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Scalped #9
Scalped, Cilt 9: Gardını Al
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Graphic Novels & Comics (2012)Şef Lincoln Red Crow, Prairie Rose yerleşkesinin tozu toprağı içinde bir imparatorluk kurmuştu. Şimdiyse hepsini yakıp yıkacak.
Bir zamanlar korumaya ant içtiği insanlara karanlık satarak geçirdiği onlarca yıldan sonra Red Crow ışığı gördü. Ardından verdiği emir ise, iş ortaklarının, hatta sadık koruması Shunka’nın bile kabul edemeyeceği türden: Ya tüm uyuşturucu ve çete işini derhal bırakacaklar ya da ölümleri onun elinden olacak.
Hemen yakınlarda, benzer bir aydınlanma, yoz bir şerifi de gerçek bir kanun koruyucusu haline getirmişti. Ona göre temizliğe başlamanın en iyi yolu, Red Crow’u bizzat alaşağı etmek… Bedeli FBI’ın planlarını alt üst etmek olsa bile. Bu iki cephe arasında ise gizli ajan Dash Bad Horse var. Ağır yaralı ve sesini kaybetmiş ama nihayet aradığı sırrı bulmuş olarak: Her şeyin fitilini ateşleyen suçun failini, annesini öldüren adamın kimliğini.
Bu adamların hepsi yerleşkenin ruhu için savaşa girmek üzere. Gardlarını aldılar, kimin ineceği belli değil…
Bir zamanlar korumaya ant içtiği insanlara karanlık satarak geçirdiği onlarca yıldan sonra Red Crow ışığı gördü. Ardından verdiği emir ise, iş ortaklarının, hatta sadık koruması Shunka’nın bile kabul edemeyeceği türden: Ya tüm uyuşturucu ve çete işini derhal bırakacaklar ya da ölümleri onun elinden olacak.
Hemen yakınlarda, benzer bir aydınlanma, yoz bir şerifi de gerçek bir kanun koruyucusu haline getirmişti. Ona göre temizliğe başlamanın en iyi yolu, Red Crow’u bizzat alaşağı etmek… Bedeli FBI’ın planlarını alt üst etmek olsa bile. Bu iki cephe arasında ise gizli ajan Dash Bad Horse var. Ağır yaralı ve sesini kaybetmiş ama nihayet aradığı sırrı bulmuş olarak: Her şeyin fitilini ateşleyen suçun failini, annesini öldüren adamın kimliğini.
Bu adamların hepsi yerleşkenin ruhu için savaşa girmek üzere. Gardlarını aldılar, kimin ineceği belli değil…
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2012
10 people are currently reading
514 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,415 books1,665 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
August 28, 2025
(A-) 84% | Very Good
Notes: On awful bets (re: blind to threats) and loyalty betrayals, a sterling mix of action flick and strong in-depth portrayals.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issue #50 ◦ Issues #51-53 ◦ Issues #54-55
Notes: On awful bets (re: blind to threats) and loyalty betrayals, a sterling mix of action flick and strong in-depth portrayals.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issue #50 ◦ Issues #51-53 ◦ Issues #54-55
September 15, 2018
“Hoka hey.” ("Hoka hey" is a Sioux expression something like “Let’s do it!” but some people think it means,"it's a good day to die" because Lakota Sioux leader Crazy Horse used to say, "Hoka hey, today is a good day to die!" when going into battle. The idea really is that one should live one’s life in such as way that one has done all that one should upon one’s last day, so it would indeed be a good day to die). (And yes, that is a relevant commitment in this book as we wind down, as our central characters make choices about how they will live as they may face death).
In this, the penultimate volume of the series, ”Knuckle Up,” there’s a rising crescendo of action that we know will not stop until very near the end of Volume 10. I probably won’t surprise you in saying that the act of scalping works its way into this series more than once. You can’t unsee that quickly, but it is an important part of the story on a symbolic level, and very viscerally enacted here, beginning with an historical example of it from the nineteenth century plains where white men were “handsomely” rewarded by the U. S. government on a per scalp basis (cf., The Things They Never Taught Me in History, and The People’s History of the United States).
What follows that historical frame is an impressive series of full page portraits by guest artists of what “resistance” (or not) might look like on the rez today, including three rowdies with guns—such as “dog soldiers”--standing on an abandoned, shot-up car; an old granny smoking a pipe, surrounded by dogs; a naked woman sprawled on silk sheets, possibly a prostitute; an older guy in jail, flipping the bird; a guy drinking a forty outside a liquor store, leading to a scowling Lincoln Red Crow and his number #1 guy, Shunka, at their casino. Is any of this that we see going to reform the rez and return it to its former glory?
That’s a thought-provoking and sobering and clearly not overly-romanticized moral basis for reflection, which is followed by a surprising opening: Lincoln Red Crow, fresh from prayers in a sweat lodge (having met with Hassell, a traditionalist leader, and Dash, who he has chosen to succeed him), seems intent on changing his ways, deciding to basically blow up his entire evil empire, beginning with burning down the meth labs on the rez. Burnin' Down the House! All Hell Breaks Loose, naturally, since meth labs provide a chunk of the economic basis of the current rez as Red Crow himself built it.
