Scarlet Book Two

Scarlet #2

by Brian Michael Bendis (Creator), Alex Maleev (Illustrations)

Scarlet's one-woman American Revolution has spread: she has now declared war on a city strangled from within by corruption! From the bestselling team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (Daredevil) comes this new edition of SCARLET BOOK TWO!

Her call to arms has been heard all over the world...but now Scarlet makes her boldest move yet, taking City Hall hostage while the entire country watches. How will the public react to her list of demands? Can a modern revolution gain traction? And what will the government do to shut her down? The answers will surprise you, as Scarlet finds herself forced to make a dangerous and desperate move...letting them capture her!

The award-winning powerhouse creative team behind Daredevil, Iron Man and Moon Knight serves up the continuing story of the one of the most honest, no-holds-barred graphic novel series ever in SCARLET BOOK TWO. This new trade paperback edition DC Jinxworld re-collects issues #6-10 of the original classic series.

Brian Michael Bendis's critically acclaimed Jinxworld library now comes to DC! These classic, award-winning graphic novels, including JINX, TORSO, POWERS, GOLDFISH, BRILLIANT, TAKIO and SCARLET among others, will now be re-released under the DC banner alongside other seminal books such as BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and WATCHMEN. These beloved, hard-to-find Jinxworld titles will be accompanied by new stories from continuing series like POWERS, SCARLET and THE UNITED STATES OF MURDER INC., as well as new series such as PEARL and COVER. Catch up with the vast library of graphic novels from one of the greatest comics creators ever with Jinxworld!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Politics, Comic Book, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 2013

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Goth girl with red hair, a veteran with PTSD, a black woman with an Afro, a former cop forced to lie to protect corrupt colleagues - pillars of the Resistance. It was the actions of corrupt and compromised people themselves over time that created the Resistance that will come for them one day?

Once again, like in Scarlet, Book 1, there's some awesome fourth wall breaking, there's awesome use of vignettes, there's Alex Maleev's art at its best and most flexible... but at the heart of this book is the Resistance. I consider the Resistance women, people of colour, LGBTers, social justice warriors, charity workers etc etc. people that can see how those in power, have abused their power!

Bendis and Maleev have very quietly (there's isn't that much about this, in the comic book press) put together a series of our times. A book where the people are the good guys and the police, FBI, Mayor's office etc. are all compromised by their wrong doing, or more-so, the way they don't do anything about corruption etc. Black Lives Matter anyone?

To top off writing about such controversial material, it's conceptually, artistically AND stylistically one of Maleev & Bendis' best pieces of work! 9.5 out of 12!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my March 2012 review of Scarlet Book 1 I optimistically mentioned that Book 2 would soon be out - over four and a bit years later and the second five-issue arc has finally completed! And Brian Michael Bendis isn’t a slow writer either, this guy cranks out scores of comics each year! Anyway, good things come to those who wait and Scarlet Book 2 is very good.

Scarlet’s boyfriend was executed in the Portland streets for drugs he didn’t have by corrupt cops who suffered no repercussions. Dismayed at the injustice she began a fight back against institutional corruption, inadvertently becoming the iconic leader of a movement whose numbers grow and grow. In this book her group instigate a daring plan to take the Portland Mayor hostage all while evading the FBI that’s hunting Scarlet.

There was a gap of nearly three years between the publication of Scarlet #7 and #8 with issues #8, #9, and #10 being published within a month. It’s easy to see why creators Bendis and Alex Maleev were suddenly re-focused on Scarlet as it was recently announced it would be adapted into a TV show.

And it’s equally easy to see why TV execs would see this as prime material because of the out-of-control American police force whose motto “To Protect and Serve” is a joke. How many news stories have you heard in the last few years where yet another black man was killed by police over absolutely nothing without the police being punished? Scarlet is a very timely story with widespread disenfranchisement of the increasingly fascistic US police.

It sounds a bit like Occupy Wall Street except Bendis ratchets up the stakes by making Scarlet and her group willing to kill to make the changes they want to see. This isn’t some useless hippy bullshit protesting, this is more like Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight from the Joker’s perspective if the Joker were good and a girl with Batman as FBI Agent Goings - seriously, the story structure and heightened dramatic tone is VERY similar.

