Genius #2 Review

writer: Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman / artist: Afua Richardson As I hinted at in my review of the premier issue, Genius could not be more socially relevant as a “fictional tale” as it is right now. This particular issue which centers around the police raid of an inner city neighborhood in Los Angeles is met with resistance by the Black people that live there, is hard not to compare to the militarized forces occupying Ferguson, Missouri this very moment. I do think too much comparison beyond the aesthetic becomes a little irresponsible as the large majority of protests in Ferguson have been without violence and the dug in inhabitants in Genius are anything but peaceful. Still, the overarching narrative of abuse of police power and it’s effect on those it should be sworn to protect is pretty eerie, or at the very least, relevant. What this book gets right is the further expansion of showing how brilliant Destiny is and how she is the best chess player in this game. It is Sherlock Holmes-esque how she maps out each scenario and stays a step ahead of the police and simultaneously building a PR campaign against them. This has been a familiar trope of late, but Destiny because of her age and agency (which hasn’t been fully explained yet) make her different. Her counterpart Detective Grey seems to be putting together what kind of threat Destiny is and that has some promise in seeing how he begins to apply his new found knowledge.

What I still struggle with in this book is some of …