Another scene: Officer Falls Down teams with Dash to try to find Catcher, who as it happens lands in jail with Dash’s father Wade. They will join each other later in the hospital, having fought as Wade discovers his ex Gina was killed by. . . (okay, I'll say it): Catcher. As in the last issue, it seems you gotta sin to get saved, you gotta make restitution through violence. Or one way to look at it: Some people seem to think that War Makes Peace.
This volume will be powerfully remembered for—in addition to the opening portraits--a series of Guera images: Wade and Catcher attempting to strangle each other, when Wade finds out who killed Gina Bad Horse and a similar image of a death clinch between Shunka and Dash. There are more face-offs yet to come, but the face-off that follows between Shunka, Dash and Red Crow leads to a jaw-dropping conclusion, both inevitable and surprising. I had to consciously shut my mouth after that closing moment of the volume.
There’s one more image that will stay with me, an image of surprising tenderness and anguish for Shunka at the beginning of his (sorry, I am going to say it) break from Red Crow. (Okay, I’ll tell you about that image: Shunka, one of the most violent guys in this sad, violent tale, we found is gay; as he leaves Red Crow, he kisses him on the mouth. Shunka loves Lincoln!).
Is redemption possible for Red Crow or Dash, in the final volume, coming up? What is the hope for the once mighty Sioux Nation? We’ll just have to see.
In this, the penultimate volume of the series, ”Knuckle Up,” there’s a rising crescendo of action that we know will not stop until very near the end of Volume 10. I probably won’t surprise you in saying that the act of scalping works its way into this series more than once. You can’t unsee that quickly, but it is an important part of the story on a symbolic level, and very viscerally enacted here, beginning with an historical example of it from the nineteenth century plains where white men were “handsomely” rewarded by the U. S. government on a per scalp basis (cf., The Things They Never Taught Me in History, and The People’s History of the United States).
What follows that historical frame is an impressive series of full page portraits by guest artists of what “resistance” (or not) might look like on the rez today, including three rowdies with guns—such as “dog soldiers”--standing on an abandoned, shot-up car; an old granny smoking a pipe, surrounded by dogs; a naked woman sprawled on silk sheets, possibly a prostitute; an older guy in jail, flipping the bird; a guy drinking a forty outside a liquor store, leading to a scowling Lincoln Red Crow and his number #1 guy, Shunka, at their casino. Is any of this that we see going to reform the rez and return it to its former glory?
That’s a thought-provoking and sobering and clearly not overly-romanticized moral basis for reflection, which is followed by a surprising opening: Lincoln Red Crow, fresh from prayers in a sweat lodge (having met with Hassell, a traditionalist leader, and Dash, who he has chosen to succeed him), seems intent on changing his ways, deciding to basically blow up his entire evil empire, beginning with burning down the meth labs on the rez. Burnin' Down the House! All Hell Breaks Loose, naturally, since meth labs provide a chunk of the economic basis of the current rez as Red Crow himself built it.
Another scene: Officer Falls Down teams with Dash to try to find Catcher, who as it happens lands in jail with Dash’s father Wade. They will join each other later in the hospital, having fought as Wade discovers his ex Gina was killed by. . . (okay, I'll say it): Catcher. As in the last issue, it seems you gotta sin to get saved, you gotta make restitution through violence. Or one way to look at it: Some people seem to think that War Makes Peace.
This volume will be powerfully remembered for—in addition to the opening portraits--a series of Guera images: Wade and Catcher attempting to strangle each other, when Wade finds out who killed Gina Bad Horse and a similar image of a death clinch between Shunka and Dash. There are more face-offs yet to come, but the face-off that follows between Shunka, Dash and Red Crow leads to a jaw-dropping conclusion, both inevitable and surprising. I had to consciously shut my mouth after that closing moment of the volume.
There’s one more image that will stay with me, an image of surprising tenderness and anguish for Shunka at the beginning of his (sorry, I am going to say it) break from Red Crow. (Okay, I’ll tell you about that image: Shunka, one of the most violent guys in this sad, violent tale, we found is gay; as he leaves Red Crow, he kisses him on the mouth. Shunka loves Lincoln!).
Is redemption possible for Red Crow or Dash, in the final volume, coming up? What is the hope for the once mighty Sioux Nation? We’ll just have to see.
March 30, 2018
As I come up on the second to last act I can't help but sorrowfully reminisce upon a similar experience I had coming to the end of Preacher. From my cramped apartment in Hong Kong, only my (comic) book reading experiences kept my spirits high when pollution was suffocating me, roommates were irritating me (sharing a single bathroom between 4 interchanging sets of families sucks!) and four years of unending fatigue at work was crushing my general health. Alot of phenomenal reads kept my mind and spirit afloat and Scalped has done the same thing for me Preacher did two short years ago. I'm sad it's ending but the adage still holds up, be happy it happened.
