brightestdaycare's Southern Bastards #1 - Here Was a Man, Part One review

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    Southern Bastards is a real Georgia Peach

    Southern Bastards is a book that gives you a pretty clear picture of its intent solely with its title. With just two words you are given a general geographic setting, and an overall tone for the characters of the story. In the first issue, it holds true. This book reads like the first reel in a dark, gritty action film (Walking Tall comes to mind there, for multiple reasons) and it lets its characters play out in a very honest way. In other words, it doesn’t really paint your “typical” southerner in this universe in a positive light. Quite to the contrary, everyone you meet really seems not to be someone you would enjoy sitting across from for a quiet Sunday brunch.

    The story focuses on Earl Tubb, who comes back to his rural Alabama hometown after forty years to clear out his childhood home; a home that an elderly relative had been living in prior to being moved to a retirement home. The opening page, with multiple church signs, and a mongrel of a dog really paint a negative scene and the story carries out this dark gravitas throughout. Earl’s father was the sheriff of this small town in Craw County, Alabama prior to his death, and we are given a flashback sequence to Earl’s father beating the crap out of some would-be attackers with a large stick, a very Walking Tall moment. The story then follows Earl into this town, that is seemingly overrun with this “Boss” character, who we aren’t introduced to yet, but who I personally am hoping is equal parts John Voight from Varsity Blues and Strother Martin from Cool Hand Luke, with a little Leo from Django Unchained thrown in for good measure.

    This book has gorgeous artwork by Jason Latour, and really borders on grotesque in the way it portrays many of the townspeople, but it is really the story that drives this book. The boy who returns to his small, southern hometown after so many years, and his obviously damaged relationship with his late father. The changes that have happened to this town in his absence, and his compelling need to do right. This book is a seriously intense opening salvo for this story, and it is loaded with potential for the future. I am so glad I was able to pick up this book, and will be reading more of Earls exploits in Craw County, Alabama in the future and you should, too.

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