignore the problem and hope it goes away, and some people plan armed and violent revolution. Well, that last option brings us to Scarlet.
Scarlet is a new creator-owned book from the well-known duo of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. If you've followed Bendis' work, you know there are really two versions of the fan-favorite writer. There is the Bendis who writes big, crazy superhero books like Avengers and Ultimate Spider-man, and there is the harder-edged Bendis who writes low-down and mean crime comics, like Jinx or Alias. (Not to forget Powers, which is kind of a mix of both.) I personally like both Bendis styles, though I know some tend to pick one or the other. Scarlet firmly falls in the latter category.
Scarlet is the story of a pretty average teenaged girl from Portland, with a pretty average life. At least until the day when the horrible unfairness of the world comes up and smacks her hard in the face. I won't give away what happens, but it turns her into the kind of girl who we see killing a cop in an alley on the first page of the book. She has her reasons, and she knows what she is doing is wrong, but she feels like she is doing what she has to do. Scarlet is certainly not the kind of person any of us would want to be, but she is an interestingly conflicted character.
Bendis tries out an interesting narrative technique for this book, with Scarlet breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader. She doesn't just make an occasional quip or aside to the reader ala Deadpool or She-Hulk. Scarlet talks directly to the audience, telling us her story in a way that quickly gets the reader involved in her world. Maleev's amazing artwork is a perfect fit for this story. His photo-realistic style captures Scarlet's very real world, and the muted colors add to the somber tone of this book. These creators have worked together before to great acclaim, and Scarlet seems perfectly designed to let them show off what they do best.
So, unleash your inner angsty teen (or just keep your outer one in place) and try out Scarlet #1 while it is Four Color Fantasies' Book of the Week. It is 100% guaranteed! So, you see, the world isn't really such a bad place. Guaranteed comics make people happy!
Scarlet is a new creator-owned book from the well-known duo of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. If you've followed Bendis' work, you know there are really two versions of the fan-favorite writer. There is the Bendis who writes big, crazy superhero books like Avengers and Ultimate Spider-man, and there is the harder-edged Bendis who writes low-down and mean crime comics, like Jinx or Alias. (Not to forget Powers, which is kind of a mix of both.) I personally like both Bendis styles, though I know some tend to pick one or the other. Scarlet firmly falls in the latter category.
Scarlet is the story of a pretty average teenaged girl from Portland, with a pretty average life. At least until the day when the horrible unfairness of the world comes up and smacks her hard in the face. I won't give away what happens, but it turns her into the kind of girl who we see killing a cop in an alley on the first page of the book. She has her reasons, and she knows what she is doing is wrong, but she feels like she is doing what she has to do. Scarlet is certainly not the kind of person any of us would want to be, but she is an interestingly conflicted character.
Bendis tries out an interesting narrative technique for this book, with Scarlet breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader. She doesn't just make an occasional quip or aside to the reader ala Deadpool or She-Hulk. Scarlet talks directly to the audience, telling us her story in a way that quickly gets the reader involved in her world. Maleev's amazing artwork is a perfect fit for this story. His photo-realistic style captures Scarlet's very real world, and the muted colors add to the somber tone of this book. These creators have worked together before to great acclaim, and Scarlet seems perfectly designed to let them show off what they do best.
So, unleash your inner angsty teen (or just keep your outer one in place) and try out Scarlet #1 while it is Four Color Fantasies' Book of the Week. It is 100% guaranteed! So, you see, the world isn't really such a bad place. Guaranteed comics make people happy!