Again as before, the not so far off past violently informs the present from all angles; lestt we forget the RedPill of yore that Might Makes Right, was, is, and will be in effect until the Transhumanist revolution fundamentally alters our brains. However that hasn't happened and neither has the endless torrent of blood that began with Cain and Abel so tributaries through the Indian Wars Era. The brutal illustration of the taking of a scalp perfectly matches not just the title but the very ethos of the epoch. Further brutalism gives way to further brutalism until the past catches up to the more recent present. With a seven page single panel blow-ups featuring our main characters, the end is nigh and signaled with the standard bearer of a pregnant womb.
As most every character underwent significant character arcs in the previous collection, the same growth has continued to here. Now Red Crow has recanted his wicked ways destroying numerous shady enterprises, not without pissing anyone off neither of course. The Sheriff too gets caught up in this cyclone of cacophonous character change with shotgun shells littering the floors alongside a litany of blown apart corpses. Dashielle ends up in the hospital during all these bloody antics and the story moves along.
With another reminisce aptly utilized, the backstory of the protagonists' nunchukas from issue #1 forges a stern literary ouroboros. The same force of the past being eaten by the present swirls forth more drama Red Crow's now betrayed co-investors, Shunka's sexual improprieties, developments at the FBI, and of course, even more bone-snapping, blood-dripping action.
Issue #53's cover perfectly describes the situation of the "rez." Situated atop a pile of casino chips, the human enclosure is precipitously leaning over the edge, waiting for a single breath of air to topple this house of cards to pieces. Lots of moving parts are moving simultaneously here each moving eachother toward the inevitable conclusion that could very well upend this ultimately fragile existence.
Once more featuring stellar art, writing, characters, and some clever nods of the head to another seminal Vetigo Crime series 100 Bullets, Collection #9 sets the stage for the upcoming swan song.
Again as before, the not so far off past violently informs the present from all angles; lestt we forget the RedPill of yore that Might Makes Right, was, is, and will be in effect until the Transhumanist revolution fundamentally alters our brains. However that hasn't happened and neither has the endless torrent of blood that began with Cain and Abel so tributaries through the Indian Wars Era. The brutal illustration of the taking of a scalp perfectly matches not just the title but the very ethos of the epoch. Further brutalism gives way to further brutalism until the past catches up to the more recent present. With a seven page single panel blow-ups featuring our main characters, the end is nigh and signaled with the standard bearer of a pregnant womb.
As most every character underwent significant character arcs in the previous collection, the same growth has continued to here. Now Red Crow has recanted his wicked ways destroying numerous shady enterprises, not without pissing anyone off neither of course. The Sheriff too gets caught up in this cyclone of cacophonous character change with shotgun shells littering the floors alongside a litany of blown apart corpses. Dashielle ends up in the hospital during all these bloody antics and the story moves along.
With another reminisce aptly utilized, the backstory of the protagonists' nunchukas from issue #1 forges a stern literary ouroboros. The same force of the past being eaten by the present swirls forth more drama Red Crow's now betrayed co-investors, Shunka's sexual improprieties, developments at the FBI, and of course, even more bone-snapping, blood-dripping action.
Issue #53's cover perfectly describes the situation of the "rez." Situated atop a pile of casino chips, the human enclosure is precipitously leaning over the edge, waiting for a single breath of air to topple this house of cards to pieces. Lots of moving parts are moving simultaneously here each moving eachother toward the inevitable conclusion that could very well upend this ultimately fragile existence.
Once more featuring stellar art, writing, characters, and some clever nods of the head to another seminal Vetigo Crime series 100 Bullets, Collection #9 sets the stage for the upcoming swan song.
March 31, 2025
Shunka vs Bad Horse!
September 29, 2012
As the noose starts closing around Lincoln Red Crow and all his allies start slinking away, its interesting that for me anyway, the tension inherent in this doomed tale of too-late redemption for all our "heroes" seems to lack the tension of the last few books.
Previous tomes have made it impossible to see how the runaway express train of bad decisions would possibly be averted - how are they gonna get out of this fix? Somehow this book feels more like a peaceful balletic ending to a parable with "the only ending that possibly fits". Not quite a nail-biting climax, more like an inevitable conclusion - just desserts for people that we couldn't hope to save from themselves.
Then just when things seem to be set in stone, Aaron throws us another of his utterly-improbable chaotic moments and the fire starts burning out of control. That's when I know a Scalped story is good - when I can hardly believe what's happening and *still* keep reading voraciously.
Final chapter is pretty awesome.
Not sure about the art - seems a little less finished than Guera's usual work - which I can't tell if his pencils & inks are sloppier, or if the colourist has always been able to make up for these flaws. Still carries the story along, but not the usual stellar quality I've fallen in love with.
Previous tomes have made it impossible to see how the runaway express train of bad decisions would possibly be averted - how are they gonna get out of this fix? Somehow this book feels more like a peaceful balletic ending to a parable with "the only ending that possibly fits". Not quite a nail-biting climax, more like an inevitable conclusion - just desserts for people that we couldn't hope to save from themselves.
