Scalped #50 – Review

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

Pin-ups contributed by: Tim Truman, Jill Thompson, Jordi Bernet, Denys Cowan, Dean Haspiel, Brendan McCarthy & Steve Dillon

The Story: It’s an anniversary issue, so we take a break from our regularly scheduled story to enjoy some central themes of the series set in the Old West.

What’s Good: First off, massive congratulations to Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, Giulia Brusco, Mark Doyle, Will Dennis and all the fill-in artists who have gotten Scalped to issue #50.  That is a real achievement in today’s comic market with a creator-controlled series.  Already Scalped is one of my favorite series ever.  It’s also a special series that disproves the commonly held notion that all comic books are about superheroes and are sold to fat, smelly & bearded men who haven’t adapted to adult-society.  There’s nothing spandex about Scalped.  This is straight-up adult fiction at it’s best.  Bravo guys and thanks!

For this particular issue, we deviate from the ongoing story of Dash, Gina, Catcher, Red Crow, et al and get a story that is largely set in the later 1800’s that deals with the injustices that Native Americans have suffered at the hands of folks of European descent.  Anyone who went to public school in the United States will not find this news, but Aaron finds a way to bring it to us in a special way by showing us a white man who is teaching his son how to scalp Native Americans for the bounty and how this story circles back in a not unexpected, but powerful, way.

Aaron then drags that “you-reap-that-which-you-sow” theme along to show how Native Americans ended up on reservations…. and that while reservations are no cup of tea being on the worst possible tracts of land in the United States and riddled with poverty, substance abuse, crime, etc. that the people who dwell there remain proud and alive and a distinct culture despite all the horrors that have been visited upon them.

The art is standard R.M. Guera goodness.  He excels at the gritty, so I can think of few artists who are better suited for drawing the act of scalping a man alive. Guera also does the lettering by hand.  I love hand-lettering and guess I understand why we dont’ see it much anymore, but it really drives home what an important aspect of the comic lettering can be.  As a treat, a bunch of notable artists contributed splash pages towards the end of the comic.  These mostly served to further excite me that Jordi Bernet is drawing a few issues of American Vampire coming up.

Conan The Cimmerian #2 – Review

By Tim Truman (story), Tomas Giorelo & Richard Corben (art), and Jose Villarrubia (colors)

The story of Connacht and the two orphaned boys continues as the trio tirelessly journeys out of hostile territory and into more friendly kingdoms. Here, they encounter a threat that could not only hamper their travel, but end their lives as well. To tell any more would spoil the story’s climax (though I’ll admit it’s a bit predictable). What did surprise me, however, is that the story of Connacht concludes this issue. And it wraps up quite nicely, leaving Conan once again on his own.

There’s some excellent art in this issue by Tomas Giorelo who works on Conan’s story and Richard Corben on Connacht’s story. Because this is Connacht’s story, a bulk of the work is done by Corben who  draws heavily on mood to get the story across. Colorist Jose Villarrubia’s colors effortlessly evoke emotions out of the reader and out of Corben’s artwork. There’s a genuine feeling of dread during the night time sequences that jumps off the pages. Unfortunately, some of this eeriness is lost when the story is thrusted into a fight scene that’s clumsily orchestrated. Villarrubia does his best to save it, but there’s a couple of panels that come out a bit awkward.

Tm Truman is settling in nicely with this new run. Connacht’s story definitely took me off-guard when first introduced, but seeing it completed makes a lot of sense. I give Truman and Dark Horse credit because it’s quite unorthodox to have a new series do little with its main character for the first two issues. But Connacht’s story touches on two important pieces of criteria: it sets the tone for the entire series, and gives the reader insight into Conan’s ancestry. This is not the fun-filled, jovial adventures (and sometimes creepy) adventures that Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord brought us five years ago. Conan’s world is colder, more brutal, and mature. It’ll be great to see how these series of tales unravel. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes

Conan The Cimmerian #1 – Review

By Tim Truman (writer), Tomàs Giorello, Richard Corben (artists), Jose Villarrubia (colors)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this relaunch of sorts, but so far, it’s pretty good. If you read the #0 issue that came out last month, you’ll find a minor connection between that story and this one. Conan’s still up in the northern territories and he’s got more “dwarven” like vermin to deal with. The first few pages seem to go through the motions of obligatory violence and set up before making a sharp left turn.

