‘Scarlet #1’ (review)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Alex Maleev
Published by DC Comics

This is the book that I think every Bendis and Maleev fan has been waiting for.

Scarlet started in July of 2010 from Icon and only had ten issues come out until now. Even when it was coming out, it came out erratically at best.

Will this title being published by DC Comics have a better, more frequent schedule?

Tough to say at the moment. It’s even tougher to say whether people will buy it. While it’s very good, you have to read the other ten issues to know just what the hell is going on.

Bendis tried to catch the new reader up here but it’s all in one scene and it’s all exposition. The main character of Scarlet mostly talks to the audience to try to get them caught up. I just followed it and enjoyed the usual Bendis banter.

And the story behind the series is very compelling.

This is story of Scarlet, a young woman who is the victim of police corruption. She eventually fights back and while she does so, she gets the American people on her side. She does so well in fact, that people start to look at her as a leader.

And so here we are with this series.

At the start of the issue, we see two fighting factions, one being the law and the other being Scarlet’s army. We also see that the bridges from where we are in Portland, Oregon have been blown.

What’s happening here since the last series?

Then, Bendis has Scarlet give us the score by talking directly to the reader.

Then, we find ourselves in a war zone. It moves fast and I was always intrigued. The issue ends with a cliffhanger which was quite cool and I am excited to see what happens next.

Maleev is just at the top of his game. The art is great. The whole series has a new and inspired feel to it that I am just loving. I can’t wait to read the next issue and I hope they keep it going with a modicum of frequency. We’ve waited a long time for this issue, but at least it was good.

RATING: A