"Genius" Coming Soon!

Top Cow VP and all around good guy Rob Levin had some kind things to say about "Genius" in a recent interview...

WIZARD: "Geinus" is also coming in June, by Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman and artist Afua Richardson. Give us some background on "Genius."

ROB: Background is a good way to put it. I met Marc on (the now-defunct Warren Ellis forum) The Engine back in early 2006, and we had done a little correspondence. We met up in San Diego that year and he introduced me to his writing partner Adam and we talked about what Top Cow was looking for. They pitched me a concept I still really like, but for some reason we haven't done it. Fast forward to last February, and the New York Comic Con, where they gave me a new pitch called "Genius." My first thought was, "We must do this book." My second thought was, "Are readers ready for this book?" The latter was the only thing that prevented this from being done sooner. I love new books, and I wish there were concepts and genres being tried out in American comics. There are exceptions, but we're still very superhero heavy, especially in terms of what sells.

WIZARD: Does this concept sound like anything else out there?

ROB: Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, Patton. What if the greatest military minds of our generation were 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?"

I think this is one of the best books you're likely to read this year, but it's not for those who just want to see people flying and punching and punching through continuity walls.

This was actually one of the harder books to find the right artist on, because we wanted realism, a street sensibility, and something unique. Afua brings all of that and more to the table.