Scalped 26 (April 2009)

Aaron almost makes Diesel sympathetic, which should be impossible but it’s the second part of the exceptionally misanthropic “High Lonesome” arc and anything’s possible.

He’s also got Furno on the art doing his magic–the first time Scalped has broken up an arc between different artists.

But it falls apart at the end, in that regular Aaron style. He asks the reader to believe the FBI–even the racist, anti-Native American FBI–would actually recruit and promote a kid who killed his fellow kids.

Aaron loses Diesel’s sympathy vote then. He apparently didn’t watch “The Wire” close enough to see how to pull off these things.

Other than the last three pages, it’s an outstanding issue, nearly one of Scalped‘s best. The Furno art helps. Every scene is a revelation.

But the ending is just dumb.

It should be disappointing, but Aaron’s plotting failings are predictable at this point.

CREDITS

Been Down So Goddamn Long That It Looks Like Up To Me – High Lonesome, Part Two of Five; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Mark Doyle and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 25 (March 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…

Scalped 24 (February 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…

Scalped 23 (January 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…

Scalped 22 (December 2008)

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…

Scalped 21 (November 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…

Scalped 20 (October 2008)

So… any footing Aaron loses by not having creative juxtaposing between Dash and Carol this issue, he makes up when the two bond over smoking meth.

Furnò returns on the art; most of the issue recaps Carol’s history, which is Aaron once again expanding the Scalped ground situation. All Dash does is tread water–he gets into it with the little kid who Diesel shot’s aunt, he gets into it with Diesel, he gets really depressed.

And he smokes some meth with Carol and it’s the most romantic thing in the world.

It’s strange to see Aaron not getting how his structure works, since he clearly thought out Carol’s side of the issue. Dash’s is all willy-nilly until the finish. Carol gets a flashback with Red Crow, not to mention the big action flashback. Aaron’s kick-off event to her decline, however, seems a little convenient.

Still, it succeeds.

CREDITS

The Boudoir Stomp, Conclusion; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Casey Seijas and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Contemporaneously…

Scalped 19 (September 2008)

With Furnò back on art for another issue, Aaron recovers Scalped. The trick is his humanizing of Dash. The issue juxtaposes Dash and Carol’s “average” day, which isn’t particularly nice all told. But they’re domestic in their way and Scalped becomes a strange couples book but it works.

While Aaron is still dealing with the past–the issue opens and closes on flashbacks–he’s also still expanding the present. He adds more to Dash’s job, but he also reveals Carol’s for the first time. Furnò manages to be constrained–his lines aren’t expansive, but sort of a controlled chaos–while implying all of the newness of the issue.

Aaron even gets away with a totally new approach to his perspective. He emphases the juxtaposing to the point he’s giving the reader insight into both Dash and Carol’s thoughts, almost bouncing them off each other.

It’s a fantastic issue. Scalped‘s back.

CREDITS

The Boudoir Stomp, Part One; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Casey Seijas and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Scalped 18 (August 2008)

With the help of guest artist Davide Furnò, Aaron recovers Scalped‘s quality. It probably doesn’t hurt Dash is nowhere in the issue save a mention or two, with Aaron instead concentrating on the honest cop on the reservation and his return to work.

It’s a done-in-one, undoubtedly with some setup for the future (the cop–Falls Down–is investigating Gina’s death), so the issue’s quality doesn’t reassure me Aaron won’t fall off the proverbial writing wagon again.

Furnò is the real star. He brings Scalped into a tonal place, more crime comic sparse than its been the rest of the run. He’s able to handle the mystical aspects too, which is nice.

The issue would be just as outstanding if it followed a great arc too, which says a lot for the work Aaron and Furnò do. It builds the story–Aaron is expanding again instead of contracting.

CREDITS

Falls Down; writer, Jason Aaron; artist, Davide Furnò; colorist, Giulia Brusco; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Casey Seijas and Will Dennis; publisher, Vertigo.

Scalped 17 (July 2008)

Guera’s art is so haphazard and cartoonish this issue, I had to check the credits to make sure it was him. The weak art fits the issue, however. It’s not just the worst issue of Scalped by far, it’s a bad comic.

Aaron skips any real resolution to the previous issue’s cliffhanger, then gives an unlikely scene where Dash shows off his inability to aim his firearm. He’s like a Star Wars stormtrooper he’s so bad.

This arc has revealed some serious problems with Scalped. First, Aaron doesn’t care about developing Dash as a character. He’s got a great character in Red Crow and doesn’t do the work on Dash. It’s lazy. He also has problems juxtaposing the two men; it’s an unnatural fit this arc.

Finally, Aaron doesn’t build to his story beats. He’s clearly got them outline and forces them in.

This issue is spectacularly lazy all around.

CREDITS

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