Scarlet is a vigilante who is determined to fight back against a corrupt system and she uses violence for change. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, who is known for his skill in writing character’s dialogue, Scarlet is a deliberately provocative story meant to push boundaries. Originally released in 2010, it is being re-released for it’s timely story line during this #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and Women’s March era, and I obtained a copy through NetGalley.
Scarlet is living life as a typical Portland teen when she and her boyfriend get targeted by a dirty cop’s drug pat down. When her boyfriend punches the officer and they make a run for it, they are followed and shot at. Her boyfriend dies, and Scarlet is sent to the hospital in a coma. The police cover themselves by painting the couple as drug dealers and the officers are hailed as heroes who saved the community from a drug cartel. When Scarlet awakens, she is furious and decides she wants revenge.
The gimmick is that Scarlet breaks the fourth wall and talks to the reader. Thus, the narrative is from her perspective and she is sharing what she wants you to know, so you get her spin on the action. This mostly works, but at times it’s a bit pretentious. Scarlet isn’t always likable, and can definitely be perceived as an anti-hero. Her unsavory ‘violence is the answer’ motto is tempered by the realization that some big changes in our world have only come to fruition through violence. Martin Luther King Jr was able to further the Civil Rights Movement through love and non-violent means, but he was counterbalanced (and helped) by Malcolm X’s methods, as Gandhi was also helped by radicals. This is an uncomfortable truth that should be further delved into.
The artwork is stylized with an edgy noir vibe. Mostly drawn in black and white or with a muted earthen color palette, some splashes of color include Scarlet’s red hair, blood and occasional details such as a pride flag. The art is sketchy at times, but also includes photographic type detail. Artist Alex Maleev is fond of closeups of people’s faces, which can be hit or miss at times, but his unique style is a good match to the story.
This series is worth looking into further to see if Bendis finesses this culturally relevant story and develops Scarlet into more than a gun-toting cop killing hottie. I look forward to Scarlet moving from vigilante to true revolutionary.
-Nancy
Graphic Novelty² 
November 6, 2018 at 11:58 am
It’s funny, a comic character breaking the fourth wall has become so synonymous with Deadpool it was jarring for me to read about it here. I thought, “Wait…what?? Other characters can do it?!?” It’s interesting to think of it in a more “serious” setting like this too. The ideas you raised in the post – about how whether or not violence can be used to a constructive end and where it’s place may fall in society – are something I think about all the time. Seeing how that would be addressed here, in a story from 2010, is especially interesting. It’s not like our current issues of gun violence were nonexistent then but it is certainly a different climate now. I do enjoy some of Bendis’ writing too. It’d be interesting to see how he handles all this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 6, 2018 at 4:22 pm
I immediately thought of Deadpool myself. With Scarlet it was rather self-indulgent for her character to speak to the reader. I’ve read some reviews for stories that come after this original one that say the story becomes more nuanced. In this volume Scarlet is strictly a vigilante out for revenge, so I truly hope that the narrative matures and has her evolve and use her power constructively.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 6, 2018 at 10:08 pm
Such an evolution would make for an important point of conversation, all the more important for how uncomfortable it can make the reader. Writing (and reading) this in the middle of the Obama Administration had to carry a different weight than now, in the heart of the Trump Administration. Obviously gun violence was a major problem in 2010 but I think we, at the time, still had a bit of an idyllic vision of it all, able to turn it off at times. Now as the violence continues to escalate and the climate in the country becomes increasingly angry and divisive reading a story like this has to feel different.
Regardless, this issue of if/when violence becomes necessary or justified in the fight against oppression is something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. For myself, I am a devout pacifist, anchored in my faith and my understanding of Jesus’ mission. However, I also grant I’ve lived a relatively easy life and I’ve never experienced oppression, injustice, and evil firsthand as so many people have. I must always be aware then my opinion is shaped by my experiences. That doesn’t make it wrong, but I must own that subjectivity. I think stories like this, that can make us wrestle with and contemplate these issues without perhaps giving an easy answer, are so important.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 7, 2018 at 9:29 pm
Agreed, often times the best stories are those that push our boundaries and make us truly contemplate different viewpoints. Borrowing a term from children’s literature, we need “mirrors, windows and sliding doors” to view diversity and examine other’s perspectives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 22, 2018 at 7:36 pm
Wow, I really like that! From children’s literature or not, it reminds me of one of my favorite Joseph Campbell quotes. Speaking of mythology’s purpose (and how a story (even if it’s not factual) can express great truth) he writes, “The metaphor is the mask of God through which eternity is to be experienced.”
LikeLiked by 1 person