Customer Reviews

Scalped Vol. 2: Casino Boogie

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No doubt about it. Jason Aaron is the one to watch.

I read Scalped Volume 1 and liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to purchase Volume 2. I am so glad I did because this is "Grade A" writing and beautifully "gritty" illustrations that help tell this perfect story.

Jason Aaron holds nothing back while giving us new perspectives on the characters he introduced us to in Volume 1. Written in the same fashion as "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", the reader is lead through the story from all viewpoints and through a time line line that bounces around, but is in no way hard to follow.

This is the perfect comic book.

SC

Casino Boogie collects Scalped issues #6-11 and serves as the volume two trade paperback. The much talked about casino opening from volume one (Indian Country) is the larger focus of this volume as each story part takes place on opening night of the Crazy Horse Casino on The Prairie Rose Reservation. Jason Aaron handles the scripts with a deft hand as he uses this event as the backdrop for supplying the reader with back-story for a number of characters including Dash, Lincoln Red Crow, Diesel, Catcher, Gina Bad Horse, Lawrence Belcourt and Dino Poor Bear.

Originally six issues, the story is divided into six parts. Aaron devotes many of the chapters' opening pages to flashback sequences which setup the focus of each part on a particular character. The reader is treated to scenes from Dash, Red Crow, and Diesel's childhood, for instance, before being brought back into present time to see where each character is on opening night. Red Crow's grim and murderous determination is really the center piece in my opinion, as his actions have a grand, sweeping effect on all the other characters to say nothing of the fact that it's HIS casino that's opening. That isn't to say that each of these other characters are necessarily caught blind in his wake though. Each chapter is written from the perspective of the focus character so the reader is granted a better understanding of their personal dilemmas and motivations. More is revealed on the murders of the two FBI agents from some twenty years back; Scalped's watershed moment and impetus to many of the book's current events. Read in their original, single issue format, each of the chapters succeed as stand alone stories.

The larger tapestry of the ongoing story is fleshed out as well with a few new wrinkles added to complicate matters for the residents of The Prairie Rose Reservation. Is Dash the only undercover FBI agent operating on The Rez? What is Red Crow's involvement with Hmong ganglords hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota and who is this "Mr. Brass" they've sent out to "help" him with his local troubles? What does Catcher's vision mean and what can we possibly expect from such a bizarre individual as he? In the young Dino Poor Bear, do we dare admit to the similarities between his and a young Dash's yearnings? All these personal stories are interwoven skillfully and the variety of characters and settings within really give R.M. Guéra an opportunity to shine as an artist and really define the look of the world he and Jason Aaron are masterfully depicting. The conclusion of this volume is nothing less than a visual and emotional gut punch; it's so cold-blooded and callous and it leaves so many character issues fatally unresolved while at the same time it serves as a lightning rod to drive the story forward to the dark days ahead.

A vey engaging crime story full of great characters. Each issue leaves off with a great cliffhanger and makes you want to read the next issue right away. The art took a little getting used to at first but then one realizes that it fits the mood and tone of the story perfectly. Dark and gritty. I hope that the writer and artist are in this together for the long haul. The comic actually made me read up on recent native american history that some the story is based on. Buy it now! Start with volume 1 first.

First let me say Scalped as a comic is brilliant and I would easily give it 5 stars, it's a true noir with a gritty artistic style and gripping stories with that said let me say the condition of these books are either average to pretty poor the binding is some of the worst I have seen I opened one of them and the pages literally fell out, and that lack of quality doesn't equal the price, which is very good compared to other sellers but does not excuse such poor condition

Rough comic that is only getting rougher, but it does keep me wanting more. This comic just does not let down in intensity and while it is a rough and gritty read, I can't stop reading. Organized crime with a little bit of drama equals this awesome read.

I gave "Scalped" another chance despite a weak opening first book because I enjoy Jason Aaron's work so much and I was glad I did. Some series don't immediately hit the ground running (I'm thinking Preacher and Ex Machina to name two amazing series) and Scalped is definitely in that category. But then reading this second book it almost feels like this should have been a part of the first book, the two released in one volume, because despite a tantalising cliff-hanger at the end of "Indian Country" this book goes back to the opening night of the Prairie Rose Casino and fleshes out much of the action surrounding it.

This lack of depth in the first book was what bothered me the most and this second book "Casino Boogie" covers a lot of the backstory that led to the madness of that first book. We get more back story on Dash Bad Horse, his mother, Red Crow the Casino owner, and the various cast members including a new one in the form of Diesel, a part Indian tough guy intent on bringing down Red Crow's new casino.

Garth Ennis introduces this book and he described RM Guera's artwork as "dusty" to suit the South Dakota landscape. It totally changed how I perceived the artwork and instead of disliking it, I ended up thinking it really suited the story. Trust someone as brilliant as Garth Ennis to turn me around!

Despite all this though, I still feel that "Scalped" is not the brilliant series I want it to be. This might have something to do with the fact that none of the characters are particularly likeable, or the story isn't as compelling as Aaron is making it - unlikeable people who don't like each other, trying to bring one another down isn't the best read in the world, to my mind, but there were more moments of interest in this book than in the first one that hint to me that the series is slowly but firmly finding its legs (I'm thinking of Bad Horse and Diesel's fight among the bulls and Poor Bear's story).

"Casino Boogie" is better than the first book but the series still hasn't caught fire yet. I'll probably keep reading just for Aaron's splendid work elsewhere and I'm hoping "Dead Mothers" will be the book that converts me to the "Scalped" fan club. But an Indian "Sopranos" it ain't.

This might be the best graphic novel I've ever read. Chapter Five is especially mesmerizing, evoking the emotions and personal struggles of life on the fictionalized Pine Ridge Indian Reservation unlike anything else could -- not even a visit in person, I'd guess.

The characters of Chief Lincoln Red Crow and Dino Bad Horse are particularly engaging, but this author has a clear gift for credibly painting intriguing personalities in just a few panels. I've read it twice already and will be revisiting it again this weekend. The writing and artwork are so intricate and sublime that unnoticed nuances emerge every time I flip it open.

An absolutely incredible piece of work.

I didn't think he could top volume one by that much. To my suprise, Jason Aaron blew it out of the water with "Casino Boogie." The series just has this way of slowly revealing, which is unique and extremely effective. I could live with Aaron taking forever to progress in the plot, because the pace and story is perfect to me. He manages to not waste time, but at the same time he takes his sweet time. Nothing much happened between vol 1-vol 2, but man, oh man, was it a beautiful trip. That is talent.

There is no lingering thought that keeps me from getting volume three. Scalped is one of the best comic book reading experiences I've had. Loads of future crime sagas will be compared to this series.

This second volume of Scalped is just as dark, just as dirty, and just as grimey as its predecessor. Here all the issues takes place at the same time, the opening of the Casino. We get to see the night take place from many different characters points of view. Jason Aaron provides a look into what at times seems like an alien world while actually being in the middle of the country. R. M. Guera's art is finely suited for this trade however the color hues are sometimes too dark to take in the picture without struggling to decpher it. Overall, the book is almost great.

This is an amazing. Scalped brings a gritty true tale of life on the Rez. Get into now before this becomes a crappy movie or your friends are telling you what you missed.