Story By: Adam Freeman and Marc Bernardin
Art By: Afua Richardson
Published By: Image
Back in 2008, Genius won Top Cow’s Pilot Season and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before we saw more. With the release of Genius #1 all I can is the wait was well worth it as Genius has exceeded my expectations and has to be one of the most compelling first issues of anything I’ve ever read and might be the start of my new favorite series.
Genius is about a 17 year old girl named Destiny from South Central L.A. who has managed to round up the hood and end gang warfare so that the neighborhood can band together in solidarity to help defeat and escape from the oppressive system of “justice” that they’ve been subject to for decades. And while it would be more than easy for this to turn into a simple comic about warring factions or have a giant focus on the levels of violence, Genius turns into a much more complicated and complex comic that really throws a ton to think about at the reader. A large amount of that has to do with the realistic characters and the thriving back stories that writers Adam Freeman and Marc Bernardin have created. Destiny is a female character that is desperately needed in the comic book world, especially with her being a black woman, and I can not applaud Freeman and Barnardin enough for the amount of depth that they’ve given Destiny within only one issue. She’s calculating, intelligent, and passionate to the point that every single one of her actions feels like it exists to ultimately help the cause and her well-crafted back story gives some much needed insight as to just how far she will go to reach her goal of peace among the streets. And it gives her a bit of an edge when you realize how dangerous she truly is and how well thought out her actions are. Opposite to her is “a cop by definition and an analyst by nature” named Reginald Grey. Grey seems to be the only one who understands that there’s something much larger than gang warfare going on here and doesn’t seem to want to rest until he figures out who’s behind it all.
Together these two characters provide enough power to give us a compelling story that the rest of the comic just falls perfectly into place to bridge the two together. The narration/inner dialogue of these two characters set up some amazing stuff. Within the opening panels, Destiny treats us to a quote by Sun Tzu and tells us that she understands it to mean that in order to fight, you can’t be afraid of what you may lose. This is by no means any kind of amazing philosophical breakthrough but it does turn into a completely different kind of powerful phrase when it’s found on a full page showing a woman holding the bloody and bullet filled body of a man in the street as people look on. When Grey begins discussing his idea of a suspect, he completely nails down Destiny and her upbringing. She had to go through some hardships, the system had to fail her, and she learned to fly under the radar in a world where people like her don’t get rewarded for standing out; they get murdered. What’s most interesting is how all of these link up and build off one other. The final few panels perfectly cement the calculating genius of Destiny as well as how big her plans of taking back the streets are while Grey’s reactions and final panels start pointing him further in the direction of determining if his theory on a suspect is correct.
Afua Richardson’s art was a perfect fit for this series and I can’t wait to see more from her. The cover was one of the most beautifully striking images I’ve seen in awhile and her art style is so well suited for the themes within Genius. Richardson often utilizes a thick, colorful outline around characters that’s reminiscent of graffiti art. Character expressions are also drawn extremely well which is important for a series with a topic like this. Richardson’s expressions are often expressed through overall body language or subtleties rather than over-the-top expressions but it’s something that helps draw even more depth to characters like Destiny who needed to be calm and collected among all the turmoil. And when Richardson does get a chance to go all out with either the violence or the expressions, she does it in such a way that the art grips you and helps highlight the overall point. When the cops seek shelter inside a random house within the hood its not the house or the guns or even the cops that grab your attention. It’s the complete seething anger that a young boy has over the fact that his home can be broken into by police who then dare to tell his family to “kiss the carpet”.
There’s a whole lot going on in this comic to stop and consider and think about and that’s ultimately why it’s so gripping as a first issue and ultimately makes you look forward to the entire series. Genius is sure to hit home in a variety of ways for a variety of people and its ultimately nice to see a comic tackle the issue of poverty and the effects of a broken system for children as well as the fact that this same system may be somewhat responsible for gangs and gang warfare. It’s a deep read and once the fighting starts, it grips you in an entirely different way as you begin to understand just how far Destiny and her crew will go to win this war.
I’m eagerly awaiting the continuation of the series and I feel like this comic is going to rise above any and all of our expectations. With a first issue this strong I sincerely hope that it keeps its strength. Genius is a comic that tackles some important issues and gives us some much needed diversity within the comic book world and it does both in an absolutely fantastic way. This is a must read, especially if you wanted a breath of fresh air.