Then just when things seem to be set in stone, Aaron throws us another of his utterly-improbable chaotic moments and the fire starts burning out of control. That's when I know a Scalped story is good - when I can hardly believe what's happening and *still* keep reading voraciously.
Final chapter is pretty awesome.
Not sure about the art - seems a little less finished than Guera's usual work - which I can't tell if his pencils & inks are sloppier, or if the colourist has always been able to make up for these flaws. Still carries the story along, but not the usual stellar quality I've fallen in love with.
August 27, 2012
Every Scalped book reminds me of what a high quality series this is and how few there are that match this for intensity, action, character and plot, and "Knuckle Up", the ninth in the series, is no different. The various story threads all mesh together beautifully as Bad Horse finally squares up to Red Crow, Shunka gets his, Catcher is headed to the oblivion he wants, Poor Bear gets into more trouble, and the entire Rez seems ready to explode courtesy of Agent Nitz and Sheriff Karnow.
Unless you're a reader of this series (and if you're a reader then you're a fan) none of that will make sense but I urge you to seek out this comic book series - it is top class in every way. And if you're a reader, chances are you had this on pre-order rather than waiting to read a positive review - what, did you think Jason Aaron and RM Guera dropped the ball at this stage in the game? No way, they both know what they're doing. The only bad thing is having to wait for the final book to be released now.
One of the highlights of this book is a single shot look at historical Indian conflict in America where a host of brilliant artists draw the strip. They include Steve Dillon, Dean Haspiel, and Jill Thompson while Jock provides the amazing covers for each issue.
Unless you're a reader of this series (and if you're a reader then you're a fan) none of that will make sense but I urge you to seek out this comic book series - it is top class in every way. And if you're a reader, chances are you had this on pre-order rather than waiting to read a positive review - what, did you think Jason Aaron and RM Guera dropped the ball at this stage in the game? No way, they both know what they're doing. The only bad thing is having to wait for the final book to be released now.
One of the highlights of this book is a single shot look at historical Indian conflict in America where a host of brilliant artists draw the strip. They include Steve Dillon, Dean Haspiel, and Jill Thompson while Jock provides the amazing covers for each issue.
October 7, 2015
Knuckle Up has got to be the climax of Scalped. I mean, can anything in the last volume go better than this one?
This is where all things go down. Cathger, Nitz, the late additions Karnow and Wade and of course Shunka, Dash and Red Crow all have their glorious moments in the story.
Let me get things straight. This is Shunka's volume. Aaron has written him so perfectly sad and dedicated and Guera has been able to draw this hulking figure a big, sad heart. The rest is are all the violent greatness you see in the story, elevated even more from the bloody history of indians vs cowboys happening in the frontier. If only scalping would be that great in real life.
This penultimate volume is a cut above the rest. Everything you've been expecting in a finale is all there, perfectly executed and thoroughly satisfying.
This is where all things go down. Cathger, Nitz, the late additions Karnow and Wade and of course Shunka, Dash and Red Crow all have their glorious moments in the story.
Let me get things straight. This is Shunka's volume. Aaron has written him so perfectly sad and dedicated and Guera has been able to draw this hulking figure a big, sad heart. The rest is are all the violent greatness you see in the story, elevated even more from the bloody history of indians vs cowboys happening in the frontier. If only scalping would be that great in real life.
This penultimate volume is a cut above the rest. Everything you've been expecting in a finale is all there, perfectly executed and thoroughly satisfying.
December 1, 2020
İş geldi dayandı sondan bir önceki cilt de bitti evresine. Scalped abartısız okuduğum en iyi seri çizgi romanlardan. Çok sevdim ve sevmeye devam edeceğim. Final, yani sonraki cilt "Yolun Sonu" öncesi adeta öpüp koklayarak okudum. Çizimler, kurgu, anlatış şekli, renk skalası filan yine çok iyi. Tüm emek vereneleri, bu seçimi yapıp basanları kutluyorum.
June 24, 2020
Dash's return 'The Rez' has been nothing like he'd imagined, but then again could be exactly what he expected in this intense, down and dirty, unrelenting look at the dark side of the Native American communities set aside and disenfranchised by the 'Americans'. The masterclass in visual storytelling by both writer and artist is heading towards an end. In this volume Red Crow's in trouble as is Officer Falls Down! Are we talking a war? It's all ratcheting up nicely. 9 out of 12
September 18, 2018
Scalped enfes giden serilerden. Keşke bu kadar uzun zaman beklemesek yeni cildi konudan kopmadan okuyabilsek.
November 7, 2018
Wow, just when I thought this could not get any bloodier and bleaker it does! Can one really turn over a new leaf? It seems like you can at least try. Multiple plot lines converge and setup for the finale, and I had to pause when a certain someone gets killed and take a breath. There are scenes in this series that will haunt me. The chess game draws to a close, and once the smoke clears we see that there are only a few pieces left on the board. How will this possibly end? I know there is no happy ever after here, so am braced for the final installment.
