Clean Room Book 3: Waiting For The Stars To Fall (#13-18)

"Fuck, oh fuck.  We're stuck here" - Chloe

Ah once again apologies for a late posting, been tech apocalypse for me lately.  Got the scanner working again, the laptop remains at the menders, anyway we wrap up this ladies month with a story by Gail Simone the final six isues of what promised to be season one of Clean Room, so apparently it's not gone for good except nothing bar a single tweet from Jan 2017 said Clean Room would be back.  This is a complex tale which revolves around two very different women.  The first is Astrid Mueller, when she was a young girl she had an accident that ever since has allowed her to see monsters that are disguised as people or living inside them or attached to them.  When she grew up she formed a Scientology style cult with the revelation of what lies out there given to those who attain the highest echelon.  The second woman involved is Chloe Pierce, whose boyfriend was a member of Astrid's organisation and killed himself up learning the awful truth.  At first Chloe was determined to figure out what the scam was being performed by Astrid but she gradually found herself part of Astrid's world.  One way is that she too can shape the visions of the titular Clean Room where patients of counselled about the terrifying thoughts and visions he creatures are giving them as Astrid manifests the beings inside there.  But last volume, Astrid was nearly assassinated by her brother Peter, Chloe is able to heal her via a friendly one of the aliens called Spark, who also saved  Chloe from the ministrations of The Butcher back in her home as well. The last book ended with two of Astrid's "rooks" implicated in the assassination attempt and Astrid looking at her baby niece and seeing a monster instead.  That's the most important stuff that happened, but these books really are cramful of events also you might notice that the main artist is no longer Jon Davis-Hunt but Walter Geovani, more thoughts on that in the conclusion.  Anyway, lets be getting along.

We start with a chubby middle-aged man called Mr. Tubbins being dropped off by a mountain path where he carries a briefcase to a muscular young man called Mr. Webber.  Tubbin's shows a picture of the mutated creature that is Astrid's neice.  When Tubbins tells Webber who the aunt is, Webber thanks him and tells him to do the right thing and as Tubbins throws himself off the cliff, Webber ponders the existance of "a child."  Then we get a full page of his face in which the left side is horrificially mutilated.

Back at Astrid's HQ, The Honest World Foundation in Chicago, Duncan and Killian the two Rooks who betrayed Astrid are called in to see her in The Room.  Both are forced to wear uniforms that newbies wear, and when confronted by Astrid, she quietly demands to know if they know what they have done.  When they tell her why, Ducan saying he wanted to save his boyfriend from "unimaginable torture" while Killian says they let the entity go free because he saved them:

Astrid: "No.  The answer is that you betrayed me."

She contemplates how to punish them and demands to know their worst memory.  Duncan says the first man who ever loved him was killed by a snipers bullet in Afghanistan, he had to as him off him.  Killian says it was discovering her mother dead from ovarian cancer aged fice.  Astrid stalks out leaving them in the room saying they are going to relive those moments.  But she can't go through with it and runs back into the room, she hugs them both saying "forgive me. Forgive me."

Astrid apologises to Killian and Duncan.

She pulls back and recovers her composure and tells them they are on probation, their previous loyalty and service has been more than adequate.  Io her assisstant is surprised, she's never seen Astrid apologise to anyone.  After checking out some potential new Rooks none of which measure up,  we cut to Chloe having a barbecue with the three Haverlin brothers who are her neighbours and Avil her new boyfriend.  They clink beer bottles and drink to "loyal trustworthy friends."

Then Astrid shows up with Io and Capone.  Chloe reacts badly to seeing her saying she has brought nothing "but death and misery to my life" so she should get lost.  But the Haverlins say she isn't being neighbourly and that everyone is invited to their cookout.  Astrid cautiously asks "I'd like a wiener please, kind sir".  When Io says she'll get her some water, Astrid says in fact she'll have a beer.

The two women with her are amazed because they have only ever seen Astrid do things like eat crackers with a knife and fork.   Astrid sits down and apologises for the interupting, she says Chloe has a nice life:

Astrid: "What you said about pain all around.  That is the cost, Chloe.  That is the cost of having your eyes opened.  I can't close my eyes again.  Can you?"

She goes on to say she has one friend in her life.  Her name is Anika from New Mexico.  The beings took her up at age seveteen and experimented on her for amusement.  Now her right side is that of a young woman and her left side that of a one hundred year old crone.  "No reason.  No motive.  They did it to be mean.  A lifetime of pain, waking up each day wanting to die.  It made them laugh".

Astrid attends the barbecue.

Chloe asks her why she is here now and Astrid asks her to come and be her Rook, "you have gifts they do not.  Come help me save the world." Chloe stammers that she can't leave the life she has here.  Astrid says she'll give the life she has purpose.  Chloe says will she answer her questions.  When Astrid says she'd have to be cautious about that, Chloe gets angry and straight out demands to know who the entities are.

Astrid pauses then lets out what she knows.  The entities come from another place, she isn't sure if it's another dimension, galaxy or even hell itself. But they have been here a very long time. Earth is a distant outpost, "their devil's island."  The entities they send here are the outcasts of their species, the sadists, the torturers and the rapists.  Their culture has no death penalty and so they are sent here where they can live without supervision, "because we are no sufficiently advanced to matter."

Chloe asks why they bother if they are so advanced, and Astrid says thet are bored, "thousands of years in a lightless cave, only us to torment.  Waiting for something."  She exhorts Chloe again to come with her and she'll show her what they've waited for.

We cut to the Clean Room. Inside is Astrid and Chloe and a baby of around a year old.  Astrid asks Chloe what she sees and Chloe says she sees a beautiful little girl.  Astrid addresses the child asking if she has something she wants to say to her?  The baby erupts into a monstrous being hurling threats and obscentities at her finally says "we're coming.  We're all coming, bitch monkey!"  Then it mentally forces the guard with them to shoot himself in the head before saying to Chloe, "Philip says hello". Philip being her dead fiancee's name.

Chloe meets hell baby Derica.

Outside the institute, a skinny man with long hair dyed like Astrid's and a pink T-shirt with "#1 Astrid Mueller Fan" on it holding a bunch of balloons with Astrid's face on them is trying to get into the building.  He is being rebuffed for not having an appointment but he says it's important she talk to him because he's her number one fan.

Back in the Clean Room, Astrid is her usual unflappable self while Chloe is freaking out at what the baby is telling them, that they plan to make a bridge out of humans.  She thinks to herself:

Chloe: "Just one time I wanted to be Lois Lane.  I just wanted to do important work.  Reveal the kind of massive truths that could actually help people.  I didn't want to see any deeper than that.  Not really.  Fuck me.  Too late.  Too late."

We get a lovely double page spread of said human-bridge with the baby saying they'll walk on their faces wearing shoes with nails in all the way home "and there are so many of us, Astrid. So many."

Red Flag! Red Flag!

Chloe demands to know why they hate humans so much, humans are already scared of them so what does this achieve?  The baby holds up a brick and says "because the cow goes moo, Chloe."  Then it tells her she was pregnant when her fiancee killed himself, and her baby is dead now "while a monster like me lives to do the most awful things".  Chloe finally now realises how Philip, who had seen so much brutality in Afghanistan and Iraq was unable to continue his life after finding out the truth behind the monsters, "I see it now, humanity gone, everything good in ashes and fire."

Then the hell baby causes the dead guard to rise up and start speaking with Philip's voice as it mocks Chloe.  Astrid decides it's time to put an end to this for now and orders a  "damn" big shockwave to be sent through the child monster knocking it out.  Astrid puts out a comforting hand to Chloe who suddenly notes she hadn't heard Astrid use a curse word before, "I think you were worried" she smiles at her.  Then she tells Astrid to repeat after her, "Fuck. Shit. Dick."  Astrid manages to say "Intercourse. Feaces. Thingie" and they embrace.

Derica gets zapped.

Chloe kisses her on the cheek and thanks her for shutting the hell baby up, "that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Maybe for anyone."  Astrid orders the hell baby to be taken back to the catacombs as it won't be out cold for long.  Then she is informed about the #1 Fan. His name is Artus Greenhand and he is obssessed with her.  He is in the "watch out for" file.  He maintains a website full of weird fanfic of him and Astrid being soul mates.  Astrid says she has no time for a deluded fan, but he knows about the child and he knows how to kill it, "but he says time is running out."

Astrid decides to get Chloe to evaluate Artus.  Chloe is the only other person who can bend the room to her will and Astrid is needed elsewhere.  Reluctantly Chloe agrees and takes Killian as her Rook to help her:

Chloe: "No more slacking on the job Killian.  You and I are going to fuck these space hemorrhoids up."

Inside the room, Chloe plants a big kiss on Killian's lips (Killian is a lesbian with a huge crush on Chloe).  Having done so she feels more confident while Killian is left somewhat weak at the knees "you could kill a girl with lips like that" she says.  Then Artus is led inside, his hands double cuffed, and he calls them "critters."

