Well, Aaron definitely surprised me. Dash does not become George Clooney. Sadly, Aaron’s only way of making the arc surprising was to change Dash’s character entirely. He’s about thirty issues late for the development he’s doing now. It comes off as contrived. Intricate, unexpected, but contrived.

And how has the reader known (or guessed) for three issues about Carol’s pregnancy but it’s a big surprise to her. It makes absolutely no sense.

The issue’s pretty good–except when Aaron writes Dash’s internal monologue. You can just feel Aaron straining to do tough pulp writer. It stale.

As for resolving the street fight cliffhanger, Aaron actually follows through very well. Sure, he’s been hiding an integral factoid to the Hmong behavior in regards to Lincoln so he could surprise the reader… but Scalped is all about the cheap narrative tricks, bad cliffhangers and occasionally profound character developments.

So, there you go.

CREDITS

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

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Contemporaneously…

• Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1 (January 2010)
• Red Herring 4 (January 2010)
• Supergirl 47 (January 2010)
• Immortal Weapons 5 (January 2010)
• Immortal Weapons 4 (January 2010)

Roger Ebert once wrote, “the very essence of noir is that there are no more heroes.” Much as I loathe Ebert, it’s not an incorrect observation. Someone really should have told Aaron. Just because he’s turned Dash into a dope fiend doesn’t mean he doesn’t have him running around this issue like George Clooney setting up to do the right thing.

And Aaron spends most of the issue on him, only giving Falls Down a page or two. Sure, Lincoln gets the rest of the comic, but Lincoln’s hunting down the prize witness or he’s being opaque about how to deal with the Hmong war.

Aaron’s cliffhanger for the issue is in the middle of a street fight. One has to wonder if he’s going to actually resolve it or do the Aaron thing and pick up later on.

This issue’s engaging, but it’s not particularly good (or bad) otherwise.

CREDITS

The Gnawing, 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.

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Contemporaneously…

• Red Herring 3 (December 2009)
• Phonogram: The Singles Club 6 (December 2009)
• Supergirl 46 (December 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 20 (December 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 19 (December 2009)

Okay, so Carol didn’t die. She just fell down in a very suspect way and it looked like her neck broke. She’s alive and well this issue and Aaron reminds the reader she knows Dash is an undercover agent… he also reminds the reader he never resolved that particular cliffhanger.

And she appears to be pregnant. Little Dash on the way.

She’s got a great scene with Lincoln.

As for Lincoln, Aaron continues positioning him opposite Nitz in the whole thing, even having them mirror dialogue, but it still doesn’t work. Aaron spent way too much time on Dash, which all seems wasted at this point.

The waste continues this issue with Dash having the only action scenes in the issue. Two times Aaron sets Dash up with confusing behavior (pulling a knife but not to hurt someone, visiting Carol) and no resolution.

It’s tiring.

But the rest is great.

CREDITS

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

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Contemporaneously…

• Red Herring 2 (November 2009)
• Supergirl Annual 1 (November 2009)
• Supergirl 45 (November 2009)
• Immortal Weapons 3 (November 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 18 (November 2009)

I think I’ve figured out one of Aaron’s big problems as a writer. He’s scared of women. Sure, if it’s Granny or the old lady who lives by herself, he’s fine. She can show up and be wise. But if it’s a character he’s actually got to develop, he’s not willing to make the commitment. He puts in a shockingly paltry amount of work on Carol this issue.

Everything’s on a convenient collision course–Nitz is raiding the reservation (well, him and his sidekick), the Hmong are coming, Dash is in a bind regarding his heroin addiction (don’t know why I assumed it was meth)–and Scalped is definitely getting exciting.

While Lincoln’s at the center of it all, he’s got the only calm this issue. I guess there’s a little with Falls Down, but it’s a repeat. Lincoln’s the one character Aaron never cuts corners on.

He makes Scalped.

CREDITS

The Gnawing, Part Two of Five; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, R.M. Guera; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

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Contemporaneously…

• Chronicles of Wormwood: The Last Battle 1 (September 2009)
• Bad Dog 3 (September 2009)
• Supergirl 43 (September 2009)
• Immortal Weapons 1 (September 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 15 (September 2009)

Guera’s art changes a little once again. It’s more crime art now, a lot less mystical. It’s good and it fits where Aaron’s taking the story–Lincoln going to war, Dash going nuts at the stress. There’s one weak panel with Nitz.

Let’s talk about Nitz. Aaron has Dash as a pawn between Lincoln and Nitz. Lincoln is an amazing character, easily the best thing about Scalped and probably the best thing Aaron will ever do as a writer. Nitz is a disposable racist psychopath. It’s not a worthy setup. And Aaron seems to know it–why else would the disposable Hmong get propped up in stature?

Catcher and Dash have a scene where Aaron tries to foreshadow Dash’s redemption. Unfortunately, it comes off a little more like the origin of Eagle-Man.

Falls Down has a little scene. He’s still Aaron’s second best creation.

Warts and all, excellent stuff.

CREDITS

The Gnawing, 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.

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Contemporaneously…

• Supergirl 42 (August 2009)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 27 (August 2009)
• The Invincible Iron Man 14 (August 2009)
• Chew 3 (August 2009)
• Unknown Soldier 9 (August 2009)

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.

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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.

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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)