I liked that Bendis gave the supporting characters some pages for the reader to get to know Scarlet’s gang better. Isis, Lowe, Buddy and Going’s “origin stories” all highlight different injustices to show how they got to the point where they’re staging an armed coup against the government. I also liked that Maleev drew all of the backstories in a different art style to show their individuality.

I only had a couple of nitpicky points about the story like how bizarre it is that the FBI can’t catch a civilian with no military training, and the scene where a guard out front gives out detailed information of the police’s plan to move Scarlet seemed contrived - why would a lowly guard have this info? - but they don’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Scarlet remains the best thing Bendis has written and that dude has written a lot! It’s fresh, exciting, current, relevant, socially conscious, and unpredictable - it’s a great, entertaining and moving read. The last page has “To Be Continued Next Year” on it but I’ve learned my lesson with this series and won’t be holding my breath again! In the meantime we have two excellent books to enjoy - if you haven’t read Scarlet yet, I highly recommend it.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

After lengthy delays, Scarlet is back, stirring up even more anarchy and outrage. I get where these broken characters are coming from, having been oppressed and made to feel helpless by those in a position of authority. I just can't condone how Scarlet and her people go about instituting change by killing those they think are corrupt. I still believe in Martin Luther King's nonaggression protests and the like as the only way to establish permanent change. After all, how can you establish the rule of law by taking the law into your own hands? That being said, as with all of Bendis's writing, I'm interested to see where this goes.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really like the first volume of Scarlet very much, though I was intrigued. Here's my review of that: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I thought much of the premise was sort of ridiculous at first. A (white) woman, Scarlet, without any apparent political leanings watches her boyfriend killed by a corrupt cop in Portland. Scarlet gets suddenly political, articulate, starts a kind of stealth Occupy movement, and maybe partly in revenge, partly because "it is the right thing to do" begins WAR on the Portland PD, or at least all the bad cops. I thought in the light of (mostly) white cops killing (mostly) black folks, this was an interesting take on Ferguson and so on, but sort of silly. Has Network tribute in it: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." And then she kills a couple of the bad cops and we enter into sort of different ethical territory; not Dr King pacifism, let's say, and more "any means necessary" revolution. Improbable, controversial, crazy, but interesting as a narrative and as a set of political talking points.

So, context. You may have heard that an election for president took place recently in the old US of A, and it has triggered lots of emotions for those not voting for him (me included). Wild. Despair, rage, all of it. Then last night I just happen to see this at the library and I pick it up and read it in one sitting. It is still a crazy premise, but if you are willing to grant Bendis this, it is a pretty electric ride, going out of control. More demonstrations, more corruption, and a group forms around Scarlet, all of them damaged in various ways and giving evidence that they might be people, too, who are the children of the Peter Finch character from Network. Taps into working class rage as He Who Shall Not Be Named is said to have done.

This is one hell of a ride. And worth looking into, even if you think it is crazy, for the political implications, even if it is, as Jan says, Revolution, Marvel-style. And it took about three years to come out, and may be a tv series, I am told. I would watch it, whew! I do think it was basically awesome, beyond some issues with the premise, but I may rethink the whole thing later and see what he was doing from the beginning was something other than I thought.

[Anna (Bananas) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh...This was a letdown for a few reasons.

The last few issues, which all came out in a rush the last month or so, felt, well, rushed. The covers were dull, like they didn't spend much time on them - with the exception of the striking last issue where Scarlet is shown with a police boot smashing her face to the ground.

The inside art was similarly bland. All the color and pop of the first volume seemed to have faded into grey tones. And the story, while interesting enough (new characters! art changes!), had little emotional pull. Just when I got involved in a character's backstory it was snipped short and we were on to something else.

To be fair, I think the story suffered from the 4+ year hiatus too. A lot has changed in that time and given the current police issues, Scarlet's story felt a little...white. It's certainly a LOT less shocking now.

