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Scalped #10
SCALPED #10 - SCALPED #10
Fifteen years ago, Dashiell "Dash" Bad Horse ran away from a life of poverty and hopelessness on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in search of something better. Now he's come back home armed with nothing but a set of nunchuks, a hell-bent-for leather attitude and one dark secret, to find nothing much has changed on "the Rez"—short of a glimmering new casino run by a corrupt leader named Red Crow, and a once-proud people overcome by drugs and organized crime.
The final volume of the series brings together all the threads laid out from the very beginning for a dramatic conclusion years in the making!
Collects: Scalped #56-60.
The final volume of the series brings together all the threads laid out from the very beginning for a dramatic conclusion years in the making!
Collects: Scalped #56-60.
Perfect Paperback
First published September 5, 2012
13 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,411 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 143 reviews
August 28, 2025
(A-) 83% | Very Good
Notes: On ire and heirs, a musical chairs of archetypal roles, more coda than arc, question marks addressed, positions doled.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #56-58 ◦ Issues #59-60
Notes: On ire and heirs, a musical chairs of archetypal roles, more coda than arc, question marks addressed, positions doled.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #56-58 ◦ Issues #59-60
September 16, 2018
An epic 60 issue, 1,200 page story comes to a perfect end, and I finally have read one of the great series—Watchman, Sandman, Preacher, and a few others—with rare scope and vision. Scalped is the story of Chief Lincoln Red Crow and Dashiell Bad Horse, Lakota Sioux Indians on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation, the poorest county in 21st century America. Red Crow has with the help of “bad money”—some borrowed from a corrupt Hmong gang, some “earned” from meth labs--constructed a Casino in the midst of great poverty and addictions and despair, many compelling storylines. Bad Horse grew up on the rez with his mother, Gina, whom Red Crow once loved; he returns as an undercover FBI Agent to bring down Red Crow and find his mother’s killer. Can there be redemption for any of these lost souls?
If so, activist Maggie Rock Medicine and Chief Falls Down might have starring roles. You won’t hear it from me if they do. But these folks, you won’t believe it, do not carry guns or knives, do not manufacture meth, and seem to be good community activists rising out of the ashes, observing traditional spiritual practices that Red Crow and Dash also return? Consider returning? to.
In the penultimate volume there are face-offs between some of the principal characters, but in this one there is the mother (but maybe “father” is the better word) face-off between Shunka, Red Crow and Dash, all holding guns on each other. What happens is a big surprise, as are a few things in the last pages of the tale. This is in part a noir crime opera, so you can’t expect everyone to be happy in the end, and to have things all tied up I a pretty bow, but I will say it is not hopeless, either. Things point to a new day for some of them, and maybe even the rez. Aaron and Guera write Dash’s final speech, which is powerful. Twice in this final volume I cried, once in public, on a hard-assed Chicago train! (I assured the woman who looked at me--tears streaming down my cheeks--in concern, that I was all right, and held up the book).
Aaron writes an afterword citing influences: Cormac McCathy (Red Crow reads The Road in jail), Bruce Springsteen’s western album, and “The Ghost of Tom Joad ,” The Wire, Deadwood, Johnny Cash, Sam Peckinpah, Leonard Peltier (the ultimate inspiration) and James Ellroy. Highly recommended series, with high entertainment value AND political aspirations, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Only the brave!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzRbe...
If so, activist Maggie Rock Medicine and Chief Falls Down might have starring roles. You won’t hear it from me if they do. But these folks, you won’t believe it, do not carry guns or knives, do not manufacture meth, and seem to be good community activists rising out of the ashes, observing traditional spiritual practices that Red Crow and Dash also return? Consider returning? to.
