Scalped #48

Written by Jason Aaron
Art by RM Guera

How often do you read a comic where the two principal male characters spend most of the issue nude, talking together?  No, Scalped is not moving into homoerotic territory; instead, Jason Aaron is continuing to strip away his characters' defenses, and is moving ever more steadily towards their core.

In this issue, Dash has three difficult conversations with the three men who have done the most to shape his experiences since this comic began.  He sits in a sweat lodge with Lincoln Red Crow, who basically offers him the keys to the kingdom that is the Prairie Rose Reservation.  It is clear now that Lincoln needs Dash, and is hoping to find his own redemption through him, as well as looking to pay off his debts to Gina, Dash's mother.

Dash also has two conversations with Agent Nitz.  Now that he's penetrated Red Crow's operation to the extent that he has, we are left to wonder if he's going to complete his FBI assignment and take Red Crow down.  So much has happened to Dash that I'd pretty much forgotten that he even is FBI, and I question where his loyalties lie now.

The third conversation is with Catcher, who offers Dash a choice - he can save Officer Falls Down, or he can learn the identity of his mother's killer.  I'm very curious to see how this plays out.

The recurring image of the web throughout this comic is an appropriate one, as Aaron has wrapped so many levels of intrigue around Dash.  I'm as excited about this comic as I've always been, and am looking forward to the conclusion of this arc next month.