My review of the complete series can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of the complete series can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
July 17, 2015
Kinda weird. This volume feels like I missed some issues between it ant volume 8.
Maybe I've read too much Scalped too fast, or maybe Jason Aaron got a bit tired by the end, but it doesn't feel as awesome as it did in the middle of the run. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, but the writing feels a bit too chunky and sloppy, I guess? Some strange shit went down in this volume for some not too apparent reasons. Again, maybe it's just me, maybe I didn't read previous volume too carefully, maybe I am just a bit tired of this series by this stage. As I stated in the review of a previous volume, I feel like it has been stretched out a tad too long to my taste.
Still, don't let it discourage you from reading this amazing series. It is still great, and even this volume is great, too. Just not as great as the previous ones were.
Maybe I've read too much Scalped too fast, or maybe Jason Aaron got a bit tired by the end, but it doesn't feel as awesome as it did in the middle of the run. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, but the writing feels a bit too chunky and sloppy, I guess? Some strange shit went down in this volume for some not too apparent reasons. Again, maybe it's just me, maybe I didn't read previous volume too carefully, maybe I am just a bit tired of this series by this stage. As I stated in the review of a previous volume, I feel like it has been stretched out a tad too long to my taste.
Still, don't let it discourage you from reading this amazing series. It is still great, and even this volume is great, too. Just not as great as the previous ones were.
February 9, 2019
Nejslabší část. Úvodní prologové číslo by mělo smysl v první či druhé knize, nikoli nyní. Kdyby předznamenávalo "o čem Skalpy jako takové vlastně budou", tak by mělo opodstatnění. Nyní když už to devět knih víme, je to mlácení prázdné slámy.
Zbytek alba je příběh o pěti kapitolách, který je tak úděsně přímočarý a zkratkovitý, že to je kvalit série vyloženě nehodné. Působí to jako zhurta a za každou cenu ukončování vedlejších linií/postav tak, aby pro finále zůstali ve hře jen ty postavy, o které od počátku jde. Což by nemuselo být ke škodě, kdyby z toho něco plynulo, kdyby to nepůsobilo, že díky zdejším zvratům dobře půlka těch linií/postav nedostala solidní uzavření. Vzniká tak neférový dojem, že šlo pouze o vatu. Každopádně, když nic jiného, tak finální sešit dává naděje, že autor přeci jen ví co dělá, aspoň co se ústředních charakterů týče.
Zbytek alba je příběh o pěti kapitolách, který je tak úděsně přímočarý a zkratkovitý, že to je kvalit série vyloženě nehodné. Působí to jako zhurta a za každou cenu ukončování vedlejších linií/postav tak, aby pro finále zůstali ve hře jen ty postavy, o které od počátku jde. Což by nemuselo být ke škodě, kdyby z toho něco plynulo, kdyby to nepůsobilo, že díky zdejším zvratům dobře půlka těch linií/postav nedostala solidní uzavření. Vzniká tak neférový dojem, že šlo pouze o vatu. Každopádně, když nic jiného, tak finální sešit dává naděje, že autor přeci jen ví co dělá, aspoň co se ústředních charakterů týče.
September 23, 2018
It's impossible to give a fair assessment on the 9th volume of a 10 volume series because everything I know about it is informed by everything I've read before. But I've made it this far and I'm burning to get to the final chapter. It is a glorious and epic tragedy of violence and betrayal and I love it to death, no matter what criticism you might have.
December 29, 2015
I might've rated it a bit higher, but there are a lot of art panels here that are hard to follow and sometimes impossible to make out. Otherwise, a strong story reaches its climax and I can hardly wait to read the last collected edition. Someone needs to adapt this as a television series some day.
January 7, 2015
A brilliant penultimate volume. Graphic noir at its darkest and its best!!
October 3, 2022
(Zero spoiler review for the deluxe edition collecting this arc)
So, almost a year after I started reading this series, I've finally finished it. This series, which was one of the first great comic book loves I fell for within this medium ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. Although I may have banged my head in frustration once or thrice.
Truthfully, I could see the writing was on the wall as I worked through book 3. I had stopped reading at book 2 about a year ago, having run out of material at the time, learning that they were not going to keep printing the softcovers. I waited almost a year, hoping for an omnibus announcement, though knowing if anything, it would likely be a bloody compendium. So I began to track down the hardcovers, and was able to finish reading. The brilliance of books 1 & 2 never materialised thereafter. What we got was a slow and steady decline in quality across the board. Dialogue, characters, hell even art to a certain extent was not what it had once been. Those first 20 issues may have been a high bar to reach, but this ending was so aimless, so lost, so far from what it was, to make books 1 & 2 seem like a beautiful figment of my imagination. I've said it before, but everything I loved initially about this series has been watered down or straight up butchered. Characters, dialogue, plotting, pacing, all thrown to the dogs. Dash, ruined. Nitz, ruined. Red Crow, ruined. Dino, ruined. Few escape out of this final arc with their origins and dignity in tact. Maybe Carol and Granny, although the two of them are little more than an afterthought here, appearing for a few pages and then ignominiously disappearing. It hurts to think back to what these characters were, and how much I cared for them and their world.