In the penultimate volume there are face-offs between some of the principal characters, but in this one there is the mother (but maybe “father” is the better word) face-off between Shunka, Red Crow and Dash, all holding guns on each other. What happens is a big surprise, as are a few things in the last pages of the tale. This is in part a noir crime opera, so you can’t expect everyone to be happy in the end, and to have things all tied up I a pretty bow, but I will say it is not hopeless, either. Things point to a new day for some of them, and maybe even the rez. Aaron and Guera write Dash’s final speech, which is powerful. Twice in this final volume I cried, once in public, on a hard-assed Chicago train! (I assured the woman who looked at me--tears streaming down my cheeks--in concern, that I was all right, and held up the book).
Aaron writes an afterword citing influences: Cormac McCathy (Red Crow reads The Road in jail), Bruce Springsteen’s western album, and “The Ghost of Tom Joad ,” The Wire, Deadwood, Johnny Cash, Sam Peckinpah, Leonard Peltier (the ultimate inspiration) and James Ellroy. Highly recommended series, with high entertainment value AND political aspirations, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Only the brave!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzRbe...
April 8, 2025
An outstanding series from beginning to end!
March 25, 2017
Great crime series but really much more than that. How we deal with loss, the past, traditions and the truth behind it all.
Art by R.M. Guéra was gritty and a bit rough which fit the story to a tee. This was my first introduction to Jason Aaron and I personally believe this is his strongest work.
8/10 for the entire series
Art by R.M. Guéra was gritty and a bit rough which fit the story to a tee. This was my first introduction to Jason Aaron and I personally believe this is his strongest work.
8/10 for the entire series
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 comes to a satisfying and fair end, with the dip in the middle of this final volume - and I've got to add, that there is virtually no way anyone can read this once, it screams to be reread and reread. Jason Aaron's bets ever work in my opinio. 9 out of 12
February 16, 2013
A breathtaking end to an amazing series.
Full review here
Full review here
September 30, 2012
Of course, in an Aaron tale the law wouldn't be the end of the story. Here especially. I was initially fooled into thinking, "there's no way there's any more story to tell after the big arrest". Boy is there. Plenty of confrontations, bad decisions, people seeking redemption and little of that to be found.
At the end of this amazing saga, I find myself not entirely satisfied. I can see why Aaron ended this the way he did, and there's a certain poetic justice in how everyone ended up. I don't think his artistic choices were bad, but I have to admit I was hoping for something more brutal, final and certain. After enduring roller coaster after whiplash in seeing our characters go through everything they brought on themselves, I was looking for something a little more cut-and-dried - a little more action-movie justice that gives me some reason to believe that bad deeds go punished.
I credit Aaron or not taking the cheap way out of this. I may not be joyous, but this will definitely linger for me a good long time.
At the end of this amazing saga, I find myself not entirely satisfied. I can see why Aaron ended this the way he did, and there's a certain poetic justice in how everyone ended up. I don't think his artistic choices were bad, but I have to admit I was hoping for something more brutal, final and certain. After enduring roller coaster after whiplash in seeing our characters go through everything they brought on themselves, I was looking for something a little more cut-and-dried - a little more action-movie justice that gives me some reason to believe that bad deeds go punished.
I credit Aaron or not taking the cheap way out of this. I may not be joyous, but this will definitely linger for me a good long time.
November 7, 2018
This has been a long and bloody and often heartbreaking journey, and in this final installment all the various threads weave together to form a singular piece of art. In the midst of death and loss the world keeps on turning, and for every bad guy who falls, another steps up to the plate. We can only hope the same goes for the good guys. As predicted there really is no happily ever after here, because after all we've been through that would ring false - maybe the only false note in this series - so the creators stayed true and gave us an ending that while not the one hoped for, is the only one possible. It is as it should be.
My review of the complete series can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
My review of the complete series can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
October 7, 2015
A fitting conclusion to a behemoth 60-issue of an indian story, Trail's end gives a glimpse of what happened to the main characters after the climatic volume 9.
Ultimately, Prairie Rose has undergone so much reconstruction, save for others who have succumbed to a life of crime and misery.
To be honest, I really didn't expect much from the last volume, since I alnost certainly knew that the climax has already happened. But like a magnificent story, you have to see it until the end. Dash is certainly one of the most memorable protagonists in comic book history.
