By Dante' Maddox

First and foremost Genius scores lots of points for its boldness and originality.

Now that that’s out of the way let me tell you what I liked about Genius the most. From the opening sequence, you know immediately that this isn’t your typical comic book. There are no capes, no tights, and more importantly there aren’t any heroes. The main character of the story is aptly named Destiny, and she's embarking on a journey that will hit some people very close to home. The book is about her organizing the gangs in South Central Los Angeles into an army, an army that will take on the biggest gang in Los Angeles, the LAPD. Reading this book is like listening to "Cop Killer" by Ice T. The cops are the enemy to all the people in that community, and Destiny has convinced them to fight back.

The book is pretty fast paced, which is kinda nice. The first issue gives you just enough to get a good understanding of how things work and who the people are. We see Destiny take on the cops in what is sure to be the first battle of many. What I found really interesting was that the cops aren’t really portrayed that badly in this particular story. All of their misdeeds are handled quickly in flashbacks, but we don’t get to meet any dirty cops. This makes the story more accessible to a wider audience. Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman do a great job of blurring the lines that separate the cops and the gangs giving the story great balance as well.

While it is a little graphic, the artwork can still only be described as beautiful. Afua Richardson does a great job relaying the idea that Destiny see’s the world in a different way than most people. The artwork properly conveys the idea that she’s constantly seeing things three moves ahead, making it obvious that she’s a brilliant strategist just as much as the words and actions do. The fighting is drawn in a manner that gives the book a cinematic feel which seems to be standard with most comics these days.

As you might already know this book is part of Top Cows pilot season. I strongly suggest you pick this title up and vote for it in August, head over to www.myspace.com/pilotseason in order to support this book.

Writers: Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman
Pencils: Afua Richardson
Publisher: Top Cow
Cover Price: $3.99
Series Count: One Shot

Crave Online Rating: 8 out of 10