Indian Comics Irregular #89

Oni Press has published a four-issue comic-book series called
SKINWALKER. In it, a white FBI agent goes rogue on the Navajo
reservation. He learns the forbidden practice of skinwalking and
duplicates it by artificial means (drugs, acupuncture). Killing
people, he dons their skins and becomes them. Each new skin lasts
only a while, so he must keep killing to stay alive.

The first issue offers a fine depiction of the Navajo reservation--
one of the best I've seen in comics. Except for the clichéd
opening shot of Monument Valley, the rendition of the landscape is
appropriately nondescript--no buttes or cacti in the background. A
smattering of Navajo words, concepts, and place names gives the story
a genuine feel.

The characters, especially Ann Adakai, the Navajo policewoman, seem
three-dimensional. In one scene, officer Adakai disagrees with
a "peacemaking" ceremony used to resolve a juvenile delinquent's
crime. In another, the delinquent's mother wonders if Adakai is
really Diné (Navajo). Adakai's relationship with visiting FBI
agent ("feeb") Haworth is also realistically charged.

Issue #1 ends with the police finding a skinned body in a hogan.
The story says little or nothing about Navajo beliefs once the cops
determine the killer is a skinwalker. There are no phony ceremonies
or mystical mumbo-jumbo.

The villain flees the rez and goes on a cross-country killing spree.
The story turns into a typical cat-and-mouse game between the heroes
and a Jack the Ripper-style chameleon who could be anyone. The
ending is anti-climactic.

Are Taboos Broken?

The whole subject of skinwalkers is off-limits to many Navajos. But
SKINWALKER has an Anglo, not a Diné, becoming a skinwalker by
artificial, not natural, means. That confounds the question.

I asked my correspondents what they thought of this gimmick. Some
replies:

I am conjecturing on this. I don't see a problem since it is so
fictionalized.

Jason Spaulding

I'd say the older folks probably won't pay it much attention while
the younger folks, well, some will be interested in it while the
one-drop cyber-one-day-wonders will crucify you.

PumaClaw (Navajo)

At least one Dineh woman I know (who is in her early 20s, mixed-
blood, grew up off rez, and doesn't speak much Dineh) found Tony
Hillerman's books to be offensive, so I'm sure she would find
these comic books even more so.

Al Carroll (Mescalero Apache)

All the Navajos I know don't even mention the word "skinwalker."

Lorri Carrico (EastMain/Free Cree)

There you have it. The answer is a definite maybe.

The series' worst problem may be its washed-out printing and
microscopic lettering. These make the comics difficult to read.
That's too bad, since the gray-toned black-and-white art is otherwise
effective.

If you're interested in Native-themed comic books, give SKINWALKER a
look. For more on the series, go to
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/skinwlkr.htm.

In Living Color

Rob Davis has begun coloring his artwork for "A Day to Remember," the
PEACE PARTY 9/11 story. The first page is online at
http://www.bluecorncomics.htm/pp911.htm. It's Billy and Drew's debut
in color, so check it out.

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics