Scarlet 3 Review

What you need to know: Scarlett take her vendetta against the Portland PD to the next level.

Smart: It's very nice to read a story that is as well thought out as Scarlett. The way Scarlet evades the police in this issue is very clever. Kudos to Bendis

Creative Team: If Brubaker and Phillips are my 1A in terms of creative teams,then Bendis and Maleev would have be my 1b. The two have a synchronicity that's rare.

Bold: From the art to creative use of panels, the shattering of the fourth wall and so many other things make Scarlet the most daring book on the shelves. Bendis and Maleev take a ton of risks, not only are they not afraid to, but they seem to thrive in doing so.

Maleev: If I were drawing a book I'd choose Maleev, sometimes I wish the man could draw every book I read,especially the crime ones. The scary thing is I think he's getting better, the acting and the conveying of emotion in this issue was off the charts.

What you won't

Opening scene: I struggled with this scene, I even reread it to make sure I felt the same way. It's too wordy, too much waxing poetic and philosophical. At some point your character must stop talking about action and do action. The first two issues contained lots of talking but at this point we shouldn't be getting as many monologues as we do.

Gimmicks In football "trick" or gimmick plays are used sparlingly, because if you did them every play the plays impact would be nullified, teams would adjust. Bendis is in danger of doing that here. The use of the fourth wall is great but it's starting to become slightly annoying, also the way that Bendis and Maleev sum up a person's life in panels has been used before. Perhaps read together in a trade this will work perfectly, in a single issue format, it's becoming a little too much.

False Promise: Scarlet keeps teasing that the reader is a part of her mission as well, and that's all we know, it's been mentioned in all three issues, but we have yet to see it happen.

How is she doing this: Bendis has given us a lot of reason's why Scarlet is doing what she's doing but very few as to how. How is Scarlet outwitting the entire PPC? When she did she learn how to fight or use a sniper rifle? So far the emotional transformation has been covered but the mental and physical ones have not been.


Bottom Line: I was slightly disappointed by this issue but in total this is still a very good series.

Grade: B