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A review by sevenworlds
Genius, Volume 1 by Adam Freeman, Marc Bernardin
4.0
Too much happens in too short a period of time, so that you're not left with enough time to process what it all means. I wanted to know so much more about Destiny, more background info, more of what's in her head. There's honestly enough action here to power almost double the number of issues. There is a lot of violence (though it's not gory.)
That being said, the premise behind Genius is powerful and thrilling. The hero is an orphaned, teenaged black girl from South Central who has mastered the art of war and managed to unite and lead the disparate gangs of L.A. That's not a typo; the hero of his series is a young black woman. This is a BIG deal. Genius has a rare opportunity to tie commentary about the long and chilling history of social and economic racial oppression to this rousing and frenetic ride of a story. I don't think it really achieves this. But I do think Genius can improve in upcoming issues, and I think it will.
Side notes: I think it's funny that numerous reviewers mention how unrealistic they found certain plot points to be, yet they've given positive reviews to Superman and Batman comics. Also, there are a few alternate covers included in the collection that are much preferable to the gratuitously sexy cover that they went with.
That being said, the premise behind Genius is powerful and thrilling. The hero is an orphaned, teenaged black girl from South Central who has mastered the art of war and managed to unite and lead the disparate gangs of L.A. That's not a typo; the hero of his series is a young black woman. This is a BIG deal. Genius has a rare opportunity to tie commentary about the long and chilling history of social and economic racial oppression to this rousing and frenetic ride of a story. I don't think it really achieves this. But I do think Genius can improve in upcoming issues, and I think it will.
Side notes: I think it's funny that numerous reviewers mention how unrealistic they found certain plot points to be, yet they've given positive reviews to Superman and Batman comics. Also, there are a few alternate covers included in the collection that are much preferable to the gratuitously sexy cover that they went with.