Comic Info
Comic Name: Scalped
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: J.M. Guera
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2007
Scalped #6
Reprints Scalped #6-11 (August 2007-January 2008). Red Crow’s casino is opening and things are happening on the Rez. As Diesel and his crew try to hit the casino on its opening night, Dash tries to shut him down…but Diesel has a secret that both Red Crow and Dash don’t know. The mysterious Catcher reveals to Dash that he knows a secret about him, and Red Crow questions if his sacrifices will end up being worth the cost. As Gina works to clear the name of someone she helped put in jail, she could make a fatal mistake.
Written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R.M. Guera, Scalped Volume 2: Casino Boogie was released by DC Comics under their Vertigo line. Following Scalped Volume 1: Indian Country, the issues in the volume were also collected in Scalped Deluxe Edition—Book 1.
I was on the fence about Scalped 1: Indian Country. While it did a lot right, it also made some mistakes. Despite this, the twists and turns of the story did compel me to get the second volume of the series…which did improve on the format.
Scalped #11
Scalped 2: Casino Boogie has much better storytelling than the first volume of the series. The series is told in a Rashomon style of storytelling which creates the same events over-and-over again from different perspectives. Unlike Rashomon which has the characters bias added into the storytelling, the issues are presented as more of a puzzle with different scenes fitting in different places. It makes the reading more challenging and fun as you uncoil what is occurring.
The art for Scalped continues to be somewhat problematic for me. I think R.M. Guera is a talented artist and I think that he gives Scalped a real feel, but I also feel it is often over-inked and too dark. It sometimes makes distinguishing characters and their actions challenging (but not in a good way). In some ways, the art becomes a distraction for the story.
Scalped 2: Casino Boogie is a must read. If you read Scalped 1: Indian Country and didn’t think the series was for you, you still might give it a second chance. It would be interesting to piece this story together by putting it in order and seeing how it reads. The series also smartly skirts the shocking finale of Scalped 1: Indian Country by dragging out the final scene…and representing it as the final of this volume. Instead of being frustrating, the series manages to do it in a way that enriches it. Scalped 2: Casino Boogie is followed by Scalped 3: Dead Mothers.
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