Scalped #3

Issue 3 of Scalped marks the conclusion of the introductory story arc of the series, called 'Indian Country'. And I'm still not sold on it. The concept seems sound: it was promoted as 'The Sopranos on an Indian Reservation', which sounds awesome as a tagline, but in my opinion it falls down somewhere in the execution.

The main character of the series is a man named Dashiell Bad Horse, and he is one angry bad-ass (what else?), who left the reservation as a young man, only to return inexplicably years later, and find a place on the corrupt local police force. What we know, but no-one else does, is that he has been sent back by the FBI in order to bring down the local Chief (of the tribe and police), Red Crow, a major crime-lord, and all-round bad-guy.

This issue sees Dash narrowly escape death at a drugs-bust, which looks suspiciously like a set-up. His partner (humourously named Falls Down), almost isn't as lucky, ending up hospitalised in the encounter, but Dash, in an unlikely show of Max-Payne style dives and dual-pistolling takes out the whole gang. This prompts him into a tense confrontation with his new boss, who manages to placate him for the time being, but it's clear that our hero is treading dangerous ground.

Aaron writes competently enough, providing plenty of action and introducing us to a wide variety of characters, all with believable and understandable motives. His dialogue is terse and gritty, showing a hint of a Tarantino influence, and it's all set against a background of downtrodden people living well below the poverty line. He also teases us with some more background on Dash, via a short flashback.

Guera's art is where I feel this series is let down the most. His use of detail I find confusing and nowhere is this more apparent than in action scenes, where I am almost constantly confused as to who is shooting at who, who has been hit, and so on. This is such a problem that during the shootout at the beginning of the book, it wasn't until the last panel of the scene when Dash is the last man standing, that I figured out what had happened. He (or I) seems to have a similar problem with faces - to such an extent that often the only way I can recognise the main character is by his bald head. When he wears his wide-brimmed police hat at the same time as another character, I've got no chance at all.

Scalped is a passable series, but I'm finding the artwork a real turn-off. This being the concluding part of a story arc, the decision of whether I'll keep reading really rests on whether my local comic shop (whose subscription service can be a bit hit-and-miss) manages to reserve me the next copy. If you've read the first two issues, and are craving some resolution, pick it up, otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

Rating: 3/5