Review: Scarlet #2 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Alex Maleev (artist)

  
Bendis reveals more about his red-headed vigilante and her mission to purge Portland of crime in Scarlet #2.  

Physically, but not emotionally, recovered from her shooting in issue one, Scarlet determines to find out the circumstances which led to her boyfriend Gabriel's death and thus try and make some sense of what happened. Over ten weeks she follows Officer Dunes, the cop who was responsible, and finds out he's subsequently been promoted.

Scarlet then confronts Guzman, Dunes' former partner, questioning him about his involvement in the shooting. The answers aren't what she expected, finding that apart from saving his own skin, there was little he could've done. Corruption in the Portland police force is extensive.

Far from being intimidated by the magnitude of her task, Scarlet's decision to fight back is reinforced. And the first person on her list to feel her wrath is the smug and reprehensible Officer Dunes.

Bendis and Maleev are really pulling the emotional strings on this one, asking a fundamental question - how can justice be done when the good guys are all bad? Scarlet's answer is to administer justice herself. Brutal justice. Her question is - are we with her or against her?

Again Bendis makes us involved in the story by having Scarlett address us directly as readers, making us complicit in her actions. By simply being readers we push the story along.

Maleev's artwork is as good as ever and the fact that he's using a model for the Scarlet character makes her depiction very realistic. Indeed Maleev captures Scarlet's expressions and depth of emotion in each illustration brilliantly.

This comic is characterised by Scarlet looking at us. On almost every page Scarlet checks if we're still with her, making sure that were coming along, and virtually asking for our approval and consent. When she says 'See? I'm trying desperately to find someone who would miss him enough to make it worth me not killing him', she's really asking us if we're that someone. The only way to avert his death is to stop reading. But are we going to do that?

Bendis goes to great lengths in both issues to show that Scarlet is just an ordinary girl. In issue one Scarlet says 'I'm not Miss America super hottie' and all her actions before her vigilantism are characterised by normality - normal upbringing and life experiences. Does Bendis have a twist in store for us about Scarlet? She seems to handle weapons quite well... Or are we set to see a tragedy? The degeneration of a typical, ordinary, girl into the corruption of the soul that ultra-violence brings.

Everyone wants to see corruption and purveyors of injustice punished. Vigilantism is appealing because it asks few questions and offers quick results. Bad guys are immediately erased. But what punishment fits the crime? The broad strokes with which villains and heroes are painted in pop culture are rarely mirrored in reality. That's why we have a justice system. 

Scarlet's story is intriguing and the artwork lush. I flew through this really quickly. There's many a page with no writing at all leaving me thinking - where's the rest? But no matter. It's good enough for multiple readings.

This: More brilliance.  Forthcoming: Yes, please! We want more brilliance.