Southern Bastards #1

“Here was a Man”

Writer: Jason Aaron

Art & Color: Jason Latour

Letters:Jared K. Fletcher

Color Assist.: Rico Renzi

Editor: Sebastian Girner

Image, Infrequent, $3.50

This was a comic that I was rather indecisive about reviewing as a single issue or waiting until the entire first arc is released, but with a lack of interesting releases this week, I determined it was time to talk about one of the best books I’ve been reading. It has all the appeal and mature themes of the best shows on HBO. I am a relative newcomer to comics, in general, and this series was a recommendation from the owner of my local comic shop. The comic follows an old man named Earl Tubb who returns to his home town for the first time since leaving for the Vietnam War.

The characters are great. Each one is interesting and nuanced. Earl Tubb clearly would like to be anywhere but his hometown. Earl’s reluctance is assumed to be from his personality being ill suited for Craw County. All of the towns people are interesting, and Craw County itself is uninviting with several dark secrets hovering just below the surface. It is never stated if the town’s natural state is the dark, overrun with crime, and generally corrupted situation we find it in now, but it is heavily implied that this is the case. The figure that towers over the entire story is Earl’s legendary father, the old sheriff, and his baseball bat. He has an indomitable sense of justice which seems to have frequently put him at odds with the town’s people.

The story is engrossing. The tone of the story is set very well within the first few panels. I want to know what is going to happen next after reading each issue. I couldn’t help, but to run out and pick up the following issues after reading the first one. Earl Tubb’s reluctant search for justice isn’t an entirely original story, borrowing heavily from other tales such as Walking Tall, however it is told an earnest and believable manner. I don’t want to give away too much, but the events that occur within this issue set up an amazing chain of events that will have you clamoring for more.

The art is dark, gritty, and a perfect match for the tone of the story. Each panel flows with the story, lending greatly to the inevitability of the work. Jason Latour, the artist for this work, has done a great job matching his gritty and dirty art to the tone of Southern Bastards. It is an excellent example of art matching and enhancing the reading experience that makes comics a rare medium.

I’m left wanting more every time I finish an issue, and can’t tell enough people about the good work Jason Aaron and Jason Latour are doing in this book. I’m eagerly awaiting this week’s release and encourage anyone interested in the more mature side of comics to check this wonderful book out.