You can tell the writers tried to insert more color into the vigilante cast but that only does so much. They need to earn their street cred again, if you will. Too much time has passed and the audience is older and wiser. Sharper. Angrier. They need to speak to the current times a bit more. I actually think mirroring one of the characters on any of the black people who have been killed recently would have shown more guts and honesty.

I'm still a fan but I'm hoping they push Scarlet to the next level - and I don't mean television. Earn your fan base back.


Initial reaction:
Hmmm, a mythical creature. I'll believe in this unicorn once I hold it in my hands.

The first new issue in over a year was exciting to see though! I nearly expired from joy in the comics store.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the eighteen years he's been writing at Marvel where he's tackled the likes of Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers and X-Men, for me Brian Michael Bendis was at his best when he's writing about the streets as oppose to the cosmos, whether it is the super-heroics of Jessica Jones and Daredevil or his creator-owned crime books such as Scarlet. In regards to the latter, you never know when he gets to his own imprint Jinxworld where his creator-own work is published as there was a good few years in between the publication of volumes one and two of Scarlet, but boy the wait was worth it.

Leaving of what is left of her normal life, Scarlet Rue's one-woman American Revolution is taken to a new level as war is declared in Portland, Oregon in order to rid the corruption that dominates the city. What is without a doubt her boldest move yet, Scarlet takes City Hall hostage and has a list of demands that she hopes the mayor will commission.

Throughout most of this volume, there are two central set-pieces going on at the same time; one is the negotiation between Scarlet and the mayor, and two is her protest led by the people of Portland whilst the authorities from corrupt policeman to the F.B.I. is trying to maintain order. Bendis keeps the tension high by interconnecting the two parties and seeing which one will fire the first bullet and as you know that things will not go down slowly, when chaos ensues, it's pretty spectacular.

However, amidst the anarchy, there is still room for characterisation and through the perspective of players from both sides, you understand each of their motivations, even if their actions aren't the most diplomatic way of resolving situations. In terms of getting their world views or reacting to the current situation, you still have Scarlet breaking the fourth wall as she's telling us, the readers, about her feelings and when things don't go to plan, especially the action of one of her team members, she can at least sympathise, given how she and the other members. However, in a brief moment that is a stroke of genius, F.B.I. Agent Going gets to break the fourth wall and even she is assigned to hunt down Scarlet, this sequence foretells a big change in the narrative.

Ever since Bendis' Daredevil run, I have always championed the art of Alex Maleev who often blends photographic and digital effects, with a strong use of shadows that applies well to the crime-ridden narratives of Bendis' work. In this volume, Maleev experiments when it comes to the flashbacks of certain characters that establishes why they would participate in Scarlet's revolution, whether it is Isis (whose flashback is drawn in watercoloured double-page spreads with the writing reflecting that of a children's book) or Buddy (whose tragedy is drawn in black-and-white simplistic illustrations).

Ending with a bang, Brian Michael Bendis' best book continues to thrive and hopefully with the writer's transition to DC which is the new home for Jinxworld, we'll see Scarlet going all-out war.

[Max's Comic Reviews and Lists · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Portland Revolution (Continued)
I am now knee deep into the story of Scarlet. I wrote a fairly lengthy review of volume 1 and almost every one of my opinions still stand. Only I think I liked this volume better. The revolution has already started and new characters have been added, stakes have risen, and a lot more emotional impact comes out of this volume. Scarlet is much more of a compelling character here. So are the main members of her crew, who get short back stories to show their motivations. That was definitely a step in the right direction. My biggest problem with this series is how rushed and disjointed a lot of the set up was. It was always entertaining and stylish as hell, but noticeably lacking in length and substance. This went on to bulldoze the smoothness of the entire 10 issues for me, because it ALWAYS feels like were missing parts of Scarlet’s journey. But all the good of the first volume is still there. The dialogue in particular is still fantastic, and undoubtably Bendis’s writing. Plus this volume is just more exciting as a whole.

Besides the overall problem with the series I have, I have basically one nitpick about volume 2. The ending. Not only does it go from 0-100 in like 2 pages, but a death happens that I almost face palmed when seeing. Why? Why you gotta do that? It’s a wasted opportunity and closes the gate for more future valuable character moments.

