Jason Aaron

Volume seven of Aaron and Guera's Vertigo series about crime and degradation on an Indian Reservation. There's a hint of redemption here as well, more so than in any of the previous volumes, and hard-won, high-cost, painfully vulnerable redemption at that.

Coming right out of nowhere is the heart-rending opening story about an old couple facing up to some grim realities, living in an isoated spot far from town. This is followed by a two-parter about Shunka, Red Crow's right-hand man, and that show more takes an amazing turn right from the get-go. After that, we travel to Vietnam 1969, and Dash's father's experiences in the war and after. Then it's back to Dash Bad Horse and Carol, two horribly wounded souls at the bottom of a long fall into utter self-destruction, just beginning to claw their way back to the light, if it's not too late.

Scalped is a dark, twisted, violent series, but in this volume Aaron writes the heart out his story and his characters, leaving them sad and sorry and alone, with darkness ahead and only thin shreds of human dignity to protect them. show less

Dash continues his role as Red Crow's man and has an encounter with Catcher, Red Crow's background reveals the atrocities that was inflicted on the natives by the Christian church and his motivation becomes clear, the Hmongs and their stakes in the casino are introduced, Diesel makes his mark on the Rez and has an encounter with Dash, Catcher explains his plan and has a vision, Dino makes an unfortunate choice, and Gina comes to her tragic end. It's dark, it's gruesome, it's violent and show more cruel, it hits you in the stomach and, before you have caught your breath, comes back and punches you again. It's about humans, trying to survive in the harshest of worlds, desperately clinging to some ideal that they've half forgotten, partially due to an all-encompassing cynicism and partially due to their own growing coldness, but humans at the core, hurt again and again by their hope for something good that, seemingly inevitably, always turns to bad. It's a story that won't leave you alone for a long time after you've closed its pages. It's one of the best examples of noir I have ever encountered and I can only hope I encounter something as good again. show less

This book, and the first one, are brutally violent, gritty, and licentious to a degree that is exploitative. There is so much suffering, the pages are saturated with the blood, sweat and tears of every character. The book doesn't even handle it well, doesn't let the reader come up for air or allow a moment to smile. It's a nonstop wince, if not a grimace, from cover to cover. But I'm totally addicted...

I approached AvX with caution since the reviews were all over the place. I was expecting it anotehr Civil War - heroes fighting heroes over a difference in ideology. While there is some of that, this had a surprising depth to it that elevated the story. The hardcover collection has the main event, including the Marvel Point-One, the AVX: Versus issues (hero on hero battles) and issues from the AVX: Infinite (adapted from the digital platform). It is definitely worth the price, especially show more discounted.

The Phoenix Force is returning to Earth and everyone assumes it is coming for Hope Summers, the only mutant born after the Scarlet Witch decimated the mutant population. The Avengers want to isolate and prevent Hope from being taken by the Phoenix (of course Wolverine has a more permanent solution in mind!). Scott Summers thinks that Hope is the mutant messiah and the Phoenix will give her the ability to return what was lost to mutants. What makes the story so good is that both sides not only have valid viewpoints but are emotionally invested in the outcome. The X-Men have been persecuted since mutants became known and the Avengers have done little to help them. On the other hand, Scott is gambling the lives of the entire world that Hope will be able to do what Jean Grey could not - control the Phoenix. When the Phoenix arrives, Tony Stark unleashes an experimental weapon that splits the Phoenix into five hosts, one of whom is Scott. The power of the Phoenix combined with his zealotry to "save" his people will eat away at his humanity, with devastating results.

Where the story strays a bit is with the "versus" aspect of the event. The writers want to give readers those epic match-ups, so they work them into the story by having the various confrontations occur as the two sides search the world for the runaway Hope. It felt contrived, but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun. The main event gives glimpses of the fights, but it is the AVX: Versus section that expands the battles in full. It includes: Magneto vs Iron Man; Thing vs Namor; Captain America vs Gambit; Spider-man vs Colossus; Thing vs Colossus; Black Widow vs Magik; Daredevil vs Psyloche; Thor vs Phoenix Emma Frost; Hawkeye vs Angel; Storm vs Black Panther (what a divorce!); and, Hope vs Scarlet Witch. These were followed by some "quick" fights of just a page or two of match-ups not hinted at in the main event storyline. Not every fight ended how readers might expect, and they were all reminiscent of video fighting games. Each fight included witty "AVX Fun Facts" such as "Black Panther has lots of plans" and "Demons are real." Some of the facts related to the powers of the character, but all were fun and added a lot to the story.

The final, short section was the Infinite part. I could not tell this was adapted from a digital platform (having never seen the Marvel app) so other readers shouldn't have a problem. It mostly expanded on Nova's journey to Earth and was very interesting since I know little about his character.

Overall, I was thoroughly entertained by the AVX crossover and the way it concluded, setting up the site-wide Marvel Now launch. Though not as good as Civil War or Siege, I thought AVX was better than Secret Invasion or even Fear Itself. I can't wait to read the Avengers vs. X-Men Companion with all the tie-ins. My only disappointment is that the hardcover edition does not have the sewn binding that most Marvel omnibuses have. The glued binding just won't hold up to rereading. Never-the-less, highly recommended! show less