Comic Review: Genius #3

Title: Genius #3 (Genius #3)

Author:  Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman, Afua Richardson (Ilustrator)

Release Date: August 20, 2014
Publisher: Image
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

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GENIUS: ISSUES 1-5, WEEKLY THROUGHOUT AUGUST The Winner of Top Cow's Pilot Season makes its triumphant return to print! What if the greatest military mind of our generation was born to a people who are already supremely conditioned to wage war, who know nothing but violence since birth, and must continually adapt to new predators in order to survive? What if the second coming of Alexander the Great, of Genghis Khan, of Napoleon, of Patton...what if it was a teenaged girl from South Central, L.A. named Destiny? And what if she decides to secede three blocks of the ‘Hood from the Union? Who is going to take it back from her and her army of gangbangers? Who CAN? From writers MARC BERNARDIN and ADAM FREEMAN (Alphas, X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler, The Authority, The Highwaymen) and rising-star artist AFUA RICHARDSON comes a harrowing, action-packed tale of a city that declares war on a brilliant young woman pushed to the edge.

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My Review: 

Genius #3 picks up where the last issue left off, with a stand off between the police and Destiny's army in her neighborhood of South Central. 

This is a limited five issue series and my concern while reading this issue is how will the series conclude with its final issue? Strategically, Destiny won the standoff for now with the police, which is still happening, but what is the endgame? 

I also have a hard time believing that the police are so complacent with Destiny and her demands not to shoot at all when most of them leave the 'frontlines' and go to a barbeque. 

This series deals a lot with the lower income communities of Los Angeles and the tough lives and choices that all these characters have to make in these circumstances. I'm not necessarily sure if the series does a good job or makes any sort of effort to make a commentary on the story. They throw a lot of stereotypes and archetypes of black characters, but don't dispel them or humanize any of them, except Destiny. 

The plot twist at the end of the issue was predictable and I wonder if the series is only comprised of five issues because the writers don't have any clue where to go beyond a five issue plot arc. 

Check out my review for the other installments in the series: 

Genius #1
Genius #2 



-Amanda Leon

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