The surprise here is that there isn’t much of a Conan story in this issue at all! Instead, we’re taken aback a couple of generations with Conan’s grandfather, Connacht. The story centers around Connacht’s journey to the north and his rescuing of two young boys from being sacrificed (or just killed) by a deranged cult. The art for this flashback by Richard Corben is very cinematic in nature, and his strong use of blacks (matched with Jose Villarrubia’s colors), paints a haunting haunting tale. I found myself being completely absorbed into the story and the art played a huge role in making that happen. So much did I enjoy this tale, that I actually forgot that I was reading a book about Conan.

Now, if Dark Horse wants to end this series now and just make a book about Connacht, I’m all for it. It’s great to have something completely different, yet somewhat familiar. Nothing against Conan mainstay artist, Tomas Giorello, who has the Conan formula down to a science, but the “non-Conan” art and story was far superior. It’s a bit of a risk to stray from the main character in the first issue, but Tim Truman gets high marks for pulling it off. I’m sure this is all just a primer for Conan’s tale up north, but damn if it isn’t fun to read. And the best part is Connacht’s story isn’t over yet.

In the end, part of me was yearning for a strong Conan debut, and its a little disappointing that we don’t get one. But on the other hand, we an excellent story marking the debut of Conan’s grandfather. So, take it as you will. Me? I know the Conan stories will come. In the meantime, I’m going to sit back and get lost in Connacht’s adventure. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

Thanks to this new series, I finally feel comfortable jumping into a Conan ongoing. I have read issues of Conan stories here and there, but never felt I had a grasp on the larger picture of things. The last Dark Horse run was pretty far along when I became interested in it, so I figured I would just wait until I found a clear jump-on point. The Conan the Cimmerian series is that point. Issue #0 did a nice job setting the story up and I looked forward to what the debut issue would have to offer.

While it wasn’t really what I was expecting, I have very few complaints about this first issue. Having Conan merely there to set the stage for another character could have easily rubbed me the wrong way considering that this is the first time I’ve jumped into a Conan series, but Connacht’s story is so compelling that I hardly cared about the change. Jason pretty much nailed it all with his review, so let me just say that this would be a great place for anyone interested in Conan to jump on.

While you won’t get much Conan, trust me when I say that Connacht is still very much worth reading about.  (Grade A-)

– Kyle Posluszny

Conan #50 – Review

Timothy Truman (Writer), Tomas Giorello (Art), Jose Villarrubia (Colors)

Don’t let the $4.99 cover price scare you off, this book is worth it. This is the conclusion of the “Hand of Nergal” story arc which has run for the past few issues and it’s a fine, action-packed conclusion.

The reader is quickly brought up to speed on the situation and away we go. You’ve got all your standard Conan elements here – a damsel or two in distress, no shortage of undead swordsmen for Conan to hack at, an oversized Lovecraftian beasty and a wicked schemer, Atalis, with a sinister lust for power. Conan and his small band find their way into Atalis’s lair whereupon they are immediately imperiled by the foul beasty. Just as Atalis unfolds the nature of his plan Conan and his band rally and after a touch of sorcery and much swordplay, emerge victorious.

While this may sound like stories you’ve read before it really is worth the read. Tim Truman shows a real facility with the character and the genre as he delivers a forty-page story that moves along crisply to a satisfying conclusion. The artwork throughout is superb and wonderfully colored as well. One of my complaints about many modern comics is that the colors are so dark that they obscure the art. Jose Villarubia uses a muted pastel palette that captures the mood of the story while letting Tomas Giorello’s art shine.

Not only do you get this fine story but Dark Horse reprints “The Hand of Nergal” from Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #30 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema with an introductory essay from Roy, himself. The reprint has been recolored and relettered for the Chronicles of Conan Vol. 5 and provides an interesting contrast with the main feature. Top it all off with a beauty of a cover by Tony Harris and you’ve quite a nice package here.

This issue marks the conclusion of Dark Horse’s series of Conan as a wandering thief. At the end of the issue Conan sets off for home where his tales will be picked up in June with Conan the Cimmerian #0. I’ve been reading this Conan series for the past year and look forward to the new series, especially if the quality is up to the level of this issue. (Grade: A)

– Arthur Cooke