Scalped 46 (April 2011)

Catcher isn’t a crazy man or a prophet, he’s Hannibal Lector. The other half of the issue is Lawrence–the guy in prison–and his half of the issue is great.

Maybe his name’s not Lawrence, but whatever. The guy in prison. Aaron does a great job with him.

As for the stuff with Falls Down and Catcher? Well, Aaron certainly seems to enjoy writing about Catcher torturing Falls Down. Maybe enough it’s concerning,

And I misspoke a little when I said Catcher is now Hannibal Lector; Aaron’s probably going for more of a “Twin Peaks” vibe. He’s not really accomplishing anything–the issue’s entirely disposable as a part of the narrative. Except the prison stuff, of course.

But the Catcher stuff? I don’t see the need. Aaron could’ve established it all in a page or two and had a great done-in-one at the prison.

Aaron disappoints again.

CREDITS

You Gotta Sin To Get Saved, Part Two of Five, At Her Majesty’s Pleasure; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 45 (March 2011)

Maybe I was wrong. I thought I could shake off a bad issue and move along, but I find myself unable to trust Aaron anymore. This issue, starting a new arc, is a little bit of a soft reboot. Dash and Carol aren’t together, Lincoln’s bringing Dash into politics, there’s a bunch of new characters… but then Aaron reminds the reader about Falls Down and Catcher.

But instead of being a big revelation, it’s more a reminder Aaron’s terrible about following up on plot threads.

Guera’s art is good this issue without being great; he draws Lincoln really well. Lincoln’s about the only thing in Scalped ever done really well.

And even Aaron’s handling of the hippies out to rid the reservation of Lincoln’s corruptness is good. It’s hard to like them; Lincoln’s convinced himself (and the reader) he’s right.

But I can’t get hopeful; Aaron’s failed once too often.

CREDITS

You Gotta Sin To Get Saved, Part One of Five, Running To Stand Still; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 44 (February 2011)

If Aaron wanted to jump start Nitz’s storyline, why not just make him a Jedi? It would have been so much better than this issue.

The problem with bad Scalped issues is how low they often go. Aaron’s writing this issue is absolute garbage. None of it is good, not the dialogue, certainly not the narration, definitely not the plotting. It’s laughably bad.

And Furnò’s guest art isn’t any good either. He’s got a new style and it’s terrible.

I’m trying not to give away the idiot plot twist, but it’s clear if Aaron did write an outline of the entire Scalped series, it’s terrible. If he didn’t outline, I suppose there’d be an excuse for issue’s like this one.

It might be the worst issue in the series (after one of the best, as usual). It’s an awful comic.

Why bother hating bad Scalped issues? There are too many.

CREDITS

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 43 (January 2011)

As usual, Aaron redeems himself after a bad issue. This time it’s a one shot for the sheriff in White Haven, who made a few appearances giving Dash a hard time.

Guesting on the art is Jason Latour, whose frantic, distorted style works perfectly, as Aaron’s story is about a man who can’t properly see himself. There’s a lot about ego and so on–with one great twist with someone trying to really talk to the sheriff… and the sheriff not getting it.

Aaron’s able to make the character sympathetic, making him too mean to be pitiable, which is a neat move. The ending implies he’ll figure in later in Scalped and it’s the only bad moment in the comic. Without it, Aaron would have a tidy, subtle and emotionally devastating comic book. With it, one can feel Aaron tugging on the strings too much.

It’s a wonderful issue regardless.

CREDITS

A Come-To-Jesus; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Jason Latour; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 42 (December 2010)

Holy God, is this issue trite. Aaron’s been trite and obvious before, but never to this degree. The entire issue poses Dash and Carol as tragic, star-crossed lovers. It felt like Aaron had just got done reading Twilight and wanted to homage it with some Scalped fanfic. It doesn’t even feel like the same comic.

Though Guera’s art is back on target again. Faces aren’t funny anymore.

Aaron opens it with a collective dream sequence, then does his whole split declarative statement first person thoughts thing. He’s done it before and it’s worked occasionally. It belly flops here. Belly flops so hard I’m angry I read the comic.

He even gets rid of Wade. The one thing he’s got going for him, Aaron drives him off the rez.

Apparently, Aaron never thought through Carol and Dash hooking up.

I hate this issue. But Aaron’s abject mishandling isn’t a surprise.

CREDITS

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

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 41 (October 2010)

Guera’s art is something of a disaster this issue. A managed disaster. Everyone looks off. Men’s faces are too skinny, women’s faces are too full. I was surprised Guera didn’t have any credited help. It really doesn’t look like him, but an impression.