Ultimately, Prairie Rose has undergone so much reconstruction, save for others who have succumbed to a life of crime and misery.
To be honest, I really didn't expect much from the last volume, since I alnost certainly knew that the climax has already happened. But like a magnificent story, you have to see it until the end. Dash is certainly one of the most memorable protagonists in comic book history.
December 29, 2020
Scalped efsanesi sonunda bitti ve okuma alışkanlığımda, beklentimde bir boşluk oluştu. Yerini nasıl doldurabileceğimi bilmiyorum. Çizgi Düşler'e, Sinan Okan'a, özellikle Egemen Görçek'e teşekkür ediyorum. Güzel çevirisi bir yana sevgili Egemen'in yönlendirmesi ile başladığım seri gerçekten büyük keyif verdi. Bu cilt belki dört yıldız ama tüm seri ile ele alınca dört veremezdim. Beş üstünden beş!
March 31, 2018
Part crescendo, part epilogue, 100% awesome, Scalped Vol. 10 brings a stunning conclusion to the modern day American epic set on the "rez."
November 22, 2022
SCALPED reaches the end of the trail and its a bittersweet ending, but so satisfying. Several times while reading this I had to pause, look up from the book, close my eyes and marvel at the brilliance on the pages. Also, sometimes to dab at the tears. Sometimes to smile.
This is a modern crime masterpiece, and deserves a place on the plateau with the other comic book masterpieces. And, save a place on the plateau of great crime stories in all formats.
Aaron and Guera top themselves in this final volume in one of the most incredible showdowns between characters since the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Some do not survive, and those that do are changed forever. Every single plot thread is sewn up and finished. The future of every single character of importance throughout this series is detailed.
I did not believe I would ever read a crime comic that matched the level of excellence that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have demonstrated over and over again. Move over, guys. This is it. Brilliant.
This is a modern crime masterpiece, and deserves a place on the plateau with the other comic book masterpieces. And, save a place on the plateau of great crime stories in all formats.
Aaron and Guera top themselves in this final volume in one of the most incredible showdowns between characters since the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Some do not survive, and those that do are changed forever. Every single plot thread is sewn up and finished. The future of every single character of importance throughout this series is detailed.
I did not believe I would ever read a crime comic that matched the level of excellence that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have demonstrated over and over again. Move over, guys. This is it. Brilliant.
March 23, 2019
Güzel bir seriydi, bu kadar çabuk biteceğini düşünmemiştim. Son olarak mutlu son denemez asla, hüzünlü bir son denebilir. Ama zaten bir son ne kadar mutlu olabilir? Hem de böylesi bir hikayede. Çizgi roman severlere tavsiye edeceğim serilerden biri. İyi okumalar.
August 4, 2019
Gerçekten müthiş bir çizgi roman serisi okudum. Hakkettiği ünün çok çok altında. Türü sevenler kaçırmasın.
July 14, 2013
The five-star rating is not only for this volume, but for the series as a whole. I read the final three volumes in the last week. I tried to read them slowly to savor them, but found I couldn't. The writing throughout the series has been amazing, and by the end, everything pays off. Vertigo has published some great series - 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man - and this ranks right up there with the best of them. R.M. Guera's art meshes with Jason Aaron's story perfectly, and even when there were fill-in artists (in earlier volumes), they managed to capture the feel and mood that is Scalped. I can't praise Jason Aaron enough for his writing here, especially considering that he barely wrote any comics prior to beginning Scalped. I'm sorry to see he's moved on to super-hero books (particularly those with an X in their title) and hope he returns to doing some creator-owned work sometime soon. Now that I've finished it, I look forward to re-reading this entire series from the beginning again. I read the first half of Scalped in monthly issues, and the last half in trades. I'll bet I like it even more, reading it as one continuous story from beginning to end.
October 9, 2018
Eh.