Alright Alex Maleev. I know I gave you some crap in my review of Daredevil Volume 1 about how sketchy and shallow some of your work is. BUT I shall never speak badly about you again sir. Because you did Scarlet. I cannot even begin to tell how fucking incredible I think Maleev’s art is here. Not only does every panel look like it would’ve taken a week to perfect, but the style is so distinct. It almost looks akin to the sketchy and vibrant colours of graffiti sprayed all over Portland. Not only has Maleev done a beyond incredible job of penciling the characters and locations but each panel has extra details in the background that I couldn’t have even imagined. I honestly will stand by my opinion when I say that each panel is a near masterpiece. Maybe this is just because I would never be able to accomplish an artistic feat like this. Does this art join the ranks of Early Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Greg Smallwood, Clay Mann, David Lloyd, and Brian Bolland? Probably. There is one panel where just sun glasses are shown. It could have been a goddamn album or movie cover man honestly. It was masterfully done.

In the end, I know Scarlet isn’t done, but until Volume 3 comes out, I’d label the series as a great and thought provoking read with some phantasmagorical art. But that’s the highest I can go. I can’t help but still feel more distant to the characters of the book than I should, and the lacking set up is not going to be forgotten. Volume 2 adds a few interesting elements like backstories for smaller characters and is an overall more interesting volume. The book ends on the epitome of a cliff hanger. But here’s the thing that really disappointed me about that. Not that it was a cliff hanger, but there was no feeling of disappointment that I have to wait till volume 3 to find out what happens. This was not like the end of Desolation of Smaug where I was like WHAT THE FU—NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! If this book ended on like issue 20? Maybe I would’ve cared a little more. As of now, I’m not losing any sleep over it. Still a definite recommend. Letter Grade: (B+)

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, no thanks. In 2016, it's just too bizarre to read a book about a bunch of white people (with one token black woman) leading a revolution against police corruption. I enjoyed the first volume pretty well when it came out back in 2011, but I've learned a lot since then, and this series just doesn't work for me anymore. I'm thinking of re-reading Genius, Vol. 1 to wash the taste out of my mouth.

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlet is back to hold dishonest cops and a broken system accountable. There isn't a ton to say about this volume as it's a seamless continuation of the first part story where we find out what happens when the people stand up to the mayor and police force. This volume spends more pages on a shorter time frame, but the build up and character development is great. We get to know some more members of team Scarlet and the tension built along the way helps the ending feel justified.

Looking forward to the conclusion of the story and, as always, grateful for Alex Maleev and his amazing art.

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

...oh shit. Right in the feels. I can't say much about this, only that I'm happy Scarlet is finally back and that I loved this volume. I hope it won't get abandoned for years by its creators again.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a slight improvement over the first book but the finale wasn't that great. This is definitely one of the better crime series out there but it isn't an overly strong storyline for the length of the book. I'm a little annoyed it didn't conclude here as I kind of thought the Scarlet storyline had run its course. The cliche riddled final pages won't add as much depth as the death of a key member of her team could have, you can't be in the limelight and not lose team members, simple cause and effect. I'll be looking forward to the next book but they really need to create the unexpected to keep things interesting for this series. A solid 4.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never thought Bendis would finish this story! It doesn't make any sense that this was delayed so long considering both people involved have been quite prolific with other projects getting published in the last few years. I wish it were more political and philosophical. It ended up being pretty silly, I think. As a fun action story with fantastic artwork, you can't go wrong.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this is very timely (re: police brutality and corruption), I find the plot and handling of these issues problematic. I'm a lefty through and through, but I feel like SCARLET romanticizes the actions of a murderer. In my opinion, Bendis doesn't challenge Scarlet's heinous actions nearly enough, explicitly or implicitly, for this to sit comfortably with me. Murder is murder, period.

