Publisher: Marvel/Icon
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Cover: Alex Maleev
*Minor Spoilers*
“Scarlet pt 2”: Taking place over a ten week period we get a bit more out of Scarlet and her preparation for what she calls a “revolution.” After doing some investigative work of her own, Scarlet finds out that one of the officers involved in her case has quit the force and is now working at a diner. She approaches him, and after he explains his reasons for quitting the force and how he was threatened by his fellow officers, Scarlet asks for his help. He’s not sure what to make of this, but quickly explains that this corruption goes a lot farther than just one dirty cop, and then he refuses her request. She does press him further and makes it clear that she doesn’t want to kill them, but expose them to the people, however he still isn’t interested in helping and tells her to move on with her life. So she does, but it’s in the direction of the newly promoted officer who murdered her boyfriend, put a bullet in her head, and made Portland believe that they were dangerous drug kingpins that deserved it.
After being thoroughly impressed with Bendis’s first issue of Scarlet, I had very high expectations of this story. This issue does a great job of keeping the momentum from the previous one and builds on it. Bendis does this by making it so much more than just some common tale of revenge, because if it was just that simple her story would end in this issue here. The hints that it’s so much more are stated in two parts of the book, which would be Scarlet’s extensive two page and twelve panel conversation with the reader, along with her conversation with the former police officer.
Maleev is consistently giving as much of the story visually as Bendis is with his words. No offense to Bendis’s script, but many of the panels don’t even need captions for you to clearly know what’s going on. He’s been spot on at conveying the emotion needed for each panel, and even when it’s just Scarlet from panel to panel he tweaks the coloring and light to keep the eye from getting bored and the reader from just skimming through.
Bendis and Maleev have something really good here, and I’m so hoping that what is starting off as one of the better new books to come out this year can maintain this level of story telling. So if you haven’t tried this series, I’d suggest at least picking up the first two issues and see for yourself if Scarlet’s story is worth all of the praise and attention it’s been getting.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
This team has never failed to entertain me…Maleev is one of the best realistic artists out there right now…maybe I will actually go out and buy a comic!
Boo! Bring back Spider-Woman! 😀
Billy are you the only guy that liked the Spider-Woman story? Personally I haven’t read it so I can’t comment on it but from the people I know that have read it they say it wasn’t his shining moment.
@Speech- You’d better hope Andy doesn’t read that (He was a big fan too!). I know a lot of CCL’ers complained about its cancellation as well.
Well I may have to give it a try at some point and form my own opinion. And didn’t Andy like the Spider-Man Clone Saga? hmmmm? 🙂