The series was a wonderful experience overall, but the ending wasn't what I wished or expected it to be. The precedent volume ending with the very moment every reader was anticipating, it seems like Jason Aaron wasn't sure what to do with his characters afterwards. They seem settled, then they don't. They seem headed for a certain fate, then they go for another. And at the end, very little is solved and what's solved isn't in a satisfying manner *ahem* NITZ *ahem*.
I've greatly enjoyed following these characters over the months and I will forever keep a good memory of them, but... the grand finale could've had more style. It ended in somewhat of a whimper.
The series was a wonderful experience overall, but the ending wasn't what I wished or expected it to be. The precedent volume ending with the very moment every reader was anticipating, it seems like Jason Aaron wasn't sure what to do with his characters afterwards. They seem settled, then they don't. They seem headed for a certain fate, then they go for another. And at the end, very little is solved and what's solved isn't in a satisfying manner *ahem* NITZ *ahem*.
I've greatly enjoyed following these characters over the months and I will forever keep a good memory of them, but... the grand finale could've had more style. It ended in somewhat of a whimper.
June 5, 2014
Great finish to one of the best series I have traveled through. Superlative!!! Writing! Characters! The tale!
I am reminded of Michael Corleone's passionate revelation from Godfather III...just when I think I'm out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN!!! The lives of all involved are irreparably changed in the final betrayals. The resolution may leave you tweaked . Absolutely loved it!
I am reminded of Michael Corleone's passionate revelation from Godfather III...just when I think I'm out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN!!! The lives of all involved are irreparably changed in the final betrayals. The resolution may leave you tweaked . Absolutely loved it!
March 9, 2013
An emotional, gut-wrenching, climactic, and incredibly fitting end to one of the best comic series I've ever read. This series is just as enthralling as Breaking Bad, as intense as the Sopranos, as alive as Deadwood. I cannot recommend this series highly enough, especially after the payoff this final volume gives. This is a series I am going to read over and over again, and one we'll be talking about for decades.
December 9, 2015
Whew. A perfect ending to an incredible, incredible series.
Every loose end, every plot line, every character got their closure. Jason Aaron, you are some kind of a genius. And R. M. Guerá, and every other artist who worked on this series, thank you for bringing this tough world of Scalped to life. Man, do I look forward to Aaron's and Guerá's freshly announced series, The Goddamned. That is going to be epic.
Every loose end, every plot line, every character got their closure. Jason Aaron, you are some kind of a genius. And R. M. Guerá, and every other artist who worked on this series, thank you for bringing this tough world of Scalped to life. Man, do I look forward to Aaron's and Guerá's freshly announced series, The Goddamned. That is going to be epic.
September 19, 2012
Goddamn, this is brilliant. A perfectly executed story, dozens of great characters, and wonderful art. I really hope they collect the series into some nice hardcovers, because I want to read it again and pass it along to my friends.
June 25, 2015
This is probably one of the best comic series you will ever read.
May 30, 2025
The final volume of Scalped is just as good as I expected. This is definitely Jason Aaron's best work he's ever done. We actually get a little bit of a time skip, and we have to deal with the repercussions of everything that's happened throughout the entire series.
Quite literally, we do get "the end of this trail," which is the title of the volume. Honestly, I was really hoping certain characters would pull through, and I was worried the whole time. That's what I love about this series: the uncertainty that anybody can survive.
Without spoilers, I just have to say that I was extremely satisfied with this ending, and I can't believe that Aaron was able to pull this off. Truly a masterpiece of a series and one of my favorite comics. This is now a five out of five.
Quite literally, we do get "the end of this trail," which is the title of the volume. Honestly, I was really hoping certain characters would pull through, and I was worried the whole time. That's what I love about this series: the uncertainty that anybody can survive.
Without spoilers, I just have to say that I was extremely satisfied with this ending, and I can't believe that Aaron was able to pull this off. Truly a masterpiece of a series and one of my favorite comics. This is now a five out of five.