The art was good (especially in the first few issues) and I appreciated that Maleev employed different art styles to portray the "origin" stories of the secondary characters, but that's pretty much the only positive I have to say about this. I don't think I'll be continuing.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liking this story, almost like a modern take on the Gunpowder Plot started by Guy Fawkes. Artwork is fantastic, too.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better art than the first volume, and continued interesting and relevant investigation of what could happen if people enmasse decided to fight against corruption and abuse of power.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll say this about Scarlet: it's hanging with me. I find myself thinking about it, its central message, and weighing its morality in my head. It's a provocative, effective series that's more thematically challenging than most comics I've read in a long time.

The execution can be a little sloppy at times, and the "Second American Revolution," as its referred to, accelerates at an unbelievable pace with an unbelievable amount of public commitment. Additionally, it should be noted how white this book is. This is a story about the American public finally saying "enough is enough" about police corruption, prosecution avoidance, and the blue wall of silence, and yet there's no mention of Black Lives Matter, and the vast majority of characters are white (or at least appear to be). It's clearly an unintentional misstep on Bendis's part, and to be fair, he started writing this series before Black Lives Matter existed. But, regardless, it had become a major movement about halfway through this series, and the lack of inclusion feels pretty weird now.

But, despite that, this book just feels like a healthy dose of catharsis. I don't on any level think Bendis is actually saying "we should kill all the bad police," but seeing it play out, as well as having the characters actively debate the merits of what they're doing, feels good. This series isn't shocking for shocking's sake. It's trying to say something. Sometimes it misses the mark, or feels a little thin, but it's still one that'll make you think, and that in and of itself might be enough of a reason to read it.

I wish Bendis would hurry up and find a way to finish it!

[Jamie Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally crazy uprising! 4 stars.

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a moment there I thought that there was a fresh political spark but I was wrong.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff--I just wish it was a bit more developed. I know there have been all kinds of delays with this, but I think the story could use a few more issues to really develop (and be believable). Bendis really has his finger on the pulse of a society that continually allows the police to gun down unarmed black men with impunity and this series is all about the day when people decide they've finally had enough. Great art by Maleev throughout.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, well paced stuff. If only something like this would actually happen.

[Alex Sarll]

"It's the end of the day and everything is exactly the way it what when I got up this morning. I told myself I wasn't going to allow that to happen anymore."

Ten years on from the first volume of Bendis and Maleev's urban insurrection thriller, I finally get around to reading the second, which I think dribbled out around the middle of the intervening decade. You know how the creators of late comics sometimes say, ah, but nobody ever talks about how late Watchmen ran? Thereby disproving their own point, of course, but also failing to ask: what other comics that might have ended up talked about in the same way, didn't, because they lost their momentum and missed their moment? Case in point: this is a series in which an American town's corrupt police finally push its people too far. In which the backstories take in all the tendrils of the fuckedness of the 21st century USA (suicide by troll, hushed-up sexual assault, PTSD from the forever wars...). In which posting video proof of what's happening online is absolutely key. Which talks about how high the corruption goes, but came out before the country had a demonstrably corrupt creature right at the top. Yeah, there are bits that look dated now, from little things like having the video filmed on cameras instead of 'phones, to the big detail of Scarlet being white (though somewhere in my dim recollection of the first volume, I think part of the idea may have been that when the police treated a middle-class white kid like they did the black population, well, that was when the world finally noticed). And like any development which starts out feeling naturalistic, Bendis' distinctive dialogue now reads as deeply mannered. But all the same, you'd think someone would have thought, at some stage in the past few years, 'Shit, this is reminding me of Scarlet!' And maybe they would have, if falling off the schedules hadn't ensured that no bugger ever thinks about Scarlet.

[Kristin Katsuye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this blind. Just going off a bad ass looking chic gonna be doing some action-y stuff. That’s all I got from the cover & artwork from flipping through the book before quickly picking it off the shelf to take with me. I didn’t realize what this book had in stock for me.

As a fictional story overall I really enjoyed it. It leaves that feeling of wanting to sit with it for awhile rather than jumping straight into your next read. For note, I read the volume that contained both books plus the extra bonus stuff. So what I’m saying is writing this review I’ve read & finished the entire series. I mean it should leave you with that feeling because this is all real life shit that we all live through but can’t/won’t do anything about. The system that the world works in. This would make one hell of a screen adaptation. In fact a part of me would love to see it happen.

