Scalped #41

Written by Jason Aaron
Art by RM Guera

Scalped sometimes makes me wonder why I even bother with other comics.  I find that Aaron's writing is so good in this series that he manages to embarrass other writers, himself included (this is one hundred times better than his Marvel work).

The latest arc, Unwanted, has had most of the central characters reflect on parenthood, and the charged relationship between a parent and a child.  Each new issue starts with an abortion, sometimes completed, sometimes not, and the rest of the book, set in the current timeline, quietly examines the consequences of the choices made in the past, which reflect many of the choices the same characters must make in the present.

Dash wakes up in a hospital (after last issues drug-kicking escapade), to find his father standing over them.  Knowing Dash as we do, the reunion goes about as well as can be expected, although his father is pretty persistent.  At the same time, Lincoln tries to track down Gina, finally discovering that she is staying at Granny Poor Bear's, in a very emotionally wrought scene.

The high point for me in this issue came when Gina had a chat with Dino Poor Bear about his own role as a father.  Dino has been my favourite character in this book from the first time he appeared, and it made me happy to see how he has grown into himself through looking after his daughter.

I think, when I write about this comic, I don't give RM Guera enough credit.  His art is not particularly pretty, but neither is anything else on the Prairie Rose Reservation.  What stood out for me in this issue is the way in which he has gotten the hang of portraying the characters as Native American.  Dash's father (blanking on the name right now) has a very realistic look about him that I appreciate.