Scalped #40 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), R.M. Guera (art), Giulia Brusco (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Dash and Carol begin two very different kinds of drug rehab.

What’s Good: It’s always enjoyable when a writer is able to bring together to plots that are dramatically opposite into a single, coherent issue and that’s pretty much what Jason Aaron does this month in Scalped.  Carol and Dash’s portions could not be more different in style, content, and tone and yet it feels only natural that the two occupy the same issue.  They essentially grapple with similar issues of family and addiction, and this allows for interesting parallels to be drawn between two very different stories that conjure very different feelings.

Aaron continues to reinvent Carol, as the character reinvents herself.  I expected this after last month’s fantastic issue, but the character only grows in likability and relatability.  She grows more empathetic still this month, as, for the first time, she finds herself standing on the periphery of a family environment, though a chaotic one.  It’s not a family without problems, nor is it ideal, but Aaron elegantly makes Carol’s trepidation, want, pain, and awkwardness clear as she stands on the outside, looking in, pondering to what extent to accept the subliminal invitation.  It’s muted, but fascinating stuff.  Much of this is due to just how subtly Aaron writes the Poor Bear family; Granny is the anchor that links together these disparate individuals, whether they realize it or not.  Aaron’s writing of their breakfast conversation is a thing of beauty; all the characters seem intent on their own, individual topics of conversation, and the result is oddly dissonant.

Dash’s drug withdrawal is the completely opposite of this warm environment, as Shunka essentially has him go cold turkey in the wilderness.  The result ends up feeling like a Native American, Hunter S. Thompson styled drug trip.  It’s brutal and nasty stuff as Dash goes out of his mind, completely isolated, but, like Thompson’s Fear and Loathing, there’s also a kind of humour to it as well, of a kind that mixes absurdity with schadenfreude.

Scalped #38 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), R.M. Guera, Giulia Brusco (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: From the Vietnam War to the reserve, a character crucial to Scalped’s history is illuminated for the very first time.

What’s Good: It’s hard to write a comic centred on a character in existential crisis.  The problem is that it’s difficult to have readers be sympathetic with a character with no fixed identity or to understand a character who doesn’t understand him or herself.  Yet somehow, Aaron manages it.

I think it’s largely due to Aaron’s focus on mood, atmosphere, and environment (the end of the Vietnam War) despite the heavy character work.  While we never fully grasp Wade’s motivations, aside from some vague ideas of destiny towards issue’s end, we are carried along the stream right with him.  Wade seems to float through his life in this book and so, that’s what we do.  Regardless of what major historical events he’s a part of or what completely spontaneous acts of violence or cruelty he commits, there’s a constant sense of meandering and meaninglessness, possibly because of that very spontaneity.   Even when he does a fairly heroic deed, it doesn’t feel like a fist-pump; Wade rescues an old man from slavery, only for the man to spit in his face and say “go home.”

That sums up the effective moodiness of this issue, really.  A constant sense of drifting lethargy and confusion encircles a man who bounces from day to day, surviving but not really living, making as few choices as he has to and often being unaware of it when he actually does.  Due to Wade’s “curse” (by dumb luck, he seemingly can’t be killed), even war is made bland and un-invigorating.  Wade’s life is just one big wash that sees him increasingly isolated on his existential island.  By issue’s end, when Wade actually begins to have some sense of destiny, this lasts all of a couple pages before that is quickly inverted and problematized.

Scalped #33 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), RM Guera (art), Giulia Brusco (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Red Crow and Nitz instigate competing manhunts to find the witness as the Hmongs finally reach the Rez.

What’s Good: I’m not sure that there’s ever been a bad month of Scalped, and #33 continues that trend.  This is one of those issues that’s solid if only for its ability to successfully juggle all of its many plot threads.  Despite this, it never feels scattered or thin, and every one of these threads remain entertaining and integral.  Not a single scene feels overly divorced from the rest of the book, and all of them feel honest and engaging, easily dodging the danger of becoming mere “updates.”

Overall, this issue further validates this arc’s title, “the Gnawing.”  Heading into said arc’s final installment, the tension has never been higher, as this month ratchets it up to fever pitch.  The manhunt for the witness remains as thrilling as ever and a confrontation between Nitz and Shunka is a great read, if only because of its being the first time any member of Red Crow’s organization has ever actually gotten physical with Nitz.  The scene also recalls Nitz’s issue in the High Lonesome arc, as Aaron again insinuates the disgruntled agent’s seeming deathwish.

With R.M. Guera putting out his usual quality, scratchy, “dusty noir” look, this Aaron truly succeeds this month if only because he has written exactly what a pen-ultimate issue should be to any storyarc.  So much is left dangling, and you know that most all of it will be resolved, most likely in cataclysmic fashion, next month.  Of course, that’s not to say that this issue is purely set-up either; there’s several developments that are sure to have long-lasting ramifications well beyond this arc, chiefly some new developments in Dash and Diesel’s alliance, particularly as it relates to the death of a long-running character.

Yes, I did just say that someone dies this month, and the manner in which he/she is killed and by whom is sure to cause all sorts of havoc down the road.

What’s Not So Good: The final page is a little less than ideal, and I suspect that it largely has to do with Aaron running into page-count difficulties.  It’s meant to leave us on a cliffhanger as Red Crow walks out to meet the Hmongs, but the book ends a little abruptly if only because Aaron only has one page to work with.  It’s clear that ideally, the book should’ve ended with a splash of some sort following this.  Pacing-wise, it’s as though someone tore out the last two pages of my comic.

Also, I felt that Aaron was wasting his time a little in his attempt to make Agent Newsome a little more likable.  The guy’s been a complete jackass for the entirety of the series, that dumb jock in a position of power that you love to hate, and there’s no way Aaron’s going to make the guy particularly sympathetic in just a couple of scenes.  In fact, it feels a little strange.

Conclusion: Scalped is an awesome series, and this is another really solid outing.  I can’t wait for next month’s installment.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans