Genius #1

Genius #1

by Adam Freeman, Marc Bernardin, Afua Richardson (Artist)

Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, Patton. What if the greatest military mind of OUR generation was born in strife, surrounded by violence and combat since birth? When the gauntlet is dropped, the question isn't 'How did 17-year-old Destiny Ajaye unite the gangs of South Central into a killer army and declare war on the LAPD?' No, the question is, 'Can anyone stop her?' NOTE: Recommended for mature readers. From the minds of writers Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman (The Highwaymen, Monster Attack Network) and innovative illustrator Lakota Sioux (HALF DEAD), GENIUS is a book that will have readers talking for months to come.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

25 pages, Unknown Binding

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gritty and violent story about a young girl who claws her way to the top of the food chain within her gang-infested L.A. neighbourhoods. And when she gathers all of the gangs under her command, she turns their disenfranchised rage on their oppressors. This isn't simply about gang warfare. Because Destiny is, as the title implies, a genius. And her strategy goes well beyond the bullets on the streets.

This book pulls zero punches. It doesn't pander to any one side. Instead, it points out the simple fact: humans, like all animals, will do whatever it takes to survive. And if you keep beating an animal into a corner, it will eventually fight back.

Destiny is a cold and calculating commander, but she is not immune to emotions that Bernardin lets sneak in with obvious, and less obvious moments. But what really impressed me was the final page, filled with panels that promise a truly intriguing future for Destiny, and ask the question, was this her move all along?

www.BiblioSanctum.com

[Gavin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yawn. Another Latina gangbanger superstar who's the mastermind behind the unification (ie. Hostile takeover) of all the gangs in LA. We see she's smart because she knows not to be smart or stand out or do anything other than observe. Right.
She picks her moment, and I'm supposed to believe no one took her down after that?
Of course there's also a cop,who has a theory on one supervillain mastermind...we don't know if his boss is Lou or Cap...both ranks...is it captain Lou Albano? Maybe.

The art is OK, but the story better improve by miles from "mamasita and Papi dead yo" "Imma take a mofo down esse"

Anne has 2 more strikes...

[Lady Entropy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went in expecting to be wowed. I loved the concept. I loved the idea. I loved everything about what this could be...

...but it just didn't work. Her genius relied too much on people being scared of her, even before she proved herself. You just can't get why the gangs would unite under her when all she does in their first meeting is to shoot the first asshole that talks back to her.

That's what her "strategy" amounts to. Instead, this would have ended up with a gang war and a shootout, not all sheep coming to serve under her.

[Salamah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim. At first I was not interested in reading it but I have to say I am glad I did. It was a quick read and the storyline moved pretty fast. The illustrations were nicely done. I got a good sense of the neighborhood Destiny lived in and what type of character she was. I espeically liked that she was super smart, beautiful and talented wrapped up in this little body. The main plotline of the story is that Destiny has taken back her neighborhood from the local gang leaders and then keeps the police out thus protecting the people in the community from being killed by gang violence or police. Destiny is portrayed as a tough woman who takes no crap from anyone. There were some problems with the plot though. For example why did the police want to come into the neighborhood? Why would the national guard be called in? It didn't make sense. Also, I didn't like how one main character was elminated. It did not make sense. Also, I did not fully understand the ending. I think she gave herself up to protect the people in the neighborhood but she ends up in jail where she starts going to school??? The ending left it wide open for the storyline to continue so hopefully I can find Destiny on my bookshelf again.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this was originally published in 2014 and everything bad I really have to say about it feels like it is very much a product of the time (weird pacing, big explosion with very little build up, starts in media res except undoes it by constantly flashing back to explain things instead of show them, etc.). I think with all those problems in mind it is doing something pretty spectacular talking about police brutality and the kind of person you become growing up being surrounded by constant violence. That is all Destiny knows so therefor her unification of all the gangs is through violence. Something about the art and the jumping through time periods made it feel inauthentic to me. And not that I can judge about the writers/artists experiences, but as I was moving through it I kept getting nervous that each turn of the page it would turn into just a caricature of gang issues. I felt a weird split between her flashbacks (which felt raw and real) to the present day (kind of goofy and unbelievable) that I can't quite put my finger on. I am very curious how the later issues deal with this issue and wonder if it was just a first issue problem.