Chloe smooches with Killian.

Meanwhile Astrid is at the Institute Sick Bay where her brother Peter is securely strapped to the bed. He wakes with a start, and Astrid says she needs to ask him about Derica, the name of his neice the hell baby. He rages that she must keep her hands of her, that she is normal and fine.  Astrid says she is not and he knows she is not and he is going to help her figure out how to "kill her and burn the ashes".

Inside the Clean Room Artus is getting overwhelmed about being close to things Astrid has touched. He says he was expecting to be questioned by her, but Chloe says she is doing it so what does he know and how does he know it?  He says he is a hunter but one day:

Artus: "I got scratched  Dinged up right fierce. Almost bled out, right there. Since then, well I bin havin' all kinda revelations."

He says he can show them, so Chloe uses her ability and the Clean Room transforms.  To show a woman bound to a chair and gagged with lots of red haired wigs behind her.  Artus is seems is a serial killer of prostitutes, "they're just women.  Loose women.  Critters is what they are."

Then the Artus of the vision comes into the room with clippers ready to shave the woman.  Killian says they aren't ready to see this and to take them back.  But Chloe says they have to stick it out to find out what he knows about the child.  So vision Artus shaves the woman's head and staples a red wig to her scalp.  Chloe can't take his enjoyment anymore and punches real Artus then kicks him in the head when he is downed.

Artus gets a well deserved pwning.

Killian notes that's not how Astrid would have handled it, but she says "I heartily endorse your methods." Artus says he had a vision of the babe and how to destroy her, but he sees how it is.  Meanwhile Peter has admitted the terrible truth behind Derica, he joined an organisation which he thought was good and kind.  But they were all literally fucked by the aliens because they thought they were chosen ones. And Derica was born.

Back in the Clean Room real Artus rises saying he won't help them now and he's felt the room calling since he walked inside.   So he takes control of the room and going home and leaving them trapped inside with the vision version of himself which can now see Chloe and Killian who points a gun at them saying "well, well, well.  Lookie what we have here.  Critters."

We then take some time out for a look at how Astrid's organisation genuinely helps people in need, art by Sanya Anwar.  We see a man and a woman attending Trinity College.  The woman is reading a biography of Lewis Carroll, the man comes and flirts with her and when she says she never reads fiction he hands her Astrid Mueller's book then they go for a pint.  We get a whirlwind of images showing them together including getting married then we see her alone in bed "years later I knew what it meant to be bereft.  To be alone in a strange place".

Suddenly she hears her husband Ian calling her name, "Mary" and she sees him come into the room missing half a leg and with a smashed open skull, "and then I started screaming and forgot to stop, somehow."  She keeps seeing him again in her daily life, unable to let him go because he keeps coming back. She tried to read Astrid's novel which is three hundred words with no punctuation, "legend was that if you read it all, you gained tremendous personal power or went insane."  She decides it's not for her and gets Astrid's new book.

She also goes to therapy, "because this morning, in the shower? Ian handed me the soap".  Her therapist says it's grief related psychosis, her brain is putting him in places he used to be.  But Ian is standing behind her, and he's never been in this place before.  She gets prescribed anti-depressants. 

She loses her job and nearly loses her mind when she sees a meeting of the Honest World Foundation taking place.  She goes inside and they treat her with kindness immediately.  Ian appears and says he doesn't like this place, he sounds afraid like she'll abandon him despite that being exactly what she wants to do.

Mary is special!  Honest!

She sits in a one-on-one with a handsome young man.  He asks her some questions before hitting her with asking her if she has thought of fucking him since she came into the room.   She finally admits "a little".  He says that's fine and continues asking her innocuous questions mixed with personal ones.  Finally he checks her evaluation and is surprised and brings in some others.  Then he goes to her and says she has "unlimited potential.  Mary you could change the world."

Mary: "They looked at me and saw me for what I really am.  What I could be.  I couldn't wait to go through the adept program".

She journeys to the organisation's HQ catching Chloe leaving in a fury which happened in volume one.   Inside she is shown to a dorm room.  She is ordered aroun by a Rook called Terry but Astrid comes in and says to go easy on her as it's her first day.

Mary tells Astrid that she changed her life, Astrid gives her a long look then says she is glad.  Then she says she is there to achieve her potential and "enjoy your new life Mary". She attends meetings everyday, does visible volunteer work, hand out Astrid's books in the street a lot of which are taken by the homeless for warmth.  She is a "stone cold believer" by now.

When they hear one of their group is being made a Pawn, everyone celebrates.  But when he comes back to the dorm that night he doesn't smile and cries all night. Next morning he's gone and they weren't supposed to speak his name again.   Then she is told she is to do be an assisstant Eval technician.  They must listen to the person then say that the eval can't be right, then get a senior supervisory adherant and speak to them quietly then tell the person, "we've never seen a reading like yours.  It's off the scale.  Never even heard of one like this" and they then finish by saying they have unlimited potential and can change the world.

This reveal upsets Mary a lot and she starts crying often too.  Then she is called to meet Astrid and her new second-in-command.  She goes into the Clean Room and meets Astrid and Chloe.  She tries to explain herself but Astrid says it doesn't matter, she says Mary has been lying and time to see what it was all about.

The Clean Room changes to a bridge her husband died bungie jumping off, "the bereft day" Mary calls it.  As they look upon Ian and Mary about to jump Astrid tells Mary that Ian suffered from depression, delusions and more.  "His good natured spirit covered worlds of pain" she says.   Ian tells Mary that he's cut both of their lines so it will look like they were irresponsible "it's the only way Mary. The only way out".

Illusiory Ian jumps, but Mary doesn't.  Astrid says that was the only time she didn't follow him.  Real Mary says she should have jumped too.   They look upon Ian's broken body and Astrid says he wanted away from life that badly. "You can owe allegiance to love, Mary.  But this is not that" Astrid tells her.  Then she says she spoke to Ian, and he told her he's glad she didn't jump, "he wants you to be happy.  He wants you to be free."

Mary faces her worst day.

Mary jumps up mentally thanking God for bringing her Astrid Mueller. Astrid tells her to say goodbye and tommorrow they will find her a new place in her organisation. As Mary cradles Ian's body, Chloe says to Astrid she can't speak to the dead.  Astrid says she lied.

Astrid: "A kind person was being quietly destroyed by something that wasn't even remotely her doing.  Don't you wsh someone had cared enough to done that for us?"

And that ends this interlude with Mary making her peace over Ian's death.

We start the next chapter with Chloe talking with Philip outside their house.  He says beer, hot scary lovemaking and looking at the sun coming up, "it's never going to be anything better than this".  Chloe says he doesn't know that, he says if Astrid Mueller's right... but she cuts him off saying  can't he shut up about that woman and enjoy the moment?  He says her message seems to be enjoy what you have and make the most of every moment, but...

Philip: "Shame  I'm just the ghost of a memory and you're about to be shaved and slaughtered with a bad wig stapled onto your head. 'nother beer?"

And we return to Killian and Chloe trapped with the memory of Artus in his killing basement.  Killian says she thought the Clean Room showed memories not "timey-wimey bullshit" and she moves to take down Artus.  But Chloe tells her she saw someone attack Astrid with a knife in the Clean Room and when it became reality again she was still bleeding, "I don't know if it's a dream or what.  But dead is dead either way".  And Artus grins.

Elsewhere Astrid is visiting hell baby Derica.  The crib is wired up so "let's try and keep this civil."  Derica stands up and says she smelled Astrid's "stinkwater" as soon as she walked in.  Derica offers to show Astrid love and acceptance.  Astrid says she likes being alone.  She tells Derica she doesn't frighten her.  Derica says she will in time, they have such wonderful plans, "we were supposed to rule, but instead, we're exiled here with your filthy herd." They are going to "troll for souls... we're going to break you from the inside."

The Evil plan of Evil.

It'll start small but strange.  Twenty-four hours with no TV, internet or radio. Then they'll bring it back but with videos of what make them laugh. Then a plague of bus crashes around the world, including school buses.  Then dropping plans out of the sky.  So many shots of broken bloody bodies that people will get numb:

Derica: "They won't stop looking, but they won't really do anything will they? You are a spectator society."

The President will give a speech about the need for courage and declaring martial law before putting three bullets in his wife's head.   They creatures won't announce themselves we let humanity think they did it themselves.

As she starts to leave Derica says she's not the first person with the visions, how many people they have pushed over the edge into mental asylums. They did it by going after everyone they loved.   Quickly Astris calls Io and orders each Rook to be guarded by two Bishops and she wants Duncan and Killian around Chloe at all times.  Io has to break the news that Chloe and Killian are missing and Duncan didn't come in today.  All Astrid can say to herself upon hearing that is, "fuck."

In a hospital a doctor is called into a room by a nurse and is greeted by the sight of a man with a horse's head causing him to say "my God".. The nurse then slashes the doctor's throat saying "it's time for the opposition party"  Then the TV's go dead.  Elsewhere The Butcher has come for Duncan, but Duncan has set a trap for him with the three Haverlin brothers armed with baseball bats surrounding the Butcher as he stands before Duncan.