Read
May 14, 2024In his introduction to volume four, Ed Brubaker says that noir is all about inevitability. Reading a noir story, you know terrible things are going to happen to the characters, that decisions they make will lead them down dark paths. Certain things in the final volume of Scaped are inevitable. What happens to the main characters makes perfect sense given all that came before. Some people live, some die, others change for the better. It’s a fitting but no less remarkable end to the story. Still, I found myself somewhat surprised. Not because I didn’t guess the ending, but because I never really thought about it. While reading the series, it never even occurred to me to make predictions, to think about where everyone might end up come issue 60. I was so taken by the story and the characters that it felt like I was reading in real time, totally immersed in the world as everything unfolded before my eyes. So when the end came, I was right there along with the characters - feeling their decisions and reacting to their fates as if I knew them. What I mean is this: few things I’ve read made me have repeated visceral reactions to the story. Scalped is one of those things, and I’ll never forget this first time I read it.
Scalped is flat out amazing. It’s so well-written and constructed. The characterization is some of the best I’ve ever seen. I also think Scalped is perfectly suited for the comics medium. Sure, the story could be translated to prose or television (and may be yet). But there are many elements to the comic - the standalone issues, the pacing, the way Guera frames certain shots, the silent panels - that enhance the experience of reading the story in ways that can’t be done in other mediums. It’s a great story, but also a great comic.
Whenever you read Scalped, I guarantee it will be one of the best things you read that year. I'm going to recommend it every chance I get. In fact, I'm proud to do so.
—
Re-read 2024, the whole series: Yeah, this is one of the all-time greats. It fucking pummels you, emotionally and physically, but that's why it's so memorable. The characterization and storytelling are as every bit as good as The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad. It's easily in the same league as those crime epics. I loved it just as much a second time around, and this certainly won’t be my last time reading it. I would think Scalped goes very high on my list of favorite comics.
Scalped is flat out amazing. It’s so well-written and constructed. The characterization is some of the best I’ve ever seen. I also think Scalped is perfectly suited for the comics medium. Sure, the story could be translated to prose or television (and may be yet). But there are many elements to the comic - the standalone issues, the pacing, the way Guera frames certain shots, the silent panels - that enhance the experience of reading the story in ways that can’t be done in other mediums. It’s a great story, but also a great comic.
Whenever you read Scalped, I guarantee it will be one of the best things you read that year. I'm going to recommend it every chance I get. In fact, I'm proud to do so.
—
Re-read 2024, the whole series: Yeah, this is one of the all-time greats. It fucking pummels you, emotionally and physically, but that's why it's so memorable. The characterization and storytelling are as every bit as good as The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad. It's easily in the same league as those crime epics. I loved it just as much a second time around, and this certainly won’t be my last time reading it. I would think Scalped goes very high on my list of favorite comics.
March 24, 2014
The end of this epic, violent, emotional, intense crime drama doesn't disappoint. But it does give us a lot of unexpected moments. Yeah, there's the obligatory bloody three-way stand-off (we'd have felt ripped off without that) but there's so much more besides. There's excellent character moments and sudden insights and bittersweet endings and even a little hope. There's open-endedness and world-weary resignation. There's self-discovery and finally-realized Truth, with a capital T.
Jason Aaron could easily have drawn his epic to a close with a simple shoot-out, a simple death or two. But he goes someplace deeper, someplace we readers can take with us when it's over-- and by doing so manages to elevate the entire run into something deeply profound.
No surprise that the body count is high; characters we've known from the beginning die. But what's mot surprising is the number of characters who LIVE, and have to pick up the pieces and carry on when all is said and done. But I guess that's sort of Aaron's point: nothing is ever really 'said and done'.
It's crazy, but I'm going to miss these characters. Dash Bad Horse, the conflicted undercover Fed, his activist mother Gina, crazy prophet/murderer Catcher, tragic Dino Poor Bear, honest cop Franklin Falls Down, enforcer-with-a-secret Shunka, sad sad Carole, Indian wannabe Diesel, vengeance-mad Agent Nitz... but most of all Lincoln Red Crow, who's character arc is simply the most stunning I've ever seen in a graphic novel. Aaron pulled him apart layer by layer over the ten volumes, showing us not only his conflict and growth and spiritual death and rebirth, but also revealing that Red Crow was multi-faceted from the start. He's the character I'll most remember from this series.