[Thelonious Legend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to begin? I really loved this comic. It's gritty, it's urban, it's topical and it was important for me to read a comic like this. When I was younger I was a big comic book fan, but as I got older and became more self aware (OK maybe militant is a more accurate descriptor) I soured on the Industry bigs because they didn't produce heroes that looked like me. But I've made my way back as I started discovering a plethora of Diverse Comics. And it feels good to be home.

Premise: Someone is uniting the big gangs and whoever this person is they pose a direct threat to the police force and the status quo. Genius is the story of the Master-Mind behind this movement and her rise to power. And during her first few confrontations with the police they realize how formidable an opponent she is and to quote Reggie Hammond they also realize there might be "A new Sheriff in Town" and that they are woefully unprepared.

What I like: Everything! I liked the genesis of the character. I like how flashbacks were uses so effectively to detail her motivations and rise to power. Usually I'm not a fan of flash backs because they take the reader out of the here and now but these flashbacks were done so skillfully that they enhanced the story telling without taking the reader of out of the action. I loved that the protagonist is a minority woman and the story makes a point of detailing how because of this she is constantly underestimated. Which she uses to her advantage of course. I liked the artwork. Loved how the characters where drawn and the flow of the panel layout.

What I didn't like: Not really much to say here. I wanted more back-story but that's more of gripe than anything. A couple of the action scenes could have used more clarity but again I'm reaching.

Summary: Big fan of this comic. Loved it. And with all that is going on in the real-world I identify and emphasize with the character more than any comic I've read outside of MileStone. Looking forward to reading the other issues.
Marc Bernardin

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak first issue of a series about a super smart girl in the hood who becomes the leader of all the gangs in town because she is so smart and sexy. It's grrrrl power all the way as she stages an unlikely coup by shooting all the leaders of e other gangs, and no one bothers to get revenge, and then she outsmarts the cops because everybody dumb but her. A brainy cop figures there must be a leader behind the recent spike in gang violence, but his gender glasses makes him think the leader must be a dude, and lots of cops die. So far I just don't care much about the story, and I don't really like stories where the main character is a villainous cop killer.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read issues 1-5, though this is the only one listed here on GR. I went into this one not knowing exactly what to expect and being pretty blown away by the depth. You're not sure who to cheer for here and it feels incredibly timely. I loved the concept of this one and thought it was carried out incredibly well -- but man, that ending. I want more!

[Rekara-Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destiny!! A great protagonist for such a timely comic. It dropped you right in the middle of the action, hooking you and taking you along for what felt like a short, exciting ride. It was such a tease. Can't wait to see more. The art is amazing. The colors jump off the page. Really excited to share and watch her story develop.

[John Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genius #1 is the story of Destiny Ajaye and her rise to power in uniting all of the Los Angeles gangs against the Los Angeles Police Department. Read more here: http://boundingintocomics.blogspot.co...

[Albert Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

genius tells a violent story of a smart young woman who has merged all of the games in Los Angeles together to fight a common enemy: the police.

Destiny has come from the shadows to take control while the police try to piece what little information they have in order to take her down.

[Jaachim · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I actually read the entire series but I don't think it's been officially released as a book yet)

[Wolfkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

great start

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the cover fool you, this is a really good book with a wonderful main character.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and kept thinking to myself how much I would love to see this on the big screen.

[Kim Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this free using the image comics app. I just wanted to give it a go because it's not my usual genre of comics. But it was really interesting, action-packed; and I can't wait to read volume 1.

[Elliot Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good comic

I like this we need more black heroes plus the story display what is going today brilliant story line a must read.

[Edward Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really good, for what it was - but I just don't feel compelled to read more. Might be how the criminal is glorified. It was missing whatever makes an antihero work. The art was phenomenal, though. Clearly done by an amazing talent with incredible technical skills.