Reading Material

Today I want to talk about two books in particular. Neither of them mine. One is a book on my Christmas wish list, and the other is one that everyone should be reading. I’ll start with the latter…

Scalped vol. 3: Dead Mothers is available now from Vertigo (a DC Comics imprint). Scalped is written by Jason Aaron with art by RM Guera. Both John Paul Leon and Davide Furno contribute to this volume as well.
I picked up a copy this weekend, and I simply cannot praise this book enough. Here’s a brief synopsis: Scalped follows Dashiell Bad Horse, an ex-con that reluctantly returns to his Native American reservation working undercover for the FBI in order to build a case against organized crime kingpin and tribal chief, Red Crow.
Month in and month out this is by far the best comic book being published, and always at the top of my read pile. Scalped started strong and each arc is better than the previous. Scalped is filled with panels that make you chuckle (or maybe you are a giggler, I am not one to judge) immediately followed by a page that kicks you in the emotional scrotum (I love that word).
Creator, Jason Aaron hasn’t just filled the book with an eccentric ensemble cast of wholly original characters, but has instilled each one with several layers of depth and complexity rarely found in a medium filled with cookie-cutter heroes and villains. And just who are the heroes, and who are the villains? Just as in the real world, with Scalped it isn’t that simple. Over the course of the run you develop an emotional attachment to these characters no matter how bad, badass, or down right despicable they may first appear. Each character is infused with his or her own unique persona as well as a motivation, or drive that the reader can easily identify with even though the Rez is far from our own suburbanite environment. Through tight natural dialogue and smooth narration, Jason does a superb job getting us inside the characters heads.
Jason Aaron continuously weaves a tight crime drama, intricately balancing a number of ongoing sub-plots while not losing focus of the books main premise.
I simply cannot praise the book on writing alone. I must commend RM Guera whose morose artwork brilliantly, and brutally brings to life the gritty atmosphere of the tough life on the Rez for its Denizens. The artwork is not pretty, but that’s the point as it perfectly fits the tone of the book. A true cohesiveness between Aaron and Guera is unmistakable as each one’s skill perfectly complements the other resulting in a seamless fusion of storytelling.
Jason Aaron has quickly become one of my favorite writers, with excellent work on Marvel’s Ghost Rider and Wolverine, but Scalped is his one book that I recommend to everyone…friends, family, and even complete strangers.
Shame on you if you are not reading this book, ladies and gentlemen…shame on you.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum is a book rife with controversy, but still worth mentioning…

The Youngblood Hardcover Vol. 1 hits stands next week, and this is one of the few items on my Christmas wish list. Yes, even though I am a grown man I still make out a Christmas wish list, except this gets e-mailed to my wife as opposed to mailed to Santa Claus. The new Hardcover will feature new script by Joe Casey, new colors, lettering and even layout changes. The intention is to improve upon some of the original series’ shortcomings, and attempt to tell a more cohesive story with the hope of revitalizing old fans and new readers alike.
This isn’t a review of the book itself since I have yet to read it, this is just a quick jaunt down memory lane as to why I am looking forward to it.
Say what you will creator Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood series, whether you bash its overall execution, tear apart Rob’s perception of anatomy (tiny heads and even smaller feet), ridicule the layouts, or curse the expository filled dialogue. When the first issue of Youngblood hit the stands back in 1992 it sold over a million copies…A million copies!! It also set a trend (for better or worse) that would shape the look of the comic medium for the next decade.
As a youngster who would visit the local comic book shop with my dad, I was one of millions of people snatching up anything with the Image label. Spawn, Maxx, Pitt, Wild CATs, Cyber Force…I couldn’t get enough. However, my favorite of the bunch was Youngblood. The basic premise was about a team of government-sponsored superheroes dealing with enemies both at home and abroad as well as sensationalism by the media. The latter of which was rarely if ever showcased. As a twelve year old, I didn’t pay much attention to the actual structure of the story itself or even the dialogue; instead the larger than life characters, dynamic action poses and stylish splash pages blew me away. Rob’s artwork possessed a kinetic, in-your-face style that was frequently imitated for years after.
After I graduated high school, and lost an interest in collecting comics, most of my comics were lost, or left behind for my younger brother to pawn off or roll up and smoke. This included a large portion of my Image collection including Youngblood. After getting back into comics and forming Antidote Comics LLC, I sought out those old Image comics, and was lucky enough to find most of them for a dollar or less in various bargain bins at the local shops. Even to this day I love to rummage through my box of Image comics, flipping though each issue to admire the exuberant artwork that made comics fun…and admittedly still do.
Rob Liefeld is a polarizing figure in the comic book world, and takes a lot of flak from fan-boys the world over, but he impressively takes it in stride. Even to the harshest critics Rob remains courteous, and respectful. He also possesses an interminable sense of optimism and indomitable spirit, which is inspiring. As someone looking to “break in” to the business, these are traits that I not only respect Rob Liefeld for, but hope to emulate as well.

Well, that is it for today. It is late (for an old timer like me anyway), and I am tired. I did not make it to the comic shop today, so it looks like tomorrow is 'New Comic Thursday', which is the best day of the week. If you would like to learn more about Jason Aaron visit http://www.standardattrition.com/, and http://jasoneaaron.blogspot.com/. To learn more about Rob Liefeld visit http://robliefeld.net/.

Good Night!