Whilst this final arc wasn't a disastrous failure by any means, it was to me in how far it has fallen. From magnificence to stark mediocrity. A nose dive this impressive deserves are far more detailed dissection, but I just can't bring myself to do it right now. I'm just to disappointed. If I knew all this, would I still have read this series... I don't know. Is it better to have loved and lost or never have loved at all? Says it all, really. 3/5
OmniBen.
So, almost a year after I started reading this series, I've finally finished it. This series, which was one of the first great comic book loves I fell for within this medium ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. Although I may have banged my head in frustration once or thrice.
Truthfully, I could see the writing was on the wall as I worked through book 3. I had stopped reading at book 2 about a year ago, having run out of material at the time, learning that they were not going to keep printing the softcovers. I waited almost a year, hoping for an omnibus announcement, though knowing if anything, it would likely be a bloody compendium. So I began to track down the hardcovers, and was able to finish reading. The brilliance of books 1 & 2 never materialised thereafter. What we got was a slow and steady decline in quality across the board. Dialogue, characters, hell even art to a certain extent was not what it had once been. Those first 20 issues may have been a high bar to reach, but this ending was so aimless, so lost, so far from what it was, to make books 1 & 2 seem like a beautiful figment of my imagination. I've said it before, but everything I loved initially about this series has been watered down or straight up butchered. Characters, dialogue, plotting, pacing, all thrown to the dogs. Dash, ruined. Nitz, ruined. Red Crow, ruined. Dino, ruined. Few escape out of this final arc with their origins and dignity in tact. Maybe Carol and Granny, although the two of them are little more than an afterthought here, appearing for a few pages and then ignominiously disappearing. It hurts to think back to what these characters were, and how much I cared for them and their world.
Whilst this final arc wasn't a disastrous failure by any means, it was to me in how far it has fallen. From magnificence to stark mediocrity. A nose dive this impressive deserves are far more detailed dissection, but I just can't bring myself to do it right now. I'm just to disappointed. If I knew all this, would I still have read this series... I don't know. Is it better to have loved and lost or never have loved at all? Says it all, really. 3/5
OmniBen.
November 21, 2022
The Goodreads synopsis does a fair job of summarizing what awaits within Volume 9 of SCALPED: .In this volume, war breaks out on the reservation as Red Crow loses his grip on the reins and Dash Bad Horse faces his toughest and fiercest foe yet. . Although that doesn't quite do it justice. This is by far the most violent and consequential story arc yet. I can only imagine what awaits in final Volume 10.
What I love so much about this series is how Aaron has added so many plot threads throughout the volumes and then just pulls them out at unexpected times. Issue #50 is devoted to a long history of abuse of Indian tribes and "scalping", which reminds readers that the title may be much more than just a metaphor.
Both Red Crow and Dash Bad Horse make decisions and take actions that I never imagined despite how closely I've been following this story. Damn, this is so good! I'd love to share those scenes with you but if you've read this far then you may be reading or planning to read this series - - and I would not want to spoil it for you. You should have the opportunity to experience the same gut-punch as me.
All I'm going to say is that choking scene in the jail will stay with me for a long time, as well as Dash's partial recovery from what happened to him in Volume 8 - - and right before the damage piles on in this volume. Damn, Part 2!
What I love so much about this series is how Aaron has added so many plot threads throughout the volumes and then just pulls them out at unexpected times. Issue #50 is devoted to a long history of abuse of Indian tribes and "scalping", which reminds readers that the title may be much more than just a metaphor.
Both Red Crow and Dash Bad Horse make decisions and take actions that I never imagined despite how closely I've been following this story. Damn, this is so good! I'd love to share those scenes with you but if you've read this far then you may be reading or planning to read this series - - and I would not want to spoil it for you. You should have the opportunity to experience the same gut-punch as me.
All I'm going to say is that choking scene in the jail will stay with me for a long time, as well as Dash's partial recovery from what happened to him in Volume 8 - - and right before the damage piles on in this volume. Damn, Part 2!
May 29, 2025
Scalped: Knuckle Up sets the stage for the series' dramatic conclusion, and it doesn't hold back. This volume is a relentless bloodbath, as the cast begins to dwindle significantly. It quickly becomes clear that no one is safe, and the characters' moral bankruptcy shines through every panel.
The opening issue masterfully revisits the history and struggles of the Oglala Lakota, grounding the narrative in the harsh realities of the reservation. This historical context amplifies the palpable tension, foreshadowing the violent unraveling that's about to occur. By the end, many central figures have been shot, killed, or forced to disappear, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The remaining characters are clearly heading for an even more gruesome fate in the final issues.
This volume earns a 4.5 out of 5 for its unflinching brutality and its effective escalation of the series' grim trajectory.