Calmly the Butcher says he thinks he can take all of them, but Duncan has a secret weapon "White Mist", the perfume Astrid wears. He splashes it into the Butcher's faces who screams like it's acid.  Then the Haverlin brothers lay into him with gusto.   After a sound beating which leaves his head crushed and mangled the Butcher cries for mercy.  Unfortunately that's not going to happen and beating round two commences.

Baseball bat time for The Butcher.

Ms Capone, another of Astrid's Rooks is met by two men who say they need to take her to a safe room.  But she blows the head of one who explodes into a monster, she takes it on while also taking a phonecall from Astrid who says she needs her.  Capone finishes off the creature and Astrid tells her to go to her private sick bay "please protect my heart."

We see Anika in bed, she of the half a body belonging to a one hundred year old.  And her loyal caretaker bears down on her saying she has  surprise for her, a secret she's been keeping a long time.  In the Clean Room Artus is ranting about leaving the "bitchcritters somewhere thet don't want to be".  Astrid's mission control, Raven, tells her what's happened and also that there is chaos in the building with several fatalities and some floors lost contact with, "they're here, Astrid.  They're in the building."

Astrid orders an evacuation and that everyone should get home to their loved ones.   She thanks Raven for his service to her and says goodbye to him.  In the sickbay the carer shows Anika the shoe she was wearing when the aliens took her up. She herself "personally supervised what we did to you.  To ruin you.  To rip open your soul."  The carer starts to transform, but gets an axe to the head courtesy of Capone. With the carer dead Capone says they are getting out of here, somehow.

Astrid enters the Clean Room and asks Artus what she can do for him.  He rambles on about the room speaking to him, but now they belong to a "godly man, as they rightly should." If Astrid agrees to be hims and lets him teach her how to behave proper he'll bring the others back.  When he says she ought to know how to cook, that it's the way to a man's heart she scowls and says "is it?  Let's just see."

We begin the next chapter in a normal suburban street, everyone's net and TV's have gone off and people have wandered into the street with an old man noting "there's something wrong with the stars."  Back with what's left of the Butcher who has been taped to a chair so Duncan can question him, he tells them it is going to rain blood.  Then everyone will eat each other alive. 

The Haverlins say that won't happen, people stick together. The Butcher says maybe they will but what about Duncan?  And also Astrid's kingdom is collapsing and she will burn.  Duncan uncorks more of Astrid's perfume and asks what they can do to stop the end from happening.

In the Clean Room Artus tells Astrid his story, that a "wildcat" got the better of him, and he died on the hospital table.  When the doctors saved him he could feel "the gears of the universe grinding all around me".  The Clean Room called to him, it wants him in charge not Astrid.  Astrid says she make him take her to them.  He sneers that this should be interesting.

Artus thinks he's in control...

In Artus's memory, Chloe tells him this isn't real just a thought from his future self.  Artus asks what does that matter?  Chloe says it means they can change things.   She starts to cut the bound and gagged woman free despite Killian saying she can't save someone who is already dead.  Artus jams his revolver into Chloe's back saying he'll be having fun with her.

In the suburban street the people see an old woman with blood all over her front come walking up saying "bad dog.  bad dog."  You love and feed them and then they attack you and she reveals one of her hands is missing.  Back at the Institute Derica's guards have been killed and a man in a hoodie walks over to the hell baby.  It is Mr. Webber.  he says he sculpted his face to please the exalted one, ie: Derica.  Who asks to be taken to see Astrid once last time because she wants to rip her open.  Webber carries Derica away saying "your will be done mistress."

In the street the woman missing a hand has collapsed. Everyone is freaking out and a young boy points at one of the women can yells that he saw her skin change, that she was pink and had claws "she's not human."  Everyone backs away from her as she says it's ridiculous. One of the men whispers to his wife to go fetch his gun sharpish.

In the Clean Room Artus says he's going to take a trip through Astrid's worst memory.  We see young Astrid, still on crutches after the accident that triggered her ability to see the aliens. He father puts a hand on her shoulder, but he's actually a horrific monster. She says she will tell everybody about him, everyone will know the truth.  Her not-dad says who will believe her?  As for her father the  demon hugs her saying, "I ate him, darling.  Right down to his dirty fucking toes."
Artus mocks her and Astrid says that when she was twelve she took a kitchen knife and stabbed the creature twenty-one times.  Artus has one last chance or she'll disassemble him.  He says she doesn't scare him she's just a critter:

Astrid: "Yes.  That's apt actually.  Because sometimes you need a beast Artus.  And I am that beast.  And this room belongs to me."

And she regains control. Artus cowers in front of her and demands he tell her where they are and forces it out of him, "that wasn't so hard was it?"

...he was wrong.

They all end up in Artus's memory.  Chloe is so happy to see Astrid, Astrid says since meeting Chloe she has apologised to three people, intentionally embraced three people and uttered a vulgar curseword aloud, "how could I not come back for you?"

She demands to know from Artus how to kill the entities, he begs her not to make him tell.  With quiet fury she says she will MAKE him remember his death.  Right now his victim is going to stab him and he will die on the way to the hospital, "death is outside and his voice is thunder".  If he doesn't tell her how to kill the entities he will leave him in this moment for all eternity.

With her foot on his face he says "exoduction", the have to  abduct the child entity and then exorcise it.  Unsatisfied, Astrid leaves Artus at the mercy of a black spikey creature and the memory fades away with him trapped inside it.  Astrid, Killian and Chloe are safe back in the Clean Room.

In the suburban street the woman the child accused is being restrained while she protests she's been their neighbour for years.   She has a shotgun pointed at her and the man holding it demands she start talking.  We cut to the child who did the accusing and he's actually a monster himself.  He smirks to himself as three shots ring out telling his sister he's sure they'll be fine.

The Institute is being evacuated, but Avil, Chloe's police detective boyfriend runs inside to find her.  He meets up with several of the faithful who don't want to abandon Astrid, including Mary from the interlude.  In the Clean Room Chloe is a little shocked at Artus's fate at being left alone with his death.  There are moths everywhere. She tells Chloe she can see the entities not because she nearly died but because they reveal themselves to the people in the most pain.

Astrid: "It's grief.  A child in a coma. A woman whose fiance killed himself.. that's there catnip.  It's their heroin."

Chloe says they have to exorcise they child, and Astrid says they'll come to us.  Raven is still in mission control. She asks him to bring them two Earl Grey teas and to play some Chopin while they wait.  He says it would be his honour as he wipes away some tears.

Waiting for the end.

Chloe says that they are coming to kill us and that Astrid knew about this and she let people thing this was just a cult and she was a liar.  Astrid says people would never believe the truth.  She then tells Chloe her most pleasant memory in ages was having barbecue with Chloes boyfriend and friends, "hot dogs and potato salad and an ice cold beer, the night sky overhead.  It was so delicious it felt like my first meal as a free woman."  It was food people east when they can look up and see only stars and not carry those stars on their shoulders.

In Southern California, an automated warning has gone out from Astrid to her "Blue Utopians".  They have a card that will allow them entrance into a nearby sanctuary which is good for two approved persons.  They will be safe but the rest of the world won't be so fortunate.

Derica and Marcus Webber are walking through the institute, with Derica directing Marcus along the way.  Marcus says he worships her kind and waited for her birth.   He mutilated his face to present a more fearsome visage and emulate her race. "Very good.  And you will rip out Astrid Mueller's heart for me, yes?"  Marcus says it will be his pleasure.

Raven brings the tea, he asks if they should be evacutating as the building is on fire.  Astrid says she knows, she was the one who set the fire.  She wanted to to work in isolation with the people she... and she tails off.  "Trust?" says Chloe.  "Yes trust.  Thank you Chloe" says Astrid.  Then she says they're here.

Derica and Marcus are at the door to the Clean Room and Derica unleashes a torrent of vile abuse and threats to get her to open it.  Then Capone appears behind them and opens fire.  Inside the Clean Room, Astrid notes her "splendid loyalty."  Duncan and the Haverlins are also fighting their way through the Institute too battling the creatures as they appear.

Capone is getting beaten up, Killian asks to go out and help her, but Astrid says Capone knows she is expendable. Capone rips off Marcus's bottom jaw, then a knife flashes.  Astrid says it is time to open the door and thankfully the person outside is a battered and bloody Capone with a knife in her stomach.  She collapses over the threshold and Derica walks in past her saying "she killed my creepy pet Aryan".

Capone is severely injured as Derica enters the Clean Room.

Derica says she found her way in.  But Astrid says she actually let her in. She has a Dr Hagen on the phone and she tells him it's time to "blow their goddamn city into the Atlantic Ocean, please."  Hagen tells them he will do so, and from his large boat he fires a huge cannon blast into the sky (this isn't a total deus ex machina, we saw this is book one). Derica demands to know what she did:

Astrid: "Well, it's a bit complicated.  I waited until your mind was elsewhere, you see.  Then I had the worlds horniest genius blow a hole through yur invisible city.  It's going to the bottom of of the sea, I'm afraid."

