Review: Brilliant #2

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Mark Bagley

How do Bendis and Bagley follow up their record-breaking, award-winning run on the million-selling ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN? With another chapter of their new creator-owned series BRILLIANT. The challenge has been set: a handful of genius college students have taken it upon themselves to crack the mystery of superpowers. Can it be done? Can science fiction again become science fact? Find out in this crackling thriller sure to entertain fans of SCARLET and POWERS.

The second issue of Bendis’ new creator owned book with collaborator Mark Bagley has finally come out after what feels like an eternity long wait.

Check behind the cut where I conduct my own experiment about a comic based in science (fiction).

Four months is a long time to wait for a comic, ea bi-monthly one. While it may seem somewhat off-color to start a “review” of a comic with a remark about shipping, it still bears noting one simple thing: unless you’re absolutely dedicated to an ongoing story, it becomes a bit difficult to remember what happened in a comic four months ago. It also doesn’t necessarily help matters much if you’re entering a second issue while trying to remember what happened from the first, as it is the initial momentum of a book that brings you to the second. If you’re starting with a blank, things clearly aren’t off to a good start.

Then again, if at four months time with no memory of the first issue (beyond that it existed), you still pick up the second? Then clearly something worked. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here at all.

Such is the case with Bendis and Bagley’s new creator-owned book, Brilliant. Hit with an extended delay and arriving in shops yesterday, the issue picks up where the last issue left off — or rather, I assume it did, because I read the second issue without re-reading the first. Why? As an experiment.

Let’s take into consideration for this experiment several preceding factors:

1. While I can’t give specific details, my memory of Brilliant #1 was “Yeah, I liked that. I’ll buy issue #2.”
2. As a fan of Bendis’ past work, both for-hire and creator-owned, I feel that I can trust Bendis rather implicitly when it comes to his work.
3. Bagley drew Venom: Lethal Protector. I will buy anything Bagley does.
4. Bendis and Bagley had a fantastic run together on Ultimate Spider-Man that plays very important role in my current love of comic books.

1. Upon receiving the second issue, I did not take the time to re-read the first issue of Brilliant, despite thinking/being told it was probably a good idea to re-familiarize myself with the material.

As an already noted fan of Bendis’ creator-owned work (Powers is, in so many words, “my jam”), my initial thought process when choosing to discuss the second issue of this series was to see if it could hold up on its own despite situations outside of its control (it being the book which I am now applying self-awareness to).

The end result is, unfortunately, rather bleak. While the concept is still incredibly easy to jump into, nothing of it seemed familiar. The recap page was met with a, “Wait, that’s what happened?”, and all of the characters were met with little to no familiarity. Brilliant #2 essentially read as a brand new comic, with the things that happened before playing no part in my newly forming opinions on the title. It was essentially the equivalent of reading two separate comics about the same thing, and coming to the conclusion that it is enjoyable for what it is. I can’t say I’m enamored with the book to the extent I am, say, Powers, but I’ve ultimately reached the same conclusion when I read the first issue: “Yeah, I’ll give the third issue a go. Why not?”

Yet, there is an inherent caveat to this experiment. Upon reaching my initial conclusion, a second experiment was conducted: “If I actually do re-read the first issue, does it make the experience any better?” The end result is a single word: yes. Without the four month gap impacting negatively on my initial reaction, the comic does read much better. A brand new and increasingly positive experience is had; the pace is on point for Bendis at his best, the characters are affable and more familiar, Bagley’s art is emotive and sleek, and the entire story reads well as a uniform piece. Really, the only major downside is that the book seems like a re-hash of Bendis’ “Ultimate Marvel mutants are just science experiments” story, but that ultimately doesn’t mater — the two separate issues, when read as a whole, create a better experience.

This second experiment then comes to a new conclusion: this will probably read much better when finished, or in some kind of collected form.

There in lies the problem. As fans of the sequential medium, we entrust our time and money to creators to tell us an effective story in serialized pieces. Fans of comics will of course be familiar with the notion of “trade waiting,” but it is often looked down upon because a series often lives or dies based on sales of the individual issues. Creator and fan essentially enter into a mutual/symbiotic relationship, where you pay for your book and they deliver the goods. To that end, Brilliant — at only its second issue — is not a title that delivers the appropriate bang for its buck, yet it still ultimately feels like it will.

Eventually, yes. Just not right now.

I present to you two final factors to consider for this experiment. For just under four dollars in a competitive market, what you get by purchasing this comic is this:

• A recap page
• 24 pages of comic
• Two and a third pages of a reprinted interview unrelated to the comic
• Roughly three and a third pages of letters and answers
• Seven ads and twenty four blurbs on other things Bendis has written and is writing
• A list few brief things that Bendis is enjoying (which, for the record, are a great set of recommendations)
• Oh, and a nice one-page ad for Tim Daniel’s comic with Mehdi Cheggiur that I am very much looking forward to. 

Conversely, this can in turn be compared to the last issue of Casanova, which ran at just under five dollars from the same Marvel imprint and gave you:

• A recap on the inside cover 
• 32 pages of comic
• Three and a half pages of brand new musings from Fraction 
• Four and a half pages of letters and extensive answers.

And, just to throw this out there for consideration, the last issue of Powers (#7, originally solicited for June 2010, released March 2nd 2011 (three months shy of a full year delay), with #8 tentatively scheduled for February 2nd 2012) by Bendis and Oeming had 31 pages of story and a six page Takio ad for the same price as Brilliant #2.

This “review” can not really be classified as a review so much as it is a series of observations with opinions thrown in the mix. (I honestly won’t even refer to it as a review if you ask me about it.) Value is perceived on an individual level, so ultimately Brilliant will either hit the right notes for you or it won’t. However, unless that back-up material is something you really wish to own, you might be better off waiting for a collection. Inside of Brilliant is a really good story, waiting to be unleashed. The final question, which I can not answer, is how long it will take for that story to come out.

This is, ultimately, where my experiment becomes a “thought experiment.” I can give no grand conclusion. The final verdict of the book comes down to you. I can’t possibly guess how many comics you buy or how many you can afford, so whether or not you want to manage Brilliant into your budget is your decision. I can only share my final opinionated thoughts on the matter:

I think Bendis and Bagley are a fantastic creative team, and they have more than proven that with their previous work together. That being said, Brilliant doesn’t compare well with either of their past work, nor does it exceed anything else that comes to mind. I will be completely honest and admit that I will continue to read in the story in its serialized form because that is my preference, but I would recommend for the average comic reader to wait for a trade, assuming this is something you wanted to read.

Final Verdict: 5.0 – Firmly straddling the middle ground