The opening issue masterfully revisits the history and struggles of the Oglala Lakota, grounding the narrative in the harsh realities of the reservation. This historical context amplifies the palpable tension, foreshadowing the violent unraveling that's about to occur. By the end, many central figures have been shot, killed, or forced to disappear, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The remaining characters are clearly heading for an even more gruesome fate in the final issues.
This volume earns a 4.5 out of 5 for its unflinching brutality and its effective escalation of the series' grim trajectory.
May 5, 2020
Could this be the end of... everybody?
This is the last volume before the finale and it ends with a climax. Loved it.
This is the last volume before the finale and it ends with a climax. Loved it.
November 19, 2012
Hope you're ok with a knife in your gut, because that's what you're gonna get with the penultimate volume of this incredible series. I think I've used the word "visceral" to describe Scalped about a thousand times, but I just don't know a more fitting word. This series makes me UNEASY. Guera's art combines the exact perfect mix of realism and twistedness to make me cringe at its intensity. The first chapter of this volume repeatedly explains, in detail, how to scalp someone, and it is the most blood-curdling visual/descriptive combo I've experienced in comics. It nearly made me ill, as it was meant to, so how can I blame it? I can't stay mad at you, Scalped.
But that's just the violence. I'm not one of those readers who's like "You gotta check out this book cause it's SO BLOODY." I need substance, and that's all Scalped is. Pure substance. Every page hits you in the face as the story hurtles towards its inevitable conclusion. All the secrets come spiling forth at once. This volume feels like a dam breaking. The characters are basically falling apart at this point, and there's something oddly satisfying about that. The bleakness of the Native American reservation and its inhabitants is reaching a head. It's a little depressing, but its utter realism makes that allowable. It's amazing to me that there are basically zero good souls in this story, but somehow I keep hoping good will win. But how can it win if it's not even playing?
But that's just the violence. I'm not one of those readers who's like "You gotta check out this book cause it's SO BLOODY." I need substance, and that's all Scalped is. Pure substance. Every page hits you in the face as the story hurtles towards its inevitable conclusion. All the secrets come spiling forth at once. This volume feels like a dam breaking. The characters are basically falling apart at this point, and there's something oddly satisfying about that. The bleakness of the Native American reservation and its inhabitants is reaching a head. It's a little depressing, but its utter realism makes that allowable. It's amazing to me that there are basically zero good souls in this story, but somehow I keep hoping good will win. But how can it win if it's not even playing?
May 29, 2014
Scalped is an amazing modern noir story set on an Indian reservation with a full cast of undesirable characters. The main character is Dashiell Bad Horse, an undercover FBI agent who is sent back to his home rez in South Dakota to ferret out the unsavory dealings of the tribal chief, Red Crow. I love how the entire series blends together Native activism from the 60s with current exploitation through gaming today and how the Federal government continues to fuck over Native communities. This book is the penultimate trade paperback and I'm very sad to come to the end of this. It's very violent and has a number of disturbing scenes, so I would not recommend this to the faint of heart.
August 4, 2012
Wow... I didn't expect this. Knuckles Up has Karnow and Red Crow decide to turn over a new leaf, Shunka is in love, and Nitz and Bad Horse finally take action. I feel like more happened in this volume than in any of the others so far. It was like an action movie, while most volumes have been more about characterization and mood. I'm simultaneously anxious to know what happens next, and sad because I can now see the end in sight.
The remarkable thing about Scalped is that when bad things happen to the characters, I both feel bad for them and think they had it coming. Bravo, Mr. Aaron.
The remarkable thing about Scalped is that when bad things happen to the characters, I both feel bad for them and think they had it coming. Bravo, Mr. Aaron.
Read
November 28, 2012One of those penultimate volumes where the body count gets to the point that you wonder what's going to be left for the final volume. And Dash, the original protagonist, is finally back in the spotlight - though because of some plot, this volume he can't talk. Still surprised the 'organised crime on the reservation' concept hasn't been picked up for TV, but I imagine all those non-white leads would scare the networks. Actually, so would the violence, drugs and language, so it's HBO or bust, and they already have their 'gangsters in odd location' series at the mo with Boardwalk Empire.
January 28, 2013
In which the most inept and irrational character in this increasingly chaotic saga (Nitz) somehow whips things into shape with a perfectly engineered unleashing of demons. This arc does feature a lot more of the Hulk-style ultraviolent fight scenes that suggest to me that Aaron's started phoning it in. Indeed, Dashiell Bad Horse spends much of this growling and yowling, rendered Hulk-mute by his jaw having been wired shut. Still, Shunka's parting kiss is one of the series' best moments -- indeed he overtakes Dash here as the aggressively fascinating homme fatale. Noir as fuck.
April 1, 2013
!!!
HOLY SHINS!!!
!!!
For those of us waiting for the explosions to finally ... heh well, Yeah.
:)
And I must say again, what completely amazing artwork! Plenty Dark.
!!!
HOLY SHINS!!!
!!!
