Sunday, December 13, 2009

Scalped TPB 1: Indian Country


Wow. I had heard good things about this book and I knew I loved Jason Aaron's other writing, so it was only a matter of time before I picked this up. And boy am I glad I did. This gritty look at an Indian reservation is just fantastic. The story is an incredible mix of violence, passion, and regret. The lead character, Dash Bad Horse is a butt-kicker of the highest order. He's serving as a deputy for the reservation and his job puts him in the world of all sorts of scumbags. Complicating matters is the current Chief (and everything else) of the tribe; Red Crow. Red Crow knows Bad Horse from his childhood when Red Horse was with Dash's mother. Now Dash's mother and Red Horse are on opposite sides on how to proceed with the reservation and the casino about to open there. The book is filled with all sorts of folks who have fallen on rough times. Dash's childhood friend is sleeping around and he's upset about it. Multiple factions are trying to manipulate each other for nefarious ends. And Dash has a pretty good reason why he came back at all. This book is fantastic, the story stays with you and the cliffhanger is a true stunner.

R.M. Guera delivers a wonderful mix of gritty realism and comic book action. The characters look great, and their emotions are clear and easy to read. I'm very impressed with this book.

Excellent

2 comments:

Jeff said...

Agreed. This is one of the most riveting new series of the decade.

Timbotron said...

I'm going to catch up on this thing fast. I haven't gotten wrapped up like this since Preacher, and that's high praise!