Everyone knows DC's big guns -- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman -- but there are whole other worlds within the DC Comics empire, and the grittiest and by-far most enthralling of them is the Vertigo line.
Readers who don't usually check out comics most likely wouldn't recognize many of the characters and tales that Vertigo puts out, but they would probably know some of its writers, such as Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman. Vertigo has consistently put out books that toy with the average, and tries to make it extraordinary. One of their biggest characters was a pissed-off journalist in the future named Spider Jerusalem, as well as the Sandman and his sister, Death.
Scalped, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by R.M. Guera, is the latest addition to a long line of pulp-like stories. Scalped follows the tale of a young Lakota Indian, Dashiell Badhorse, as he returns to the reservation that he abandoned years ago. Secretive and incredibly cold, Dashiell arrives in a land of severe depression overrun with crime and illicit activity. A political struggle is being waged in the reservation with one half of the population protesting the building of a casino and the other half heavily banking on it.
In this first issue Aaron weaves through the story like a movie director, pulling in and out and cutting away with the talented help of Guera. Aaron himself describes the tale as "The Sopranos on an Indian reservation." It immediately gives the feel of a good crime novel, right from the opening panel. Aaron does a great job charging up the juice for the issues to follow, putting in just enough characters and minor plot twists to hook the reader.
Choosing an Indian reservation as the focal point for this story serves the book well. The reservation is depicted with many ramshackle buildings and looks like a once-epic land turned landfill. Tires, debris and all sorts of trash are littered everywhere. There are no paved roads, nor is there much grass. Dirt covers everything. Aaron and Guera present a very convincing reality.
Crime stories like this one are almost always based out of urban centers or city slums, so Aaron's choice of an Indian reservation reads fresh and unique. Just as city settings allow for subtle social commentary to come forth, so too does it happen in Scalped. Through the different ages of the characters the reader is able to pick up the intense and shattering elements of disillusionment and compromise that have eliminated any room for optimism in this community.
The artwork wonderfully breathes life into the characters and the run-down surroundings. Combined with a solid coloring job, there is a very cinematic feel to the book. It only suffers from several minor pacing and panel-flow problems, but they do not detract enough in order to distract.