For those of us waiting for the explosions to finally ... heh well, Yeah.
:)
And I must say again, what completely amazing artwork! Plenty Dark.
!!!
October 29, 2023
The penultimate volume of Scalped opens with a narrative pivot in "The Art of Scalping" (issue #50 of the series), where the history of Native genocide and persecution is seen from the eyes of colonial militia who have taken to the practice of scalping to instigate fear in the indigenous American population. But no matter how many they kill, the militia are always faced with heavy resistance in pockets across the continent demonstrating that rebellion will always remain stoked in the hearts of the natives. The issue ends with the creation of the Prairie Rose Reservation as part of a US/First Nations treaty, and the first Bad Horse to inhabit the lands. Though resources are deplete in the rez, the people make this land a part of their counterculture resistance to the puritanical colonialists. Alongside the gritty artwork by R.M. Guéra, several other artists include pinups of the "resistance" presented by the peoples of Prairie Rose.
The titular story "Knuckle Up" picks up from the previous volume as Red Crow begins to rapidly dismantle his criminal organization, much to the dismay of his dealers and right hand man, Shunka. Meanwhile, Agent Nitz grows desperate to finally corner Red Crow, he finds resistance from the local sheriff who recently grew a spine and decided to take the fight directly to Red Crow's organization. And a recovering Dash teams up with Falls Down to hunt down Catcher once and for all and avenge his mother's death. The many loose threads setup in the previous volumes all converge here, but it's all bloody, messy and tragic. Not only is Jason Aaron on top of his game here, but Guéra levels up with this volume and delivers some of the greatest rendered action and violence. I'm sad that my re-read of Scalped is coming to a close soon, since each volume has been consistently great, something that very few 50+ issue runs can boast.
The titular story "Knuckle Up" picks up from the previous volume as Red Crow begins to rapidly dismantle his criminal organization, much to the dismay of his dealers and right hand man, Shunka. Meanwhile, Agent Nitz grows desperate to finally corner Red Crow, he finds resistance from the local sheriff who recently grew a spine and decided to take the fight directly to Red Crow's organization. And a recovering Dash teams up with Falls Down to hunt down Catcher once and for all and avenge his mother's death. The many loose threads setup in the previous volumes all converge here, but it's all bloody, messy and tragic. Not only is Jason Aaron on top of his game here, but Guéra levels up with this volume and delivers some of the greatest rendered action and violence. I'm sad that my re-read of Scalped is coming to a close soon, since each volume has been consistently great, something that very few 50+ issue runs can boast.
June 30, 2023
8.4
One thing that I really found myself enjoying while reading Scalped, and in particular from this volume of the story, is the lack of emotional catharsis or closure that the large majority of the cast of characters in this story seem to experience. This in a lot of ways parallels real life in my opinion, and how things of that nature are damn near impossible for any of us to be able to attain either. Take for instance the unresolved anger Dash holds towards his mother for her being often absent or neglectful toward him throughout his childhood, only for her to be brutally murdered early on in the story without either one having ever made amends (spoilers I guess, but c’mon this is the ninth damn volume of the comic). Neither one of them were able to tell the other how they felt, about their individual regrets or their mutual love for one another, and as a result, Dash has to carry that weight as the survivor. He was never able to have had any sort of emotional growth or closure while she was alive, and is in a constant struggle with himself at achieving it following her death. I can only hope he gets to that place in this upcoming volume.
These ideas of gaining self awareness in an attempt of finding inner peace were further cemented during this volume in the fates of characters like Shunka and Sheriff Karnow. Both attempted some form of change from their nature but met their ends in manners that showed they’d never really made that much progress. Maybe at that point, the writer is attempting to say that despite our best efforts to the contrary, we are slaves to our own nature and desires.
Very, very solid next to last entry for the series, and I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
One thing that I really found myself enjoying while reading Scalped, and in particular from this volume of the story, is the lack of emotional catharsis or closure that the large majority of the cast of characters in this story seem to experience. This in a lot of ways parallels real life in my opinion, and how things of that nature are damn near impossible for any of us to be able to attain either. Take for instance the unresolved anger Dash holds towards his mother for her being often absent or neglectful toward him throughout his childhood, only for her to be brutally murdered early on in the story without either one having ever made amends (spoilers I guess, but c’mon this is the ninth damn volume of the comic). Neither one of them were able to tell the other how they felt, about their individual regrets or their mutual love for one another, and as a result, Dash has to carry that weight as the survivor. He was never able to have had any sort of emotional growth or closure while she was alive, and is in a constant struggle with himself at achieving it following her death. I can only hope he gets to that place in this upcoming volume.
These ideas of gaining self awareness in an attempt of finding inner peace were further cemented during this volume in the fates of characters like Shunka and Sheriff Karnow. Both attempted some form of change from their nature but met their ends in manners that showed they’d never really made that much progress. Maybe at that point, the writer is attempting to say that despite our best efforts to the contrary, we are slaves to our own nature and desires.
Very, very solid next to last entry for the series, and I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
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