She then tells Derica to be quiet, and they start to exorcise her by reciting Catholic rites at her.  A huge moster bursts out and says, "don't you try that Catholic shit on me Astrid Mueller! We wrote half that damn book." Then everyone else arrives, Avil, Duncan, the Haverlins.  Chloe is happy to see Avil but she grins at Killian and tells him "you might have to share a bit."

They then reveal the secret weapon they have, which is Spark the good alien.  And as Astrid recites more words of banishment, Spark completes the ritual and sends the being "to before there was time." Astrid tells Spark she may have misjudged him.  She orders Capone get medical attention and the fire get put out.  Chloe tells Astrid, "holy shit, you saved the world.  I'm still a reporter.  People are going to know."  But Astrid says that won't be the case at all.

Spark helps banish Derica to a time before time began.

And so Chloe, on Astrid's orders, became Judas Iscariot. Astrid didn't want Chloe to make her into a deity, she wanted her to destroy her.   Better to tell everyone she was a fraud than demons tried to kill everyone:

Chloe: "So I went on the box and said everything she'd said was a scam, a lie.  That she was a thief and common criminal.  And then I went home and cried for three days. And never quite liked myself again.  Not completely."

Killian and Avil come by and that helps, no one has seen Astrid in over a week.  She started reading Astrid's infamous novel, the one with no punctuation, the one that gives you either total enlightenment or drives you insane. She's halfway through, "can't wait to find out which way I go."  And this brings this volume and the series overall to an end.

I'll comment on the art first because I think losing Jon Davis-Hunt (poached for a higher profile gig I believe) hurt this story quite a lot.  His clinical detailed precision worked brilliantly for the ordered world of Astrid, and although Geovani gives us great monsters, his panels where people are just talking are ill blocked and lacking in detail. Narrative wise, personally I thought all the stuff with Artus dragged the story down.  I'd much rather have seen more incidents of the beginning of the apocalypse instead.  I also didn't like how passive is made Killian either, although I enjoyed Chloe acting on her attraction to her after two volumes of Killian's clumsy flirting.  That said there is still much to recommend here.  We are once again given a very strong female character in Astrid who can smack down serial killers and save the world with practised ease.  And was evern allowing herself to be martyred in the court of public opinion to explain what all the strange goings on where about.  I also would have liked to know abit more about Marcu Webber and how he came to know of the hell baby, his story seemed potentially much more interesting than Artus's.  But I carp on when overall I liked it, liked the different women in it, all badass in their own right and the premuise was imaginative and if there is no more Clean Room which looks likely, it did at least not end on a cliffhanger but wrapped its plot threads up fairly neatly.

Scalped Book 10: Trails End (#56-60)

"You belong here Dashiell.  And you know it.  This is who you are. It's time you stopped running" - Red Crow

And so we come to the conclusion of the sixty issue Vertigo series Scalped about the fictional Prairie Rose Indian reservation.  In the previous volume the tribal leader and casino owner Red Crow had decided to shut down his criminal drugs empire after reconnecting with his spiritual roots. FBI agent Dashiell Bad Horse,  undercover on the rez to catch Red Crow committing murder, finally was able to arrest him when Red Crow shot and killed his second-in-command Shunka who was trying to kill Dash.  Red Crow had taken Dash under his wing and was grooming him to be a tribal leader after him, but all Dash wanted was to do his job and get off the rez he hated.  The reason he was there was that FBI agent Nitz blamed Red Crow for the murder and scalping of two FBI agents in the 70's who were mentors and friends of his.  Actually the real murderer was a man called Catcher, who also murdered Dash's mum Gina when she confronted him about outing him as the real murderer.  He went on the run after escaping jail in the previous book when a prisoner managed to grab a gun and shot and killed several people including Wade, Dash's father.  Dino Poor Bear also committed murder when he shot Sheriff Karnow in the back of the head, having become embittered by his unrequited love for Carol, who is now part of the Poor Bear family studying the traditional ways under Granny Poor Bear. So Red Crow has been arrested, but it's by no means all over, so let's wrap things up.

Dash arresting Red Crow.

We begin with the bloody and battered Dash forcing Red Crow to walk through the Prairie Rose police station before locking him in a cell.  Red Crow demands to know why, why is he doing this? Bitterly Dash says it's so he can do the one thing he's been wanting to do since he came back, "leave" and he walks away.

We then jump to eight months later.  Agent Nitz wakes after enjoying a night with several sex workers and greets the day with a big grin. Red Crow's casino is shut down  and deserted still by order of the FBI. Dino Poor Bear and friends drink beer under a poster asking for information regarding Sheriff Karnow's death and Maggie Standing Rock is addressing a crowd of people and reporters about some positive news she has.

She introduces the new Sheriff, Franklin Falls Down, who pretty much deserved it after all he went through. And he starts with a Lakota prayer.  Which cuts to Red Crow in his cell on his knees praying. He's called to see his lawyer and the lawyer says he hopes he was praying for a miracle "because that's what it's gonna take to get you out of here".

Eight months later.

Back at the rez, Dash is spotted by some reporters and one of them asks him about his role as the agent at the heart of the scandal that has engulfed the rez, "you have been call a hero by some and a traitor by others" how does he respond to that?  Dash brushes her off saying he's an ex-FBI agent, he quit and he meets up with Maggie saying "I'm a distraction.  I shouldn't have come."  But Maggie says to hell with them, he shouldn't let them run him off the rez.

They watch Falls Down digging into the ground and Maggie asks what he thinks.  He says Falls Down will make a great sheriff. She says he will but that's not what she means.  They are breaking ground for the erection of the "Gina Bad Horse Memorial Community Centre and Powwow Grounds" which Dash paid $80,000 for.  He tells Maggie, "I think she would have loved it.  That's all that matters."

Back with Red Crow and his lawyer, they go over the charges.  The money laundering and corruption ones can be made to go away, but in three days time Dash is going to testify that Red Crow shot Shunka because Shunka had become disgruntled and tried to kill Red Crow.  Red Crow looks angry saying what he did was save Dash's life.  His lawyer says "Yes.  Well, in retrospect... perhaps you shouldn't have."

In the crowd at the site of the new community centre, Granny Poor Bear sees Carol looking at Dash and asks if she is going to talk to him or just stare all day?  Carol says that "there's nothing I miss about the way I used to be.  Nothing at all".

Granny Poor Bear: "I know that.  But you ain'y in jail neither.  He's changed, just like you have.  That's easy enough to see. Took him damn long enough though didn't it?"

Carol goes looking for Dash, but sees him and Maggi kissing passionately and so she leaves them alone and walks back to the crowd.

Dash and Maggie.

Red Crow's lawyer says Dash is the key.  If they can call his credibility into question that will make all the difference.  He asks Red Crow if there is anything they can use against him.  Visions of Dash high on drugs and his murder of Diesel, the undercover FBI agent who killed a woman and her twelve year old son, flash up.  Red Crow says, "I'll have to think about it."

It's night and a man has taken Dash to the skeletal remains of Festus, Catcher's horse that he shot in the head.  Dash checks the site saying "I'm not looking for a horse.  I'm looking for te dog that killed it."  But it alls seems to be in vain as he visits the graves of his mum and dad and apologises for not finding Catcher.

At Maggie's place he lays out his investigation but tells her there's been no sign of Catcher on the rez for eight months.  Maggie say she guesses that means he's leaving, but he holds her chin and says:

Dash: "Now why would I wanna go and leave... when I was just starting to like it here."

And they kiss.  Red Crow's lawyer reports about Dash that he left the FBI, donated the money to build a community centre and has moved in with Maggie.  Guy is squeaky clean, even goes to church.

He goes on to say to Red Crow, who is pissed about Dash lying about leaving the rez, that he needs an answer regarding smearing Dash.  Red Crow says "no". He tells his lawyer to figure out a way to get him out of prison without messing with Dash.  He says he's protecting the rez by protecting Dash.  His lawyer says he'll die in jail, "maybe... but at least I'll do it like a goddamn man and not a dog" says Red Crow.

Speaking of dogs, Dash wakes to find several wild dogs in the living room.  One of them drops a human bone by his feet as he chases them off.  We then cut to the rest of the pack and they have uneartherd a skeleton in The Badlands.  It's Diesel's.

Diesel's grave.

Red Crow is sitting alone in his cell reflecting that every warrior knows there are battles you can't win.  Sometimes no matter how hard you fight "you're going to lose. You're going to fall.  You're going to die.  And ultimately all you can do is die with dignity".

Red Crow: "I know that. I accept it.  But I refuse to simply wither away. I will not slowly rot.  I will not crumble.  Yes I will die in prison.  But I will die with dignity."

