The Stop Button

So Aaron’s plotting problems are fairly simple–and something an editor should have noticed (if Aaron didn’t himself). He gets a good cliffhanger in mind, does a scene setting up in the opposite direction just before, then reveals the unexpected cliffhanger in the next scene. Instead of building to a surprise, it’s immediate. One might even call it a Scalped cliffhanger.

Otherwise, the issue’s strong. Dash is quietly on the hunt for Diesel, which gives the reader more insight into the character than when Aaron’s telling him in the first person. But Red Crow’s also got to deal with his investors and the FBI; neither situation goes well. Aaron brings in the teenager from the last arc for a cameo, which should have more impact… but Aaron has already given Dash a different sidekick so it doesn’t.

Scalped is at its best when Aaron overlooks characters. The confusion plays naturally.

CREDITS

Dead Mothers, Part Four; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Casey Seijas and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.