Scalped #52 – Review

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

The Story: The final explosion of violence on the Praire Rose reservation is starting to build.

What’s Good: Scalped is a really hard comic to review in single issues when Jason Aaron is writing one of his normal story arcs because you could sum the entire issue up by saying “the tension builds.”  Because truly, that is the whole point of the issue.  This is the second issue of the story arc and it by the end of it, he has moved all of his game pieces into place, allegiances have formed and now things will begin to spiral towards a gritty and bloody conclusion.  If you’ve read Scalped since the beginning, there is NO consideration of hopping off now because you must see what happens in the end.  It would be like someone watching the entirety of the Sopranos TV series and then turning the TV off with 15 minutes to go in the finale.  And, much like the Sopranos, we simply don’t know what will happen.  Who will die from among these characters: Dash, Red Crow, Shunka, Falls Down, Catcher, Agent Nitz, Sheriff Karnow, etc.

Probably the most compelling thing about this final arc of the Scalped story is the redemption of Red Crow.  We could be headed for an ending where Red Crow is on the side of righteousness and the supposed good guys at the FBI have been so corrupted that it is impossible to root for them.  Agent Nitz is so repugnant!  Perhaps that is what Aaron was foreshadowing in issue #50 when he showed that frontier scalp-hunter who was later scalped himself.  At the time, I took that issue to mean that the white man reaps what he sows by neglecting the reservation, but maybe it also means that you become what you hunt or live amongst.

Oh, and big time finale in this issue!  I won’t spoil it, but it surely looks big.  Although the cynic in me wonders how the suggested big event could happen in issue #52 when the series is ending at issue #60.

Guera and Brusco have really nailed the gritty vibe of this series.  Their art passes the ultimate test of being non-interchangeable with others.  Think of some quality artists out there and ask yourself if Scalped would be the same if they had done the art.  There are a few who would have done it well (Jock), but quite a few artists who I love may not have been able to pull this off.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Thunderbolts #163 – Did you know that this is the 20th straight really good (“B” or better) issue that Jeff Parker has done on Thunderbolts since I started reading it after Siege?  So, he has 36 more to catch DiMaggio, but that is about a good a run as you’ll see in Big 2 comics these days.  And, it isn’t running out of steam at all as he’s seamlessly integrated a new cast of characters, worked in Nazis and a Cap that will work well with folks who saw the movie this summer.  It’s just really good stuff.  And Kev Walker is a fabulous artists.  Love this issue and title.  Runner-up: Swamp Thing #1

Most Anticipated: Batwoman #1 – Lots of anticipated comics this week, but my pick is one we’ve been waiting on for over a year.  Honestly, it may have trouble living up to the anticipation, but I was just going through the Batwoman – Detective Comics run again a few weeks ago and it was really HOT.  Maybe it’ll miss something without Greg Rucka around to write it, but with JH Williams, III drawing it there is no doubt that it will be beautiful.

Other Picks: American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #4, Frankenstein: Agent of Shade #1, Scalped #52, Unwritten #29, 27: Second Set #1, Pigs #1, Severed #2, Amazing Spider-Man #669, Criminal: Last of the Innocent #4, Uncanny X-Force #15

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Animal Man #1 – I thought that’d be harder but, despite the quality books, Animal Man was the clear winner for me.  It felt fresh, energetic, new, and awesome in so many ways. It’s stunning just how much Lemire puts on offer in this book, from the opening interview with “A-Man,” to domestic, family-type scenes, to superheroics, to straight-up horror. It seems hard to believe that a 20-page floppy can have it all, but this came damned close.

Most Anticipated: Demon Knights #1 – This is basically like someone reached into my brain and plucked out my dream book.  A genre I love (high fantasy), characters I love (Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, and Vandal Savage), and one my favourite writers (Paul Cornell) are united on a book that is so awesome in concept that I’m seriously waiting for someone to tell me that it doesn’t actually exist.  Better still, Cornell always seems his best when allowed to go about the more niche books, and this seems just that. Admittedly, Frankenstein was very close to taking this, particularly due to Jeff Lemire’s performance last week, but I cannot deny the awesomeness that is Demon Knights.

Other Picks: Frankenstein: Agent of of SHADE #1, Batwoman #1, Green Lantern #1, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #4, Scalped #52, Amazing Spider-Man #669, Daredevil #3, Fear Itself #6, Journey into Mystery #627, New Avengers #16, PunisherMAX #17