Scalped #51 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), R.M. Guera (artist), Giulia Brusco (colors), Sal Cipriano (letters), Mark Doyle (associate editor) & Will Dennis (editor)

The Story: Only 10 issues to go!  Red Crow is trying to go straight, but will his criminal underlings let that happen?

What’s Good: This issue starts a new story cycle and sets up a lot of potential conflicts.  That’s pretty much what you’d expect out of Scalped and Jason Aaron at this point.  Now that Aaron has announced that Scalped will end with issue 60, all long time readers know that we’re headed for some seriously nasty situations and it’s fun to guess what those might be.

The central theme of this issue will probably run though the remainder of the series: Red Crow trying to rein in his criminal enterprise and go semi-legit.  That’s not a new theme in an organized crime story like Scalped, but it sets up some wonderful conflicts among characters that we’ve really grown to love/loathe over the course of the previous 50 issues.  Run through the list of major characters in Scalped: Red Crow, Dash, Carol, Shunka, Falls Down, Dino, Agent Nitz, Granny Poor Bear, etc. and try to find one that you don’t have a strong opinion on!  Will Red Crow be able to go legit?  Will Shunka let him?  What happens when we get the inevitable Shunka-Dash throw down?

Even now, Aaron is just cranking up the character development.  For example, we’ve come to know Shunka as the loyal, but conflicted and bottled-up, enforcer for Red Crow.  He naturally doesn’t react all that positively when Red Crow starts busting his own meth labs, but when told to fall into line, Shunka beats the CRAP out of one of the meth dealers.  It’s one of those situations where Shunka had every right to hit the dude the first time, but then he just pours it on in brutal, Scalped fashion and you can just tell that he is letting out all of his frustrations out on this guy.  Scalped is beautifully brutal at times like this because Aaron and Guera always push the scene for a panel or two beyond the point of good taste.  And I love Scalped for that.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #880 – I absolutely loved Scott Snyder’s take on the Joker, a horrific monster who dwells in the very subterranean, dark heart of Gotham.  Not only was the Joker creepy as hell, but Snyder did a great job in fitting him seemlessly into the themes regarding Gotham that Snyder has made integral to his series.  Oh, and the James Jr. slasher flick cliffhanger was pretty fun too.

Most Anticipated: The Punisher #1 – Greg Rucka returns, not just to Marvel, but to comic books in general (seriously, where the hell is Stumptown?). The Punisher has often struggled outside the Marvel MAX imprint.  Too gritty and realistic and he doesn’t quite fit in the superhero abundant Marvel Universe.  Too wacky, and you end up with weirdness like Frankencastle or Frank as an angel. I think Rucka is a writer who will manage to find the balance and, at the very least, I’m sure will get some dark, noir-y goodness. And certainly, the art is going to be absolutely gorgeous.

Other Picks: Flashpoint #4, Batman: Gates of Gotham #4, Scalped #51, Secret Six #36, Wolverine #13, Superboy #10, Sweet Tooth #24, Amazing Spider-Man #667, Moon Knight #4

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Captain America & Bucky #620 – This one comes with a big asterisk as I just came back from vacation and haven’t picked up some primo books from the LCS yet (American Vampire, Detective Comics, etc.), but this issue really illustrated by Chris Samnee and Elizabeth Breitweiser are two of the brightest lights out there on the artistic front.  Sure, the story of how Bucky became THE Bucky is entertaining, but Samnee and Breitweiser are the real stars here.

Most Anticipated: Scalped #51 – With the sad news that Scalped will be ending with issue #60, you just KNOW that Jason Aaron is going to be bringing the heat for the remaining 10 issues.  He’s been pretty unafraid to do bloody and traumatic things to these characters, so I can only imagine what he’ll do now that he isn’t saving anything for future story arcs.  The end starts here!

Other Picks: 50 Girls 50 #3, Severed #1, Infinite #1, Hulk #38, Punisher #1, Rachel Rising #1, SHIELD #2, Sweet Tooth #24