On the way to the showers another prisoner hands off a scalpel to him. Once inside the showers he starts speaking Lakota until all the other prisoners file out leaving him alone.  And he starts to cut his wrist.

Red Crow starts to commit suicide.

Time to find out what Catcher has been up to, and surprise surprise, he's been killing people.  He has one of the ex-members of the Prairie Rose tribal council who fled after Red Crow's arrest, tied up and at gunpoint.  His wife unconcious on the floor.  He's killed the man's kids already, and then shoots the wife because of what they did as the tribal council, making themselves rich while stealing from the people who elected them.

Dash has followed the dogs and relives torturing, murdering and burying Diesel as he does so.  He gets close to the grave site but people are already there investigating it. Meanwhile Red Crow's lawyer is talking to the rez gang bangers about finding something on Dash they can use.   Dino says the problem is Red Crow doesn't hate Dash.  But he knows a way to make Red Crow hate him even more than betraying and arresting him.  At Diesel's grave site,Falls Down says's it's definitely murder unless they know of a dog that can shoot a pistol.

Falls Down asks the other man how he found the body, the man says he hit a dog that was on the road with a femur bone in its mouth and so he walked out that way and began looking. There were fifty dogs there, "it's a wonder he ain't strewn across The Badlands."  They start gathering evidence and Falls Down says he'll call the FBI when he is sure its a murder, which it totally is.

Catcher shoots the tied up ex-tribal elder through the head saying that he was no protector of the rez or its people, "that's still my job".  Then he leaves with around ten wild dogs in tow.  Red Crow is called to the phone to speak to his lawyer while still cutting his wrist.  But he decides to take the call anyway.

Abortion makes Red Crow mad.

His lawyer says he's uncovered something about Dash that might be of interest.  While he was dating Carol they had a shared drug habit he may have known about, but what he didn't know was she got pregnant with his grandchild and had it aborted.  She had it scraped out of her, "and Bad Horse cared so little he didn't even bother to show up".  This sends Red Crow into a rage, abortion is his beserk button and tells his lawyer to do exactly what he tells him.

Falls Down returns to the police station and tells his secretary to get agent Nitz on the phone.  Then he sees a package on the table, dropped off by Dino, it's got a bagged up pistol and a photo of Diesel's shot to pieces body in it. Falls Down can can only say "Jesus fucking Christ."

At Maggie's house she sees Dash kneeling in the garden praying.  He tells her he doesn't deserve her, he isn't the person she thinks he is, "I've done some very bad things." He starts trying to explain, but Falls Down appears and asks to speak with Dash in private. He tells Dash that he was sent a gun and the bullets match those that killed the person buried in the Badlands, Diesel.  And Dash's fingerprints are on the gun.

Falls Down says he is here because he owes Dash, who saved his life twice.  He's here to give him a small windown of time to do something before this murder becomes official, "time to figure things out,  To be ready to explain yourself.  Or hell... not be here at all."

He leaves and a panicking Dash says to himself he has to run, leave tonight and never come back, "Maggie.  Oh God, what do I tell Maggie."  Then she calls him in to hear a news report on the family Catcher killed, and Dash knows it's Catcher from the words he wrote on the trailer the family were in, "Maya Owicha Paka".  And Dash knows Catcher is back and he can't leave the rez until he is dead.

Nitz gets mad as a well.

We begin the next chapter with Nitz kicking a newspaper dispenser in a furious rage, probably because the paper has the headline "FBI Fiasco. Charges dropped against jailed tribal leader.  Chief Red Crow to be freed today".  Under a photo of Dash is a smaller caption saying "former agent now sought for questioning in murder investigation".  Red Crow then walks past the FBI agents to his car and sneers silently at Nitz, who rants that he wants Dash found so he can "strangle him with my own fucking hands!"

We cut to Falls Down at Maggie's farm.  She says she hasn't seen Dash and anyway why isn't he chasing Catcher instead.  He's killed nine people now, four tribal council members, three wives, two kids.  Falls Down says he is hunting him too, he's driven over more of the rez in the past two weeks than he had in the previous forty.  He hasn't been home for daysm he sleeps in an empty cell, "don't blame me 'cause I have to be here Maggie. Blame your goddamn boyfriend."  He leaves noting that one of her horses is missing... Which is tethered close by the burned out husk of Catcher's old trailer. Dash is living inside.

Dash: "During the day, I lie on the ground where my mother was murdered and pretend to sleep.  As soon as night fallls, I get to work.  Trying to salvage the wreck I've made of my life."

As he mounts the horse, he thinks that he doesn't care about clearing his name, he did do what the papers said he did.  And he'd do it again, but killing Diesel wasn't where he went wrong, "my mistake was in who I left alive".  And Catcher watches him froma ridge saying "Looks like the boy's finally come around."

Dash gets to work.

Carol is at the supermarket but she doesn't have enough cash to buy all the groceries.  As she haggles over some eggs, Red Crow walks in and they lock eyes as he glowers at her.  He buys a shovel and pays with a hundred dollar bill then leaves. 

Inside Maggie's house the FBI are tearing it apart looking for evidence of where Dash might be.  Falls Down ushers her outside after Nitz threatens her as well.  Dash then calls her on her mobile.  She says she doesn't believe what they are saying about him.  He tells her ever since he was born on the rez he found reasons to hate it.

Dash: "You gave me reasons to love it.  I wanted to thank you for that... Just promise me one thing.  Promise you'll try not to hate me,, when you hear about the things I've done.  And the things I'm about to do."

He hangs up and looking at himself in the mirror and starts shaving his hair off with his combat knife.  Then he mounts his horse and rides off.

That night he goes to the graveyard and he yells out that he knows Red Crow is there too.  He says he is not here to kill him, he just wants to talk.  Red Crow says he doesn't believe him, everything he told him has been a lie.  Dash says they can shoot each other or call it even, he put Red Crow in jail, and now Red Crow has him headed there soon enough.  They should concentrate on something more important, Catcher.

Dash says he intends to find him tonight and kill him, and he could use some help.  He says Red Crow promised him they would find her killer together and make him pay, he might be a liar, but he's depending on Red Crow being a man of his word. Red Crow falls silent, Dash takes this for acceptance but then as he walks towards him Red Crow shoots him in the shoulder.

Red Crow: "You wanna make peace?  You shoulda thought about that before you murdered my grandchild!"

Dash takes cover and shouts that he doesn't know what Red Crow is talking about, Red Crow rants that he knows about the abortion.  Dash is confused, what abortion? Then it hits him that Carol was pregnant and didn't tell him.  And his denials convince Red Crow that Dash didn't know about the abortion so he leaves.  Dash staggers on saying he didn't need him, he'll get Catcher himself but he collapses and Catcher looms over him saying "will ya now?"

Red Crow waits for the inevitable.

Red Crow sits in his empty casino with a bottle of booze.  Elsewhere Dino is making a speech to the only members of Red Crow's drug gangs left.  He says Red Crow won't be going back in business with them, he's probably getting his money and booking a flight to Mexico, "what he ain't doin is giving two shits about us.  About how we're gonna get by".

Dino: "I for one think it's time to stop sitting around waiting for scraps from the table and start pulling up a chair of our own... meaning we find Red Crow tonight.  We take every fucking dime he has.  And if he doesn't like it... we kill him."

Dash comes around in Catcher's truck.  His wound has been bandaged but he's tied up.  He rages at Catcher who tells him to stop being ungrateful, he's patched him up, given him a ride and now he's going to kill a man for him...

Dino's gang break into Red Crow's casino office.  There is money pile don the table.  Red Crow is hiding as says that it's all the money he has left, if they want it all they have to do is reach out and take it.  One does so and gets shot through the throat.  Dino orders the others to spread out and find Red Crow. 

Red Crow says that this isn't the first time Dino came into his office looking for money.  Dino says it will be the last.  Red Crow says he knew someone would come after his money he just hand't pegged Dino as the smart one.  And he comes out of cover, firing two guns and with a knife between his teeth.

Catcher brings Dash to the fight.

Walking towards the casino, Catcher tells Dash they have started without them.  Catcher tells Dash to wait here until his old pal Red Crow dies "then we'll see once and for all just how much to loved your momma".  He slips inside the casino while two of the gangbangers spot Dash.  One of them is someone Dash attacked with his nunchuks and he wants revenge.

Upstairs Red Crow is systematically taking out his attackers by gun and knife.  He shouts at Dino about saving his life when Dino lost his eye. "I never asked you to" says Dino as they back out of the office.  Then Catcher appears shooting at them saying no one kills Red Crow but him. Suddenly a pack of wild dogs come running towards the casino and attack the men who were going to kill Dash.  Dash then kicks the shit out them and as the dogs run into the casino, Dash manages to get his hands unbound. Inside he bumps into Dino and asks him what he is doing.  Dino says "I'm getting what I deserve.  Now you will too".

