Friday, September 26, 2008

Scalped #21 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Scalped #21, about which I write the following sentences: "The virtues of this series aren't obviously apparent if you're just flipping through the comic in the shop, and a new reader might pick up this issue and find very little happening on the surface, but it is very much like 'The Wire' in that respect. It's the accumulation of dramatic moments, and the echoes of past story beats that add up to something remarkable. And although Aaron doesn't try for the bleak poetry of Cormac McCarthy's narrators, he does capture the glimmer of hope within the bleakness that's the essence of McCarthy, and I'll be damned if Aaron isn't terse. But he's terse with a purpose, and though his two main characters, Bad Horse and Red Crow, speak louder with their actions then their words, he isn't afraid to throw in an extended monologue every once in a while. Here, Bad Horse doesn't even appear, and Red Crow says only what he needs to, but the wise Mr. Brass speaks volumes. And like McCarthy, like 'The Wire,' Aaron gives all of his characters a distinct speaking rhythm, capturing their worldviews clearly and precisely without resorting to exposition. These characters talk at each other, making their way through the cold, hard world."

Read the entire review HERE.

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