As for the rest of the issue… it’s incredibly trite.

Wade’s back because Dash hasn’t been looking for Gina’s killer. The guy who has been looking for Gina’s killer–Falls Down–hasn’t been in the comic for about five or six issues, so it’s hard to say where the investigation’s going.

Oh, wait, did Catcher kill him too?

It ends with a montage of Carol and Dash, both cured of their drug addiction (Dash through the ancestral sweating out, Carol through methadone), searching for each other.

It’s inane and only reminds Aaron still hasn’t dealt with Dash telling Carol he’s an FBI agent.

Filler issue. Big time.

CREDITS

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

Contemporaneously…

Orc Stain 5 (October 2010)
Nancy in Hell 4 (October 2010)
The Unwritten 16 (October 2010)
Incognito: Bad Influences 1 (October 2010)
DC Universe: Legacies 4 (October 2010)

Scalped 40 (September 2010)

Reading about Dash detoxing is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Oh, Aaron throws him naked into the snow, hallucinating about Heaven, but it’s still no good.

Gina’s detox story–Aaron’s big on juxtaposing this arc, like he just got out of an AP literature class–is a lot better. Maybe because Aaron’s actually doing some writing. He’s got a big family conversation going on around Gina. With Dash’s stuff, he just makes Guera do all the work.

Actually, if Aaron took the time for metaphors and so on, Dash’s might work. But he doesn’t.

What does work–and what shows Aaron decided too late what Scalped should be about–is Wade and Lincoln. Wade’s return has Lincoln practically claiming Dash as his own (or at least implying he wants to be the father of Gina’s child). It’s a great scene, way too short.

The issue’s another mixed bag.

CREDITS

Unwanted, Part Two; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco and Trish Mulvihill; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 39 (August 2010)

Well, Wade’s back, which is good. Aaron can write Wade.

But Wade’s return is the soft cliffhanger. Before his appearance, Aaron deals with Carol’s pregnancy and drug addiction. I’m fairly sure there’s some Lifetime movie out there he ripped off, what with Carol literally burning down her drug den to show she’s changing her ways and all.

Aaron uses her to narrate most of the issue. A drug addicted pregnant woman going through withdrawals. He does a terrible, terrible job with that first person narration but he does even worse with the few pages he spends on Dash.

Odd how Aaron’s so bad at narrating his “protagonist” even train wrecks are better.

Guera’s art is utterly wonderful, regardless of what’s going on in the scenes. He’s really hit a good stride lately.

Nothing happens this issue besides Carol deciding to detox. She doesn’t even start detoxing. It’s all useless filler.

CREDITS

Unwanted, Part One; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 38 (July 2010)

Aaron sure does expect a lot from his readers. I was almost through the issue before I remembered Wade is Dash’s dad. I thought it was an unlikely Falls Down flashback.

The issue takes place at the end of the Vietnam War, with Wade working the black market and romancing a local girl. It’s the best frost person Aaron has written in Scalped, even better than his occasional Lincoln first persons.

It just goes to show the series’s salient problem–Dash is poorly realized character. In one issue, Aaron does a better job realizing Wade than in thirty-some with Dash.

The issue is one of the series’s best, both in writing and art. Guera really captures the desperation in the battle scenes and the subsequent “regular life” ones. Aaron doesn’t try for profundity, just earnestness and the result is a sublime issue.

Shame it’s a done in one though.

p style=”font-size:11px;”>CREDITS

Family Tradition; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 37 (June 2010)

Aaron’s full of surprises this issue. Two big ones, both lame. He’s doing a classic noir piece, he’s decided, but hasn’t given it much thought. His surprises are predictable, not because he forecasts them, but because everything else in this issue’s predictable so why shouldn’t they be too.

It’s a waste of Furnò’s art, especially since Aaron’s got him doing the same scene a few times over with nothing but angle changes. When they do get back to the reservation, and Furnò gets to new visual territory, the issue’s over. About halfway through, I just wanted it to end since I realized Aaron wasn’t going anywhere good with it.

Giving each character a focus doesn’t necessarily work. Not everyone is worthy of a story arc. It’s hard to say whether Red Crow’s sidekick deserves one; if he does, this arc certainly isn’t it.

It’s filler. Completely written, beautifully illustrated filler.

CREDITS

A Fine Action of an Honorable and Catholic Spaniard, Conclusion; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.