Phil Hunn
Mar 9, 2008, 07:02 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0308/SCAL_Cv15.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0308/SCAL_Cv15t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Scalped #15 preview"></a> Reviewer: Phil Hunn, philiphunn@hotmail.com
Story Title: Dead Mothers, Part Three
”Hey, lover. It’s crazy the lengths I gotta go to just to see you, huh?”
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: R.M. Guera
Colors: Giulia Brusco
Cover Artist: Jock
Letters: Steve Wands
Assoc. Editor: Casey Seijas
Editor: Will Dennis
Scalped created by: Aaron & Guera
Published By: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
Scalped is a book I tried on a whim when it started, thinking that it would only be a limited series. However, here we are, fifteen issues down the line, and the book seems to have established a firm spot in Vertigo’s publishing schedule, as well it should have done. It combines bitter family feuds with seedy gangster hi-jinks and spectacularly gruesome violence, and sets the whole sordid mixture in the unlikely location of a Native American reservation, which is what gives it a unique flavour as opposed to the average crime story. The fact that the main character, a tribal cop in the pay of the local gang-boss Red Crow (and undercover FBI agent) Dashiell “Dash” Bad Horse is actually a thoroughly unlikeable, bad-tempered sort most of the time just makes it even better. Red Crow, the main villain of the series, has his nasty moments – but, like Dash, he has a human side to him as well. These two form the core of the series, at least from my perspective, and it’s their muddied moral standpoints that are most interesting. There are a few irredeemable characters here and there, but they’re nowhere near as interesting as the way that Dashiell and Red Crow handle their respective problems. Side characters like Dash’s late mother and Carol, Dashiell’s hard-drinking, promiscuous on-off lover, are all part of the rich well of personality that this series has established for itself. It’s definitely not your average comic in this regard, and for that I’m very grateful. With the recent demise of the equally splendid American Virgin (seriously, if you didn’t buy that book, then you should hang your head in shame. Shame, I tell you!), Vertigo needs books like this one – and Andy Diggle’s superb Hellblazer, another must-read – to bolster its ranks.
Getting to the nub of the matter, however, this issue does much to continue the trend this book has established for itself, with Dash and his new teen “sidekick” mulling over the mutual loss of their murdered mothers. Emotions run high on both sides, and the anger on Dash’s part is very palpable and telling, adding another facet to the guy’s personality. Jason Aaron really has created a great character here, filling him with just the right amount of bitter rage but also giving him the capacity to do something else other than snarl angrily at all and sundry – after all, for him to do otherwise would make him into a bit of a caricature, and that would do the book a great deal of harm, I think. Better to leave him a messy entanglement of emotional scars and deep-seated psychological issues.
You know, like the rest of us.
It never ceases to amaze me how, well, how human, Aaron’s characters seem, especially when surrounded by an atmosphere of blood, filth and thoroughly reprehensible activity (especially this issue, where the level of “oh my god, did that really just happen?” incredulity rises thanks to the introduction of the freakish and frankly pretty terrifying Mr Brass). It’s this well-roundedness that makes the book such a pleasure to read, as a book full of smart-ass wiseguys settling their disputes with clever quips and the occasional apocalyptic gunfight would get really old, really fast. This hasn’t, which I’m very grateful for.
Guera’s art is, as always, gritty and well-placed to depict the violence – physical or otherwise – that occurs within the title, and every character has their own visual quirks (Carol, for example, is much given to employing “come hither” looks, while Dash and Red Crow both have a habit of snarling and scowling when they get riled up). Emotion is always clearly evident – particularly fear, in this issue, given the horrific scenes that occur within it. The muted palette that accompanies the art makes everything seem a little more realistic, with only a few things standing out from the general tone (like, for instance, Carol’s top and miniskirt, or a spreading puddle of blood and urine). This has the desired effect of drawing the eye to them and making the reader sit up and take notice – not that the story doesn’t draw enough attention to them anyway. In any case, the grimy, down-to-earth visuals are a great asset.