If you're reading this, you're no doubt already a fan of the series to have come this far, so I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say that SCALPED will be remembered decades from now as one of the high points in the history of graphic novels. It's a masterpiece.
Jason Aaron could easily have drawn his epic to a close with a simple shoot-out, a simple death or two. But he goes someplace deeper, someplace we readers can take with us when it's over-- and by doing so manages to elevate the entire run into something deeply profound.
No surprise that the body count is high; characters we've known from the beginning die. But what's mot surprising is the number of characters who LIVE, and have to pick up the pieces and carry on when all is said and done. But I guess that's sort of Aaron's point: nothing is ever really 'said and done'.
It's crazy, but I'm going to miss these characters. Dash Bad Horse, the conflicted undercover Fed, his activist mother Gina, crazy prophet/murderer Catcher, tragic Dino Poor Bear, honest cop Franklin Falls Down, enforcer-with-a-secret Shunka, sad sad Carole, Indian wannabe Diesel, vengeance-mad Agent Nitz... but most of all Lincoln Red Crow, who's character arc is simply the most stunning I've ever seen in a graphic novel. Aaron pulled him apart layer by layer over the ten volumes, showing us not only his conflict and growth and spiritual death and rebirth, but also revealing that Red Crow was multi-faceted from the start. He's the character I'll most remember from this series.
If you're reading this, you're no doubt already a fan of the series to have come this far, so I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say that SCALPED will be remembered decades from now as one of the high points in the history of graphic novels. It's a masterpiece.
July 16, 2014
It should come as no surprise that Scalped had a bittersweet ending. I've written in earlier reviews about my discomfort with a white guy telling a Native American story, so I won't belabor that here. I want to talk about the characters, because they are what kept bringing me back. I'm a sucker for nuanced characters, characters who live in the gray, and Scalped may have the strongest set of characters I've ever come to know. They live in the dark end of gray, to be sure. They are despicable, ugly, flawed, and yet they all made perfectly understandable decisions at every step along the way. I didn't like most of them, but I cared about them, and I hoped they could find peace.
In the end, Red Crow found some peace, and Carol found some meaning. Dino slipped over the edge he's been walking, and I hope that someday he can find his way back. And Dash... Dash loved a woman who reminded him how to love his home. And then he had to leave them both. The cycles repeat themselves, and it's heartbreaking and beautiful. Like the Prairie Rose Reservation itself, I suppose.
I do have a question for others, though. I was kind of confused by Catcher's end. Help!
In the end, Red Crow found some peace, and Carol found some meaning. Dino slipped over the edge he's been walking, and I hope that someday he can find his way back. And Dash... Dash loved a woman who reminded him how to love his home. And then he had to leave them both. The cycles repeat themselves, and it's heartbreaking and beautiful. Like the Prairie Rose Reservation itself, I suppose.
I do have a question for others, though. I was kind of confused by Catcher's end. Help!
April 18, 2018
How to address my feelings toward this last book of 60 issues epic about one dirty Native American reservation without spoiling the ending? I can only say that Aaron made it trough the end with honour. There are few things in last book that I do not like, but overall, the storytelling is excellent. The ending could be bit unsatisfying at soem point, but whad did you expect, fairy sweet happy ending? This world was crap and it stays that way even the stories of our protagonists ends (one way or another). But we saw that coming and it was hell of a ride. I didn't like Guerra's art then and I still don't fancy it, but it did it's job. It somehow suits the topic and place and it's not distracting when the pace of the story is fast.
Scalped is great series, I would recommend it to all fans of neo-noir, crime & action, the TV series about dirty cops and crooks, like The Shield, True Detective, Fargo. This is both grim as action packed and it reads well, with lively Rez full of colourful but morally grey characters.
