Cultural critique through insightful sci-fi
Creative Staff:
Story: Tim Seeley
Art: Priscilla Petraites
Colors: Marco Lesko
What They Say:
In the days to come, a super powered teenage girl wipes the heavily disputed Old City of Jerusalem from the face of the globe. Now, in American dystopia after the “Lady Last Word Incident”, a click-bait headline writing “journalist” holds the key to a med-tech conspiracy that could turn people into gods for the price of days off their lives. But in a world where news is tailored to every viewpoint, will anyone believe her?
A sci-fi superhuman epic from Tim Seeley, the writer of Revival and Grayson, and breakout art sensation Priscilla Petraites!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Several new comics take the approach of adding political content to their stories, but few use it so purposefully in constructing the world of the characters as Brilliant Trash. The opening panels of the series offer a monologue worthy of an Ayn Rand novel, but instead of forming the foundation of a personal philosophy, it establishes a world where political factions create a reality through their stores of “others,” heros and villains, firmly situated in a universe where every citizen has chosen a meaningless side. This monologue holds up as an accurate rhetorical reading of contemporary media and culture.
This first issue does not give away as much of the story as AfterShock’s summary, but the story is only beginning by establishing several personalities for the purpose of showing readers the complexity of truth in this world. Our main characters, so far, are two female journalists. The first is a serious investigative journalist and the other freelances for disposable internet infotainment. Both seem to have been targeted by, so far, unknown agents who want a secret exposed. And then we have the characters with superpowers that seem to have been granted through medical intervention.
Readers get a few types of scenes, all heavy in dialog, that range from mundane interactions to action-filled fights. All of these scenes divulge information about the world and the personalities of the characters, leaving enough questions to keep a reader engaged with the unfolding story.
Artwork changes tone as the scene changes. While the action scenes have been grounded in an inferno, there is an acute range of style that is detail oriented as the panels change from a website to a coffee shop to Chicago Chinatown. Especially effective is the mask of Lady Last Word. It has the visual presence and lack of personality that reminds me of the mask use in Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys. This allows the message of the character to resonate without the reader adding unintended subtexts. With such control, the artwork manages to add a solid skeleton for the body of the story.
In Summary:
Brilliant Trash begins on a strong note with smart writing and visceral artwork. The indifference of a world that finds its truths in social networks and bait-click articles fuels the action. Fans of cold war spy stories and Alfred Hitchcock films will enjoy the methodical revelations that give incomplete insight into something bigger than the characters. With solid and engaging writing and subtly wrought artwork, Brilliant Trash has the potential to be special.
Grade: A+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: November 15th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