We then get four panels with insight into what each man is thinking.  Red Crow thought he'd rise above the fighting one day, he was a fool. Catcher thinks that one day he killed the woman he loved, but now his last chance to make good with his ancestors is to kill the right man. Dash thinks everybody deserves to die, himself especially.  And finally Dino, fashioning a molotov cocktail out of a bottle of booze and some dollar bills thinks, "fuck every fucking one of 'em."

In the graveyard, the FBI are investigating the shots fire there.  One agent has a file that just came from the agency that Nitz really needs to see.  Nitz keeps interrupting him saying they have to find Dash.  But the agent gets through to him and says the knife wound from the tribal council member's family made by the knife of Arthur Pendergrass aka Catcher also match the knife wounds made to the two dead FBI agents back in the 70's.  As Nitz looks over the file, he is told there are reports of shots fired at the casino.  And Nitz takes off in his car alone.

Stand-off.

The casino is now on fire and full of wild dogs as Red Crow and Catcher have at each other with knife and axe. Then Dash comes in firing two guns at once, taking out the wild dogs when they attack.  On the floor, Red Crow spies a gun amongst the coins falling from his desk and a wild dog brings Catcher his gun, and the three of them stand pointing guns at each other.

A vengeful looking Nitz strides into the burning casino, no doubt reflecting on a life chasing the wrong man, hating the wrong man, letting the real culprit go unpunished.  He is really pissed.  The three men inside all have flashes of memories of Gina then all three pull the triggers.

Catcher takes two bullets to the chest, and he realises it's all over for him.  He thinks about how he had a vision that someday he'd kill a lot of people and took it to mean he'd be a great warrior.  It wasn't what he wanted, he wanted to be a writer and "write stories about elves and dwarves and heroes on epic quests".  He wanted to create not destroy, but it wasn't the will of the Great Spirit and that was all that mattered to him.

He wanders off, while Red Crow lies on the floor and asks why Dash shot him when he turned his gun on Catcher.  Dash says that makes them even.  Dash sees Catcher walking away and imagines himself filling him with bullets and then scalping him.  But he doesn't do it, Nitz comes walking in and Dash lets him go after Catcher instead. 

Nitz and Catcher go down in flames together.

They are surrounded by fire as Catcher wonders in his darkest moments that he is just mad and killed all those people for "my own pathetic ends.  Or worse for no damn reason at all."  Nitz roars with anger and starts choking in as the fire consumes both of them.  Catcher's final thoughts are:

Catcher: "My name is Arthur James Pendergrass.  People called me Catcher.  I listened to the voices in my head.  I leave this world worse off than I found it.   I was either a prophet or a murderer.  I don't know which, but either way... I die a goddamn fool."

Dash meanwhile carries Red Crow out of the back of the casino. Red Crow thanks him, but Dash says he didn't do it for him. "I miss her too kid" says Red Crow.  Dash says he is going now, Red Crow pleads with him to stay.  He can make Dash's murder charge disappear.  He says Dash belongs here, and he need a heir.  Dash speaks Lakota to him and departs.

Three months later, there is a big funeral going on with lots of attendees.  Falls Down is there as is Maggie, she is quiet and sad and tells Falls Down she hasn't seen Dash.  She asks why he is still chasing him, Falls Down says he killed a federal agent "that doesn't just go away."  He asks if he is still on the rez, Maggie says he can't let them take him away, "it would kill him to leave this place now".  Then she clutches her mouth and stomach and runs off.

Carol watches her go, then organises the Poor Bears for going to the cemetary.  Dino's kid Angie is asking after her daddy.  Carol says Dino is "busy" right now, but she'll hold her hand the whole way.  They walk back into the main room and a woman comes up to Carol saying she thinks her son is on drugs and is stealing from neighbours and she doesn't know what to do.  Carol says she should come by the house and they'll make some tobacco ties together. She should also find out what her son is using, if she can't find out, bring some of his trash and she'll know.  After that comes the hard part but she'll do her best to help, she promises. The woman says "thankyou.  Thank you Mamma Poor Bear".  Carol walks to the coffin saying "don't thank me". And inside it is Granny Poor Bear, finally at rest.

RIP Granny Poor Bear.

We get a shot of Dino, now sporting slicked back hair and a soul patch sitting in his car while his goons bury some bodies under his orders.  Maggie returns home thinking she heard Dash.  He's not there but has left a wad of money.  The FBI appear and demand entry.  In the graveyard Dash pisses on Nitz's grave, ignores Catchers, puts a beer on Wade's and flowers on Gina's.

Red Crow's new life.

We then find out what happened to Red Crow.  He is now living off the land, he's planted a small garden and hunts animals for food.  He lives in a teepee with a wild dog as his pet, a dog he's named "Shunka".

Red Crow: "I'd forgotten how quiet it gets out here.  No slot machines ringing or shitty old cars roaring.  No FBI crawling through the walls like rats.  No gunshots.  Out here you can't hear nothing. Nothing but the turning of the Earth".

The FBI smash there way into Maggies house.  She's sitting distraught in the bathroom.  A pregnancy test next to her and it's positive.

We end this book and this series with Dash sitting on a hill thinking about all the good things he remembered about growing up on the rez, the good things he had forgotten about.

There was always good there when he chose to remember.

He ruminates that this is a place with blood in the dirt and voices in the thunder.  For runaways and the immovable. For the stubborn and the bold.  The survivors and the damned.  The full blooded and the bled dry.  The stone cold.

Dash: "I've been all over the world from one shitty corner to the next.  I've spent a lifetime trying to get as far away from this place as I could get.  I'm sorry momma.  Sorry it took me so long to realise.  This is where I belong. This is the only home I'll ever have."

He hitches a lift from a passing car, the driver asks where he is headed and Dash says "I wish I knew".  And the final image is the car driving past the sign saying "You are now leaving Prairie Rose Reservation".
A spectacular conclusion to a spectacular series.  There have been two major plot threads running through the series, firstly that a person can change, but second that your past will always catch up to you.  Dash was going to be denied a happy ending the moment he put that first bullet in Diesel.  Meanwhile it does feel somewhat karmic that Nitz, after years of focusing on the wrong man would give up his life to end that of Catcher and it's interesting that Dash stood by and let him have that revenge too when he had just as much of a right to kill Catcher too.  The insight into Catcher's mind, his doubts over the fact he might actually be mentally ill and not choosen by the Great Spirit to carry out killings in it's name, are interesting. The revelation that he only wanted to be a writer sparks some sympathy but otherwise he was a monster who deserved being shot and burned to death.  Dash had always been subtley making his peace with life back on the rez so it doesn't feel too odd that after the eight month gap he'd be as involved as he was.  Some development of Maggie might have been nice, previously she was last seen spitting in Dash's face for being Red Crow's lapdog, but I think we can infer that he arresting Red Crow would have reversed her opinion of him.  And Carol gets a beautiful ending, taking over Granny Poor Bear's work as the resident knower of the old ways. To balance that out we have Dino, now it seems de facto leader of the rez's criminal element. And I quite liked Red Crow's final fate.  Taking a lesson from Hazel and Mance's story, he now listens to the turning of the Earth. Yes he's somewhat of a Karma Houdini, but I just think his story ended the right way somehow. 

Overall this is one of the best series I have covered so far.  It was very much a character piece, building a set of people round Dash's storyline who you found more and more about as time went on.  Although the story was very grim in places, it never forgot that there was good aspects to rez life, those aspects becoming more apparent as Dash's opinions changed over the course of the story.  It didn't shy away from heavy topics like drug use and abortion, treating them without judgement but just as logical extensions of the choices the characters would make.  It didn't sugar coat the struggles and poverty experience by Indians and the opening of the casino proved to be nothing more than a way to funnel cash into Red Crow's pocket rather than benefit the rez itself.  And what of Nitz's vendetta?  We had already found out why the agents were on the rez, but his focus on Red Crow, the source of all his hatred and yet innocent of the crime he wants him punished for, proved to be his folly even though it drove much of the action during the overall storyline.  He gets balanced out by Officer Falls Down, a good and uncorrupted man who nevertheless will do the job asked of him and arrest Dash.  Dash, once he hated the rez, but as his good memories return and the place becomes almost free of criminality he can't think of anywhere else he wants to live. But now he has to, leaving a pregnant girlfriend behind too.  It's a sad ending for him, but this story has always been described as a noir and those never have happy endings for the main character so perhaps it was expected.  Anyway, I can't praise writer Jason Aaron and artist R.M. Guera enough for giving us a complex situation full of well rounded characters and exciting action.  It's another series the Vertigo label can be proud of hosting.

