Scalped #43

Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Jason Latour

There's nothing too surprising in finding out that the newest issue of Scalped is, once again, excellent.  This month we get a 'done in one' issue, featuring art by Jason Latour, and focusing on Wooster Karnow, the sheriff of White Haven, Nebraska, the town outside the reserve where most of Scalped takes place.  We've seen the sheriff before, but we haven't learned too much about him.

The issue opens with him regaling a couple of local boys with stories of his Vietnam glory days, although he's interrupted by a US Marshal, in town to hunt down an escaped fugitive.

The rest of the issue is an exploration of Karnow's character.  We learn very quickly that he's full of crap about just about anything he's ever claimed, and the arrival of the Marshal, who is the real deal, sends him into a kind of despair.  It's an interesting character study, and it appears to be leading to some sort of confrontation with Red Crow at the very end of the book, showing that it may have some relevance to the long-term Scalped story.