janjakubec

What would happen if someone decided to change things? Not complain, not protest, not write their congressman--actually stand up and hold the people in power accountable for what they do with the only punishment they seem to understand? That's the driving force behind Scarlet, the story of a girl (named Scarlet) whose life is shattered by the arrogant, drug-fueled actions of a crooked cop. When she discovers that not only was the truth covered up but he was granted a promotion, Scarlet snaps. She realizes she cannot go to the police or the courts. She cannot work within the system to fix her problem because the system IS the problem. Scarlet takes her time, collects evidence, and then murders him in cold blood. Is it wrong? People don't seem to think so. What about the second time she does it? Or the third? What happens when citizens decide that the government doesn't work like it should and that no one will fix it because the people who could are too busy profiting from the way things are. This is a hard, angry book that doesn't give you easy answers (or, indeed, any answers at all since it's only Volume 1). Alex Maleev's art is fierce and full of tension; every panel illustrating the knife-edge society is walking and reinforcing just how quickly Scarlet's actions might push them off. Brian Bendis' writing is top notch; balancing Scarlet's frustration and pain with equal doses of humor and fear. Her narration is heavily noir and slyly conversational, not just winning you to her point of view but actively inviting the you to join in. I think the thing I like best about Scarlet is how firmly it's rooted in the real world. Scarlet isn't Batman, who doesn't take lives and gets his own special night light on top of the police station. She's a girl with a gun. Not all the police are bad guys, but they ARE all angry and upset. Towards the end of the story, the lead investigator on the case remarks, "I'm a complicated and multifaceted enough individual to know that [Scarlet's] point of view of the world is complicated and multifaceted. And I'm also man enough to admit I don't know if she's right. All I know is that after today, I'm kinda ready to kill somebody." These are real characters--INTELLIGENT characters--with morals and values and their own ways of looking at the world. They have drives and ambitions and egos that determine how they act and react. They create a story that has something to say, and I can't wait to find out what's next.

2022-10-21 05:26