Scalped is great series, I would recommend it to all fans of neo-noir, crime & action, the TV series about dirty cops and crooks, like The Shield, True Detective, Fargo. This is both grim as action packed and it reads well, with lively Rez full of colourful but morally grey characters.
May 22, 2019
Série "Skalpy" je rozhodně jednou z nejlepších sérií, které vyšly i v češtině. Tedy z hlediska komiksu a z hlediska kriminálního žánru. Jason Aaron nám ukázal, jak se můžeme těšit i na deset knih naditých depresí, a chtít ještě víc. R. M. Guéra nám zase ukázal, že i jen z pohledu na kresbu se můžete přenést do suché rezervace, kde je bordel, špína, lidská nesnášenlivost a smrt jen kousek od vás. Tohle je série "Skalpy" a to je i její poslední díl "Skalpy 10: Konec cesty". Je dobře, že se podařilo sérii vydat až do konce. Nakladatelství Crew tím získává další hvězdičky za svou činnost a za to, co všechno pro překladový komiks dělá. A jestli jste se k téhle sérii ještě nedostali, konečně tak můžete učinit, třeba tím, že si všech deset dílů koupíte a přečtete. Tohle je vážně čtení, které stojí za to.
September 15, 2019
Zanechávám za sebou tento svět v horším stavu, než v jakém jsem ho nalezl.
Počáteční zvrat v podobě posunutí děje rok po událostech, ke kterým to devět knih směřuje, je stejně tak odvážný jako funkční. Oproti předchozímu "přeakčněnému" dílu, který sloužil především jako čistírna vedlejších postav, se to vrací k jádru pudla, tedy k postavám. A v této poloze je to více než důstojné. Dokud... Tomu tak není, protože ani protentokrát se to nevyhnulo roztahané antiklimatické hromadné přestřelce bez emočního náboje (jakkoli jinak je v ní nábojů jak ve Žhavých výstřelech), která roli "osudového finále" neplní se ctí.
Když se k tomu nádavkem přidá méně nekompromisní zakončení, než by se k povaze série slušelo, tak sice nejde o zklamání v pravém slova smyslu, ale rezignovanému pokrčení rameny se jeden těžko ubrání.
Počáteční zvrat v podobě posunutí děje rok po událostech, ke kterým to devět knih směřuje, je stejně tak odvážný jako funkční. Oproti předchozímu "přeakčněnému" dílu, který sloužil především jako čistírna vedlejších postav, se to vrací k jádru pudla, tedy k postavám. A v této poloze je to více než důstojné. Dokud... Tomu tak není, protože ani protentokrát se to nevyhnulo roztahané antiklimatické hromadné přestřelce bez emočního náboje (jakkoli jinak je v ní nábojů jak ve Žhavých výstřelech), která roli "osudového finále" neplní se ctí.
Když se k tomu nádavkem přidá méně nekompromisní zakončení, než by se k povaze série slušelo, tak sice nejde o zklamání v pravém slova smyslu, ale rezignovanému pokrčení rameny se jeden těžko ubrání.
November 20, 2012
The final volume of Scalped is a fitting end to the entire series. Dash's journey comes full circle and is bitter sweet. One of the best mature comics series that I've ever read, ranks up there with Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned and Ex Machina, Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days. I hope Jason Aaron returns to this type of creator owned material in the future.
November 22, 2012
5 stars not only for this volume but the series as a whole. Scalped is the best crime comic that I have ever read, taking over my previous favourite; 100 Bullets. The conclusion here easily manages to be exciting, tense and surprising. Not only surprising in how some of the characters stories end, mostly in a perfect storm of fire, blood and bullets, but also in the level of emotion that seeps through in the final pages. Jason Aaron's hard boiled writing and Rio Guera's dusty, bloody artwork manage all of this effortlessly. Scalped is not only my favourite crime comic but also one of my favourite crime sagas in any medium.
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