Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Scalped #55
Vertigo (DC Comics)
Aaron & Guera
Though there are still five issues left in this series, this is the issue I think most people have been waiting for all along. The bulk of this issue is the fight between the jaw-wired-shut Dash Bad Horse and Shunka, Red Crow’s ex-right hand man. The issue is brutal as the fight sprawls across some ten pages and involves stabbing, biting and near-scalping. The issue doesn’t stop there as the ending is the reveal most people have been waiting for and one I won’t spoil here. It’s a fantastic issue.
When reading violence in comics you generally want to know that both characters are in danger. You probably can assume that one of the characters will not die (in this case Dash) but there is still that faint chance that the shocking death will occur. However, in this issue even if neither character was to die the book still has an amazing fight in it.
After emptying their revolvers firing into either side of Dash’s house, the two have a fist fight. The fight eventually includes pieces of wood, biting, fire and knives. The book is bloody and dirty and poetic.
Lost in the shuffle of the fight are the few pages where Red Crow’s casino gets raided by the FBI and where Catcher appears to hallucinate confusing his horse with someone else. The pages with these subplots feel awkward because they have such small scope compared to the fight. The climax of the book could easily lead into the final issue of the series but oddly does not.
One of the few downers of the book is that the artwork is too dark. Trying to figure out the details of the fight was extremely difficult. I don’t necessarily pin this on the pencils or the coloring because it could easily have been the printing’s fault but it is worth noting. Most of the issue is silent and the artwork carries the brutality of the issue to near perfection. If either character were to die in this issue then they have a terrific sendoff in the same way that Diesel had when he died some number of issues ago.
I can see the argument that this issue goes by too quickly for such an important event. However, when you think of how long all of this has been building up I was actually pleased to see everything get resolved so swiftly. Nothing is held back in this issue. There are plenty of questions that linger from the issue’s ending but there are still five issues left so I expect more bloodshed to occur. This is one of the very best issues in this series and I can’t wait to see how Aaron ends this series.
5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