All that being said though this story is not for everyone at certain times. Not only is this a heavy hitter, but this is actual life at times. Not talking about the way the system is, but how people go about trying to solve things. Some reviews mention not wanting people to get ideas from this story & I agree. A part of me goes this story is so true, that I’m on Scarlet’s side, but then another part of me is also slightly afraid some(one) will see this story & act out just the same. As a fictional story I find this completely great. As a realistic one, I’m afraid, I’m mad, & more importantly I want people to see this fictional yet realistic story for what it is.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis is playing a dangerous game with Scarlet. I'd been working my way through this collection slowly, letting all it's dangerous ideas wash over and then sink into me and while a mainstream title like Black Panther and the Crew gets cancelled before it even approaches subjects like police violence and civil revolution an independently published book like Scarlet can still find an audience.
I think it's fair to say that this volume of Scarlet blurs the line between thought provoking and dangerous and I think it's also fair to wonder if this book could even exist with a protagonist or author of color.
At the same time it's also just as important to say that the artwork in Scarlet is staggering. Maleev uses at least half a dozen different styles to tell stories within stories which works brilliantly with Bendis' sparse text. This book made me more nervous for myself and my country than any book, graphic or otherwise, I have or will read this year, last year and next and that makes it as important as it is revolutionary.

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a very violent fantasy of a real world group going vigilante to take on corruption in the system, Bendis lends just enough cleverness and character to keep this book's plot unexpected and intriguing. Without venturing into conspiracy land this book attempts to take a realistic look at a what might occur were an individual and then a group to take a vigilante stand against an exceptionally corrupt system. Bendis avoids suggesting there's some cooperative mass conspiracy, a secret Mafioso group that controls everything, or some bond villain mad genius who secretly runs the country. It's not some secret cabal, it's just a comic that imagines the worst possible version of normal, venal human corruption of the system...and decides to deal with it at the end of a gun.

[Doctor Action · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not massively convincing or involving but better than ok. The "young person being incredibly matter of fact and world weary" tone is a bit irritating but I'll still go back for more. The premise is quite compelling.

My biggest head-scratch is actually with the bonus content. I like a saucy comic book warrior bikini as much as the next nerd but for a book where corruption, exploitation and abuse is the enemy it's glaringly inappropriate to have alt covers needlessly depicting the heroine in a blatantly sexualised manner.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

* * * SPOILERS * * *
MY FAVORITE CHARACTER GOT KILLED OFF! >:(
Less senseless angry than v.1. Having Scarlet's enemies become her best assets bothered me in that they really shouldn't have made it this far because she really has no idea what to do. And you would think "recruiting the enemy" wouldn't go well with the rest of the revolution?
Oh well. . . obviously this was not written for me. . . . :D It made me feel like if Rey HAD taken Kylo Ren's hand and then died two scenes later.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis and Maleev continue this powerful book about resisting against those who should be forces for good. Its eerie how this parallels certain things that have happened in our country and Portland in particular since this was published. While the book still features the typical Bendis word balloon bonanza, its still fast moving and action packed. We get some insight into the people in Scarlet's life and its intriguing and sad. So much happens here and I can't picture a way this can end well, but I trust in these creators. Overall, another strong read.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where the first volume was intriguing, the second volume feels vital. A deeper, more interesting, more urgent look at the betrayals of authority that gave rise to a bloody modern revolution. My biggest complaint is that I wanted more from a story and character that when from interesting to iconic in 5 issues. This one really landed on me.

Maleev’s art certainly helps with that. Some of his best work, packed with emotion, beautifully rendered, exquisitely coloured.

Can’t wait for more.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis is the master of storytelling, his long drawn out conversations easily convey mood and characterisations of the players in his story. A story of alleged Police corruption that is much more, a corruption of the very values and moral implications that are striven for by officials in all corners.
Real world implications
A great story with some truthful threads.
Maleev's art is beyond good, capturing each character nuance with ease.
Excellent graphic novel.