Pick of the Week

Written by Jason Aaron
Pencilled by R.M. Guera
Inked by R.M. Guera
Colored by Giulia Brusco
Cover by Jock


Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99

Pressure can only build up so much before that which contains it simply erupts, unable to contain the sheer force of the inexorable push. Scalped #59 is that release, that eruption, that explosion. With one issue to go, Jason Aaron and R.M. Guéra just let it fly, and now every single card is on the table. All the secrets are out, and the only thing left to do is clear the dust, and see who’s still standing, or who isn’t.

This one was all action. It was pure comic booking, with relatively little dialog and a lot of grisly fighting. It was the kind of fighting where you knew that this would be the last fight for pretty much everyone involved. It was violence as catharsis. It had to end in blood, fire, and guns, because what other way is there? Plus it all goes down in the evacuated casino, the center of the rot in the reservation, the heart of the corruption, with piles of money everywhere, including the mouth of a Molotov cocktail, heavy with flammable metaphor. The destructive youth created by Red Crow’s reign have come to take him down, as will happen in a criminal organization built on greed. At the same time, Catcher shows up with Bad Horse, determined to take his final revenge on Red Crow. As for Bad Horse, I honestly don’t know where he stands, but I do know that he’ll probably be the last man to do so. It all leads up to a classic Mexican stand off Lee Van Cleef would have been proud of. It was just raw and ugly. But at the same time, if you’ve been paying attention all along, plots are being wrapped, and stories are coming full circle. Plus Agent Nitz hasn’t been shot yet. So we’ve got that to look forward to.

I have to wonder how specific a script Jason Aaron wrote for this one, because the most impressive thing about the issue was R.M. Guéra unleashed. It was more stylistic and violent than it was realistic. It was old school John Woo, bullets flying, faces getting ripped up, and hands getting hacked off with a tomahawk. That was before the pack of wild dogs showed up. The whole issue is surround by darkness and flame, as if the whole thing takes place in Hell, which is what the world of the reservation has kind of turned in to for many of the residents. The pages are literally littered with hand drawn sound effects for all the gun shots, and stabbings, and dropping bodies. It’s relentless. On the title page, we see Red Crow, knife in his mouth like an 80s action movie, with multiple images of his arm shooting all over the place. Above him and to the left, we see the glass and wall taking bullets from the shots being fired at him. It feels like he’ll never escape, but it also feels like he’s unbeatable. He also has no shoes on, so it feels a little like Die Hard. This is the thing that had to happen at the end of this story, and it’s the way it had to be drawn, with utter abandon.

Finally, can I just kvetch a little about the fact that Jock hasn’t been nominated for an Eisner for these covers? Vertigo have made books of covers for other titles, and Jock’s body of cover work for Scalped could easily sit next to any of them. This month’s wrapping is no different. At first, it appears very simple, but it just screams conflagration and blood. There’s not a comic shop in the world where this one wouldn’t stand out on the stands to any wandering eye. It’s one of the great strengths of the book, and always has been.

One of the most fun things about this issue is that we’re left wondering and guessing what the aftermath will be. The team has 30 days and 20 pages left to wrap the whole thing up, and I’m going over scenarios in my head, but I think they’re all going to die. Or maybe they aren’t? Maybe Red Crow walks away, stuck with the guilt. Or maybe Dash does the same thing? I don’t know! Anything could happen. Except, I’m mostly sure Nitz is hosed, like I said.

All good things must end, but what makes it sweet is the feeling of a good ending, which we’re getting. It’s not poetry, and it’s not telling deeper truths about the human condition, but Scalped is a hell of a yarn, put together by a team of talented and passionate individuals putting their all into every page. It shows, and in this penultimate issue, they got to shine. Now, we wait to see who picks up what ball, and what home they go to. It’s been a pleasure, gentlemen.

Josh Flanagan
First and last time we see a Lee Van Cleef mention on the site?
josh@ifanboy.com