Comic Book Review: Brilliant Trash #1

Aaron Parker |

Oct 18, 2017

Brilliant Trash is a new superhero comic. Issue #1 is an origin story and begins with a terrorist giving her spiel on how she’s for humanity. It’s not all that original, terrorists seem to be spouting this kind of thing all the time. This terrorist seems to be a rallying point in the book and is the first character introduced.

While the artwork is good, I’d pick up the book just to see what was inside, the dialogue is a little off. Most of it is okay and sounds like it’s coming from regular people. However, it starts with a terrorist, Lady Lastword, giving her speech. She’s all over the place and it’s hard to follow at some points. The fact that she takes out a section of Jerusalem has me curious, but we don’t see any more of her in this issue.

The color palette for the book is one of the best parts. It’s got a dark, grimy feel that fits well into the story. Kind of like the whole place has been washed out, which is great for the Chicago parts. The artwork itself fits too. The characters, minus the face mask for Lady Lastword, are drawn to look human. As for the aforementioned terrorists, she looks like something out of a sci-fi anime. It works for the book though.

Next, we meet two female journalists, one of which is the main character according to the book’s synopsis. The banter between these two actually resonates with me. They act like they are professional rivals, even if they write different things. One of the journalists and the main character, Kennedy Avis, seems like someone that will do anything. Her journalism style is more like the people that set up fake websites than Dan Rather. With her gaining powers, I’m curious to see if she changes or stays true to herself. The other journalist Capricorn Halle passes out, so we don’t get to see much of her. But, like Lady Lastword, I think she’ll be back.

James Heller, a hired thug it seems, is the most interesting character to me. He talks about his past in the military and I can’t quite identify his powers. I’m not sure what all he can do and I like that.

The Verdict

Overall Brilliant Trash #1 is a decent book. In our age of superhero overload, it doesn’t stand out. Yet, it has potential. Writer Tim Seeley and artist Priscilla Petraites both have room to improve. I did enjoy the way the characters got their powers and that is what the book’s creators need to focus on. There are so many directions I think they can find their niche and make this a book worth checking out.