Review: The Scumbag #8
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Publisher:Â Image Comics
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist:Â Alex Riegel
Letters:Â Rus Wooton
Colors: Moreno Dinisio
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“Hod’d ya think Batman stays up all night?”. – Ernie Ray sniffing cocaine
The Scumbag #8 –
Positives
Before we take any step further, perhaps you should read the First Issue online so you know exactly what you are getting into with Ernie Ray.
Alex Riegel takes over the artistic reins for Scumbag in this issue. We are back at some very solid renderings and intricate pencils and colors. No shortcuts are taken in each frame as they both accentuate action, color, and real clean comic story telling.
Expect to see a lot of action and a lot of nudity in this issue (circa 1970s free love…so it is pretty graphic).
Subject matter aside, this comic has featured a lot of great artists. Issue #1 (which can be read online if you are over 18), provided where this comic can be from an artistic standpoint along the lines of the 1980s Conan the Barbarian series, however, Riegel carries the baton well on his turn at the ink.
The scripts of Rick Remender …he knows what buttons to push in terms of politics, world climate, and everything that Ernie Ray either celebrates or despises. Some of the funny quips provided in this issue do reflect political views that are across the board….America is truly a melting pot of ideas. And Ernie Ray has blatant opinions on them.
Remender turns Ernie Ray and Sister Mary into almost sympathetic characters. He lures us in with some back stories on abuse and a lifetime of training to be a government agent. We see the influence of group think and Ernie has some very independent views about subscribing to just one way of thinking…no matter if the perception that this “one way” is the “right way”
I love the Remender allowed the reader to get their guard down a bit as the confrontation at the end yields the biggest setup for continuing the Scumbag ever! Think one Scumbag is too much to handle…what about an entire planet of Ernie Ray’s views and addictions. Whew!
Negatives
You get what you get with Ernie Ray. If you are picking this issue up, then make sure you get the preceding issues. When you drink from Ernie Ray’s story, it is because you have a taste for it. Toilets, drugs, orgies and somewhere along the line, there is saving the world. However, the man is triple crossing at this point, so bring a road map to navigate what he utters. it’s all lies…or is it? He’s a lone wolf in the midst of a mess!
Verdict
If you are into something really really different and you like uncomfortable clashes, this is your book. You’ll laugh and wince and roll your eyes. Get in on the ground floor of Scumbag! A Ernie Ray says ” You people don’t know how to party. You hate me because I do!”  If you want to catch up, be on the lookout for the trade paperback Cocaine Finger. That tells you all you need to know right there!