Scalped is rapidly climbing my list of favourite books, and this issue has continued to validate the faith I have placed in the title. Long may it continue.
RATING:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg
Story Title: Dead Mothers, Part Three
”Hey, lover. It’s crazy the lengths I gotta go to just to see you, huh?”
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: R.M. Guera
Colors: Giulia Brusco
Cover Artist: Jock
Letters: Steve Wands
Assoc. Editor: Casey Seijas
Editor: Will Dennis
Scalped created by: Aaron & Guera
Published By: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
Scalped is a book I tried on a whim when it started, thinking that it would only be a limited series. However, here we are, fifteen issues down the line, and the book seems to have established a firm spot in Vertigo’s publishing schedule, as well it should have done. It combines bitter family feuds with seedy gangster hi-jinks and spectacularly gruesome violence, and sets the whole sordid mixture in the unlikely location of a Native American reservation, which is what gives it a unique flavour as opposed to the average crime story. The fact that the main character, a tribal cop in the pay of the local gang-boss Red Crow (and undercover FBI agent) Dashiell “Dash” Bad Horse is actually a thoroughly unlikeable, bad-tempered sort most of the time just makes it even better. Red Crow, the main villain of the series, has his nasty moments – but, like Dash, he has a human side to him as well. These two form the core of the series, at least from my perspective, and it’s their muddied moral standpoints that are most interesting. There are a few irredeemable characters here and there, but they’re nowhere near as interesting as the way that Dashiell and Red Crow handle their respective problems. Side characters like Dash’s late mother and Carol, Dashiell’s hard-drinking, promiscuous on-off lover, are all part of the rich well of personality that this series has established for itself. It’s definitely not your average comic in this regard, and for that I’m very grateful. With the recent demise of the equally splendid American Virgin (seriously, if you didn’t buy that book, then you should hang your head in shame. Shame, I tell you!), Vertigo needs books like this one – and Andy Diggle’s superb Hellblazer, another must-read – to bolster its ranks.
Getting to the nub of the matter, however, this issue does much to continue the trend this book has established for itself, with Dash and his new teen “sidekick” mulling over the mutual loss of their murdered mothers. Emotions run high on both sides, and the anger on Dash’s part is very palpable and telling, adding another facet to the guy’s personality. Jason Aaron really has created a great character here, filling him with just the right amount of bitter rage but also giving him the capacity to do something else other than snarl angrily at all and sundry – after all, for him to do otherwise would make him into a bit of a caricature, and that would do the book a great deal of harm, I think. Better to leave him a messy entanglement of emotional scars and deep-seated psychological issues.
You know, like the rest of us.
It never ceases to amaze me how, well, how human, Aaron’s characters seem, especially when surrounded by an atmosphere of blood, filth and thoroughly reprehensible activity (especially this issue, where the level of “oh my god, did that really just happen?” incredulity rises thanks to the introduction of the freakish and frankly pretty terrifying Mr Brass). It’s this well-roundedness that makes the book such a pleasure to read, as a book full of smart-ass wiseguys settling their disputes with clever quips and the occasional apocalyptic gunfight would get really old, really fast. This hasn’t, which I’m very grateful for.
Guera’s art is, as always, gritty and well-placed to depict the violence – physical or otherwise – that occurs within the title, and every character has their own visual quirks (Carol, for example, is much given to employing “come hither” looks, while Dash and Red Crow both have a habit of snarling and scowling when they get riled up). Emotion is always clearly evident – particularly fear, in this issue, given the horrific scenes that occur within it. The muted palette that accompanies the art makes everything seem a little more realistic, with only a few things standing out from the general tone (like, for instance, Carol’s top and miniskirt, or a spreading puddle of blood and urine). This has the desired effect of drawing the eye to them and making the reader sit up and take notice – not that the story doesn’t draw enough attention to them anyway. In any case, the grimy, down-to-earth visuals are a great asset.
Scalped is rapidly climbing my list of favourite books, and this issue has continued to validate the faith I have placed in the title. Long may it continue.
RATING:
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