Dash is back! Who knew he was still a character in Scalped.

Aaron reveals the heist gone bad this issue–and some more (only a little, actually) into Dash’s descent into meth-addiction or whatever–and he’s been watching some Pulp Fiction.

The way the heist ties in on itself isn’t particularly interesting and the way Aaron reveals details late is very Ocean’s Twelve, but it’s a good issue. It’s not deep, but it amuses as Aaron throws a strung-out Dash through a very bad night.

He does try to get some sympathy for Dash, whether it’s flashbacks to his awful childhood or to being a soldier, but since Dash is such a non-character at this point in the series, it doesn’t matter. Dash is a pawn on the Scalped board. Not all the characters are, but Dash is definitely one of them.

Guera’s enthusiastic art helps lots.

CREDITS

Rock Bottom, Pop. 1 – High Lonesome, Conclusion; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Phonogram: The Singles Club 4 (July 2009)
• Supergirl 41 (July 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 26 (July 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 13 (July 2009)
• Chew 2 (July 2009)

This issue, even though Aaron makes the strangest decision regarding the identity of Gina’s killer I can imagine–he reveals it without any reason–is a fine issue.

Guera’s back on art, still letting the colorist fill in facial details, but at least the style is constant not. He’s not experimenting anymore, he’s committed.

And Aaron splits the issue between two and a half strong characters. Falls Down is investigating the murder from a couple issues again (when Scalped got real mean), the convict on death row has his scenes (which are all just b plot development), and then Catcher returns.

Catcher gets less and less interesting the more Aaron develops the character. He and Dash should leave the comic and never come back….

But it’s a good issue, particularly because of the Falls Down scenes. Lincoln never makes an appearance, but he’s always present. Aaron’s sublimity is sometimes great.

CREDITS

I’ll Never Get Outta This World Alive – High Lonesome, Part Four of Five; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Phonogram: The Singles Club 3 (June 2009)
• Supergirl 40 (June 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 25 (June 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 12 (June 2009)
• Chew 1 (June 2009)

At first I thought Guera was homaging Bill Messner-Loebs’s Journey and then I thought it was a Corben homage… and then I just realized Guera stopped doing much face detail and made the colorist do it.

This issue isn’t a nice one. It’s an intentionally mean one, with Aaron introducing a violent, sadistic career criminal to the reservation with his eyes set on ripping off Lincoln’s casino.

After one issue, all from the new character’s perspective, it’s hard to see how Aaron’s going to make it organic to Scalped. Lincoln has a walk-on, Dash makes an appearance at the very end… but it’s a brand new comic, not just a new arc.

Reading it as that new comic, it’s okay but nothing more. Aaron tries hard to continuously surprise the reader with his protagonist’s inhumanity. There doesn’t seem to be a point to it… I’m hoping I’m wrong.

CREDITS

This Then Is the Rez – High Lonesome, Part One of Five; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Bad Dog 2 (March 2009)
• Supergirl 37 (March 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 22 (March 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 9 (March 2009)
• Battlefields: Dear Billy 3 (March 2009)

Guera’s art falls apart a little this issue. He’s careful and considered on the flashbacks and the postscript, but during the big action scene he falls apart. He gets loose and the scene suffers a bit.

Aaron ties everything together a little bit differently than I expected. All the work he did on Dino last issue has nothing to do with Lincoln, which makes one wonder why Scalped needed a pointless Dino issue. The plotting for the issue in strong, these little disconnected scenes of Lincoln’s rage building.

The ending to this issue, this look into Lincoln’s soul, could very well be the end of Scalped too. Sure, there are lots of places for Aaron to go, but this issue sums up Lincoln quite well.

Aaron finishes the issue with Lincoln’s first person explanation of himself. It’s a complete narrative shift, but it’s a beautiful sequence with the Guera art.

CREDITS

The Gravel in Your Guts, Conclusion; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Bad Dog 1 (February 2009)
• Supergirl 36 (February 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 21 (February 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 8 (February 2009)
• Air 5 (February 2009)

It’s a Dino issue. Red Crow doesn’t make an appearance at all, though I do think Dash shows up for a second to buy some meth. But the issue is otherwise Aaron making Dino as unlikable character as possible. Sure, he’s only involved in delivering meth because he wants to get off the rez and help his daughter and he can’t get away from the crooked cops… but, really, Aaron’s just striping him of his sympathetic nature so when he dies it won’t be a big deal.

Actually, if he does just die and Red Crow does just avenge him, it’ll be a major letdown.

Besides being an obvious piece in a narrative sequence, the issue’s good. Guera’s art has never been better and Aaron’s dialogue is strong. His internal monologue for Dino is lame though.

Really hoping Aaron has something better planned than what he’s foreshadowing for next issue.

CREDITS

The Gravel in Your Guts, Part Three; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Supergirl 35 (January 2009)
• Fantastic Four: True Story 4 (January 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 20 (January 2009)
• Air 4 (January 2009)
• Battlefields: Dear Billy 1 (January 2009)

Lincoln’s arc continues with more great work from Aaron and Guera. And Guera doesn’t slip up this time, even when he’s got the scene with the white trash guy. The visual pacing is fantastic–the wordless action scenes are perfect. It’s like Aaron’s figured out how long he needs to let the art go on its own and when to stop.

It’s also a Dash-free issue, but it more suggests a Scalped without Dash. Aaron’s now established he probably doesn’t even need the Dash character, not with the Hmong starting trouble for Lincoln; it’s too bad Aaron hasn’t fully realized his ostensible protagonist like he has Lincoln.

Dino pops in for a scene–with the aforementioned cracker–and it seems to be Aaron working his b plot. It’s a little obvious if he’s foreshadowing (Scalped is usually obvious in foreshadowing), but Lincoln’s story is so good it doesn’t matter.

CREDITS

The Gravel in Your Guts, Part Two; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Phonogram: The Singles Club 1 (December 2008)
• Superman: New Krypton Special 1 (December 2008)
• Supergirl 34 (December 2008)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 19 (December 2008)
• Air 3 (December 2008)

Guera’s back and he does great work. Well, except one page with this skinhead. Maybe drawing white people just throws him off his game.

As for the story… It’s all about Lincoln and Dino. Aaron brackets the story with a flash forward and then explains some of the bracket in the rest of the issue. Actually just the final scene, between Lincoln and Dino’s grandmother. There are some other hints as to what might come in future chapters of the arc and none of them are good.

The complicated character work with Lincoln is, as usual, phenomenal. Dash doesn’t make an appearance, which is fine. Aaron seems to be understanding more and more about not overfilling his issues. Dino’s story doesn’t confuse Lincoln’s; they just coexist at a respectable distance.

Sadly Aaron continues with his two-dimensional characterization of the Hmong villains (while the skinhead’s humanized).

Otherwise it’s near perfect.

CREDITS

The Gravel in Your Guts, Part One; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editor, Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

• Fantastic Four: True Story 3 (November 2008)
• The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California 1 (November 2008)
• Air 2 (November 2008)
• Criminal 7 (November 2008)
• Solomon Kane 3 (November 2008)