Scalpe Book 9: Knuckle Up (#50-55)

"Dyin's a lot like livin' I guess. It ain't never what you expected it to be" - Wade

Some we reach the penultimate arc of Scalped, the Vertigo series written by Jason Aaron and mostly drawn by R.M. Guera about the goings on in a fictional Indian reservation.  Dashiell Bad Horse is an undercover FBI agent who has been tasked by Agent Nitz with finding any murders he can pin on Red Crow the tribal leader and casino owner.  This is in revenge for two FBI agents killed back in the 70's.  But it turned out it wasn't Red Crow who killed them but a man called Catcher, now a shiftless drunk who thinks the gods are talking to him. He also murdered Gina Bad Horse, Dash's mum because she was going to expose him as the real murderer.  Now two major things happened going into this storyline, first of all Red Crow has had a kind of spiritual reawakening and has decided to shut down his criminal meth operations.  The second is that Dash was taken by Catcher to confront the person who killed Gina but Catcher instead shot Dash through the cheek, they both exchanged fire and Dash ended up picking up Officer Falls Down who Catcher had been "testing" too and had stabbed him in the side, while Catcher was picked up wandering across a road and taken to the same hospital Wade, Dash's dad is in.  Finally Shunka has a major role here and in book 7 it was revealed he was a deeply closeted gay man which will be important as the story goes on. Issue 50 I am skipping, it's called "A History of Scalping" and is more of an essay than a comic and it would likely double the length of this post writing it up the prose is so dense. So off we go diving right into the action with "Knuckle Up."

Cleaning up the rez.

We begin with Red Crow and Shunka looking down on a meth lab being shut down.  The main cook is most aggrieved especially when they realise that this is Red Crow's doing.  Shunka says Red Crow can't do this.  Red Crow says "I built it,  I can burn it the fuck down."  Shunka points out all those people worked for him, they are his drug dealers.

Red Crow: "We no longer tolerate business such as theirs in this rez.  I want it all burned.  Every house, every stash, every last fucking scrap."

Shunka says they can't just make it disappear overnight, Red Crow says that's Shunka's job.   He should call in more men if he needs them, but Shunka says what men?  They've either been arrested or they've walked.  "Then find new ones, Shunka" snaps Red Crow.

They walk down to the burning meth house and the main guy snaps his cuffs and rages at Red Crow for having used them to make him rich and now he's sold them out. Red Crow slaps him.  The man attacks but Shunka takes him down easily and takes out his frustration on the man by beating him senseless, then he turns to the rez cops and yells, "what the fuck are you all standing around staring at?  get back to work!  We got ourselves a rez to burn."

In a meth house elsewhere off the rez a man called Rath is being told Red Crow is cleaning up the rez.   Rath wonders why he would do that, he's been selling drugs longer than Rath has.  Approaching their house is Sheriff Karnow, Deputy J.T. and a couple of others.  J.T. admits that they are a little scared, even though they know it's nothing as bad as what Karnow went through in Vietnam.  "I was never in Vietnam" says Karnow.

The new proactive Sheriff Karnow.

He bursts into the house pointing a shotgun, there's a brief exchange of fire and then Rath and company are arrested.  Karnow tells his men to secure the prisoners then goes out and vomits.  It's then he bumps into Dino bringing the supplies.  He begs Karnow not to arrest him, he says he's just an errand boy and he only started yesterday.  Karnow cuffs him but then recognises him as someone who came to White Haven to drink. Karnow says he used to hassle them "somthing fierce" and so he reckons he owes him a break.  He uncuffs him and lets him go saying "it's never to late to change."

We cut to Dash in hospital, his facial wounds make for a grim list; fractured jaw, lacerated hard palate, perforation of the tongue, lots of broken teeth, hearing loss in right ear and possible permanent nerve damage.  Nitz comes bursting in demanding he answer his questions.   Red Crow comes in and the two start arguing.  After slinging accusations at each other Red Crow says when has Nitz ever given a damn about a Bad Horse being shot.

Nitz points out that he road into town with a police officer nearly stabbed to death, doesn't that raise a question or two?  The doctor gets tired of their antics and tells them both to get out.  Nitz yells at Dash asking for his cooperation, but Dash turns his head away and doesn't acknowledge him.

Later that night Falls Down finds him and sees he's got dressed to go after Catcher.  Falls Down notes, that he's going after Catcher with his face still held together by wires. Dash just looks more determined, so Falls Down goes to get some trousers so he can come with him.

In a police car Catcher and Wade are out of hospital and being taken back to White Haven jail.  Wade makes small talk asking if Catcher ever ran with Red Crow or knew Gina Bad Horse.  "Never heard of her" says Catcher.  Elsewhere Rath is calling someone from jail saying Red Crow has become a liability, "and what have we always done with liabilities?"  Then it's revealed he is talking to Shunka who says, "I'm listening."

Burning Catcher's trailer.

A quick peek back into Dash's childhood he's a young teen and see something in a pawn shop he really wants.  Turns out it was a pair of nunchucks. Then we're back in the present and Falls Down takes Dash to Catcher's trailer.  He examines the blood stains where his mum was stabbed to death then sets the trailer on fire despite Falls Down's protests that it's still an active crime scene. They go to the crashed truck, but Falls Down says it's been a fortnight since they were out here, the trail is cold.

Red Crow is now dealing with the tribal council, they are mad he is burning their meth houses and they only found out in the newspaper.  Red Crow says he is doing it for the good of the reservation, they start making threats towards him but he takes a call and says he has business elsewhere. 

Red Crow: "Don't ever come here again.  Any of you.  Or dare raise a fuss about anything I do.  And I won't have you all arrested."

If they do make trouble he won't have their children told about ever man they had killed, or introduce their wives to every "whore you've ever fucked, every bastard you've ever sired."  One of them still says Red Crow is in no position to make threats, his men are jumping ships like rats, "where's your big scary Bad Horse all of a sudden, huh?  Where's your Shunka now?"  And we cut to Shunka with a young man trying to give him a blow job, but Shunka can't get it up.  He tells the young man to get lost and make sure nobody sees.  Alone he sits on the edge of the bed, head bowed in silent thought.

Shunka, his loyalties torn.

We then cut to Karnow standing on his side of the reservation's border, telling Red Crow he won't come into the Prairie Rose rez until he is ready to bring Red Crow down.  Red Crow says he's aiming awfully high and Karnow says that a month ago he'd never have done this, "do you believe people can change?"  Red Crow says he supposes they can. Karnow tells him he's stopping turning a blind eye to men like Rath and their business along the border.  He says he's going to bring Red Crow down and have him answer for everything he's done.  "I say keep up the good work" says Red Crow and departs.

Back with Agent Nitz is raging about Bad Horse going missing from hospital.  They discuss what crimes they can pin on Red Crow, maybe the murders of Johnny Tongue and the rest of the Hmong.  Nitz says that's a dead end.  The shooting of Mr. Brass is no use as no one will be a witness to it.  He says Dash was onto something and they need to find him before he gets killed.

Then Dash walks in with Falls Down in his wake who is surprised to find the FBi there.  Nitz wants to arrest Falls Down but Dash moves protectively in front of him. Nitz says fine, and just give Dash what he came for.  He's handed a file with Shunka's criminal record in it.   Falls Down asks if they have found Catcher, but Nitz says there is no sign of the bastard.  Dash leaves and one of the agents says isn't he aware that Arthur J. Pendergrass aka Catcher is currently sitting in a jail cell not an hours drive from here.  Nitz just brushes him off and glowers at the photo of Red Crow on the wall.

Red Crow walks through his now understaffed casino, and when one of the staff says he can look around for people who might want a job Red Crow bitterly says, "they can have mine."  Rath is being interrogated but refuses to say he works for Red Crow.  Karnow says Rath will take the fall for the whole operation or he can give up Red Crow and get protection.  "I can protect myself Sheriff" grins Rath.

Dash is back in the pawn shop and buys a pair of nunchucks. Then he launches himself at three gang members who were going to kill him and beats the crap out of them while Falls Down snoozes in the car.  Red Crow finds himself in a sticky situation, two men pull guns on him and Shunka approaches and pulls out a gun too. "You back-stabbing sonuva.." is as far as Red Crow gets before the bullets start flying.

Shunka defends Red Crow.

We get some flashbacks to Shunka's life, a man he is sleeping with tells him he is in love with Shunka and when Shunka tosses him out of bed the man says he's not capable of emotions, "you've never loved anyone in your goddamn life!"  We also see Shunka meeting Red Crow for the first time.  And it turns out he shot the two men who were about to shoot Red Crow.  They share a look then Shunka walks away.

In the hospital, Dash is being restitched when he lays eyes on Maggie Standing Rock here visting her grandfather after his heart attack.  She accuses him of being Red Crow's lapdog and that his mother would be ashamed and spits on him. "You do have that effect on people" snarks Falls Down.  He tells Dash he really wants to help him but what is he getting himself into.  Dash writes him a note saying "GO HOME!"  And Dash walks away.

Maggie Standing Rock meets Dash.

Rath is being told Red Crow is still alive and Shunka shot his men. He calls for Karnow saying he wants to talk.  He won't give up Red Crow but he can offer the next best thing.  This sends Karnow and J.T. to go and find Shunka.  Their back-up hasn't come, it's just the two of them.  Karnow says J.T. has a wife and kids so if he wants to sit this one out he won't hold it against him.  J.T. watches his back then as Karnow approaches a drunken Shunka sat on a ripped out car seat in a junkyard.

Karnow says he's going to arrest him and put him in a cell next to his buddy Rath. Shunka says no he isn't. He quickly disarms Karnow, points a gun in his face then says, "did you say Rath?"  And he allows himself to be arrested.  Red Crow's people look on saying this could be a problem.

Inside the jail, Catcher is screaming.  Wade asks if it was a bad dream, but Catcher says it's no dream.  Wade says are the gods still laughing at him?  Catcher tells him to mind his goddamn business. Wade says Catcher is his business. He remembers who he is now, why did he deny knowing Gina?  Does he know something about her death?  "I don't think I know much about anything anymore Wade" Catcher replies.

Catcher in jail.

Wade asks who Festus is, and Catcher tells him he was his only friend.  He then asks Wade what he's doing back on the rez, nobody missed him when he left, "why the hell'd you come back?" Wade says he came to finds the man who killed Gina. "Then I ain't the only one the gods are laughing at" says Catcher.

Nitz is now confronting Karnow.  He says Karnow is intefering with a federal investigation.  He needs Shunka back on the streets as soon as possible.  But he won't say why.   Karnow says just flashing his FBi badge isn't good enough anymore.

Karnow: "I've seen you out here agent Nitz, for how many years?  Always building your case against Red Crow. 'least that's what you say.  I seen the way you intimidate people.  The way you roll right over them to get what you want.  But I've yet to see you show a damn bit of a result.  Instead you've been standing by, letting more people get killed".
 
This angers Nitz who calls him a "pissant".  But Karnow says pissant or no, Shunka stays in his jail. He'd be happy to work together to bring down Red Crow and the FBI could loan him some manpower too.  He has a line on Rath's major stash house tonight and wants to raid it before it gets emptied out. Nitz says he remembers that Karnow used to be a joke, while Karnow says he rememers when Nitz was worth a damn and walks off.

Nitz catches up and asks how many men he needs, and Karnow says that him and his agents can coordinate with him at the dead end road close by.  Nitz returns to his agents and... gives them the night off.  So when Karnow gets to the rendevous point he is alone,  even J.T. isn't there, he's back at the jail where Rath tells him ignoring Karnow's pleas for help is the right thing to do.  Then a new prisoner is being brought in who is "the rowdy sort" and suddenly he manages to get a hold of one of the policemen's guns.  Meanwhile, completely on his own, Karnow decides to storm the stash house alone.

Karnow decides on a rather foolhardy course of action.

The man in the prison who grabbed a gun and started firing wildly was called "James Festus Selby", he ends up being shot himself.  Catcher decide he was sent here, "seems the gods ain't quite done with me after all." And he spots the keys within reach from the hand of a dead guard.

Nitz finally has an attack of conscience and drive to where Karnow was raiding the stash house. There are dead gang members outside and Karnow is inside with some gunshot wounds. He accuses Nitz of leaving him to die.  Nitz tells him to snap out of it and tell him how many are still there.m   But Karnow staggers to his feet saying he's had enough if this shit, "fuck you Nitz, I'm going home."

Catcher unlocks Wade's cell door and Wade notices a bullet wound in his chest, he caught a stray one but it doesn't even hurt.  Catcher says he'll call an ambulance but Wade says that's not neccesary.

Wade: "I've had this coming...for a very long time. You got no idea how long.  Just tell Dash. Tell my son he's gotta do what I couldn't... tell him to find the man who killed my Gina."

Catcher says he did find him, and Wade realises Catcher murdered her and he lunges at him and starts to choke him even as he dies.  Catcher chokes him back.

Wade tries to take out Catcher.

Back with Karnow, he calls to the remaining gang members to just all go home.  Nitz though says the place is surrounded by twenty federal agents.   We intercut with Wade and Catcher's choking match as Karnow leaves the building. A masked man points a gun to the back of Karnow's head, and as Catcher kills Wade, the gangster shoots Karnow in the back of the head. The man runs and takes his mask off to reveal... Dino Poor Bear.  Now a murderer.

In the jail, Shunka sits in his cell while Rath says he's next. J.T. says he can't but Rath says he just bought the place.  But Rath says maybe they need a new Sheriff now as another man holds a gun to J.T.'s head.  Before Shunka can be shot at, Red Crow sweeps in and tells J.T. to investigate the officer down call while he takes Shunka away.

Later Dash is communicating with Red Crow via notes.  He asks where Shunka is, Red Crow says never mind about him, he knows he sold him out to Rath, tried to have the both of them killed.  But Shunka has been dealt with.  Dash asks if he is dead, he is just told he'll never see him again.

He tells Dash he needs him by his side more than ever now and they'll talk things over when he can actually speak.  Dash writes a note asking where the gun that killed Diesel is.  Shunka doesn't have it, he has nothing that can be used against Dash, "just like that, Shunka will never be seen again". Dash burns the notes then leaves.

Shunka comes out and says Dash is lying, that he is trying to turn Red Crow against him.  He can't be trusted, doesn't Red Crow see that? Red Crow just cooly says "you're fired Shunka."  He tells him Dash didn't turn him against him, he did it himself. 

Shunka wants to know why he is still alive then, and if he trusts Dash so much why did he lie about the gun?  Red Crow just tells him these men will take him to the airport in Rapid City and will put him on a plane to somewhere far away from here, "and I never have to see you again." Shunka, realising he has nothing to lose now, grabs Red Crow and kisses him passionately. Then he leaves a suprised Red Crow as he goes with the men taking him away.  Who he then murders and using the car, drives back onto the rez. Once back he yells out "BAD HORSE!"

Shunka reveals his love for Red Crow.

The final chapter is basically a brutal fight between Shunka and Dash.  They begin with emptying their guns towards each other until both run out of ammo. Shunka says he didn't want to shoot Dash anway, "woulda been too damn quick". He comes at Dash with a knife and they struggle.  Shunka pushes the knife closer to Dash's face. But Dash manages to crush the knife out of Shunka's hand.

They start to beat the shit out of each other with their fists.  They end up grounded and Shunka starts trying to disable Dash by attacking his damaged face.  Dash bites down on his fingers which enrages Shunka who punches him hard.  Dash punches back and grabs his nunchucks.  He smashs Shunka's head with them. They end up in wrestling distance and Shunka calls him a shit for turning Red Crow against him.

Shunka: "So what now? What was the rest of your genius fucking plan?  You take my place and then what?  Who the fuck are you really working for? Why the hell are you even here?  What the fuck are you hiding?"

He stands over the downed Dash and threatens to torture the information out of him, by the time he is done, Dash won't have a single secret left.

Dash and Shunka do battle finally.

Catcher is walking across the hills when he enocunters his horse Festus. But he rears up and attacks Catcher, snarling and lashing out with his hooves.  Catcher shoots and kills Festus much to his distress.  We also see Karnow's body brought to the morgue and J.T. being arrested for colluding with the prisoners. Nitz and his agents then walk into the casino and announce they are FBI and everyone is to get out, the place is officially closed by order of the federal government.  He calls for Red Crow but he isn't there.

Red Crow has found Shunka about to scalp Dash.  Shunka say this is the perfect time to hear all the lies Dash has been telling.  He's gonna see that Shunka was right all along, "no more fucking secrets." Red Crow shoots Shunka in the chest.  Woozily Shunka looks down at the bullet hole then he says "no... no more secrets... no more.. Lincoln.. I lo..." And Red Crow fires again, killing Shunka.

It's all over for Shunka,

He goes to help up Dash who suddenly pulls away from him.  He reaches into his mouth and removes the wires holding his mouth together so he can finally talk, and he points his gun at Red Crow saying "FBI.  You're under arrest".  And with that this arc comes to a finish.

And is it all over for Red Crow...?

A very action packed arc in which we say goodbye to Wade taking a stray bullet after a lifetime of lucky escapes. And yet he still becomes another person to die at the hands of Catcher before he escapes. We also say farewell to Karnow, in trying to be a good man he underestimated the fact that his colleagues might not feel the same and with no back-up assaults a meth house. The real shock is Dino, a person he spared earlier was the one to pull the trigger on him.  No good deed goes unpunished as they say and it becomes obvious that Dino is now quite high up in what is left of the drug gang's hierarchy.  The dealers have a genuine greivance, now wanted criminals just because the boss man had a change of mind one day.  The stuff between Shunka, Red Crow and Dash is fascinating.  When it was revealed that Shunka was gay I wondered if he fancied Dash but because he couldn't have him, rode him hard.  Or that he was jealous of the fact Dash had been taken under Red Crow's wing not him, a jealousy that could be both platonic or romantic. And I do feel very sorry for him because unrequited love is one of the worst kinds of pain a person can live with in my opinion. At least Red Crow seemed to take the kiss and declaration of love in his stride and without disgust, but the irony is in saving Dash he's now performed the murder Dash needed to see and so he can finally be arrested and we'll see how that pans out in "Trails End" a few days from now.