Southern Bastards #2
Written By Jason Aaron
Art by Jason Latour
This is a tough comic to judge one issue at a time. There’s pacing for the trade, and then there’s pacing. Jason Aaron broke out of the six issue story mold while working on Scalped, and Southern Bastards has taken that confidence of direction into new territory. The first issue opened with a splash page of some craw County church billboards, a pooping dog placed prominently in frame. The protagonist, Earl Tubbs, drove his U-haul truck past some more signage, before coming past the Craw County Line. How often are county lines relevant in modern times? Not often, but it’s a simple way to show us a different culture, a culture that still cares about arbitrary rules that don’t necessarily make sense. Southern Bastards may only be two issues deep, but I can tell it’s characters are ones interested in tradition, in football, and in familiarity.
Those establishing pages of the county line don’t tell the reader this. It’s more of an omen than anything else, but the pooping dog does announce a certain tone. Southern Bastards isn’t content to drop you into this territory. It really wants to rub your face in how filthy it is. It’s a great first two issues, but sometimes it tries too hard. When this comic goes over-the-top, it really goes over-the-top. Every nasty character seems particularly nasty. It’s not enough for a bad guy in Southern Bastards to yell at some ladies while he’s urinating in public. He’s gotta piss on a dog in the process. Sometimes the excessively offensive approach works, but when it’s happening every time a new character’s introduced, it loses its luster. Issue #2 introduces the man who looks to be the main villain of the series, and it’s a good introduction, but the introduction of his goons in the first issue overshadow Boss Coach himself. Everything can’t be a big moment, nor should it be, but it’s a factor worth considering.
Series hero Earl Tubbs might be the book’s biggest problem right now. Jason Aaron really wants this guy some sort of mysterious, dangerous, stranger, but that’s a character type comic readers should be very familiar with. Earl’s another old tough guy, something we’ve had plenty of, ever since they introduced Cable way back when. Earl is a larger guy too, like Cable. He’s a big white rhinoceros. Looks like he can take a hit. Of course I’m excited to see him tussle with some more redneck goons, but at this point I’ve got absolutely no idea on his personality. I don’t want to root for a guy too much before I find out how dark his past is, because that’s inevitable coming eventually. I only know earl’s a touch more courteous than the bad guys. He’s certainly better groomed than the bad guys. He looks like the type of guy who talks of “cleaning up the streets,” while the villains all have a distinct yellow to their teeth, a nice detail that does more to sell their scumminess than the over-the-top dog pissing stuff. Yellow teeth themselves aren’t evil, of course, but it’s the sort of detail you don’t see a lot of in comics. Like armpit hair. I wasn’t checking for armpit hair, but Jason Latour will probably draw some of it before this series concludes.
Latour is going to be this comic’s secret weapon. His title cards look great, and I look forward to seeing more of them. Latour can draw fat people, he can draw gross people, and he can draw slabs of beef, probably figuratively and literally. Latour is the right guy for this comic. His art is gritty, but in a fun, silly way. There’s loads of contempt in Jason Aaron’s script, and in Latour, he’s found an artist who shares a distaste (and a love) in the subject matter.
Art by Jason Latour
This is a tough comic to judge one issue at a time. There’s pacing for the trade, and then there’s pacing. Jason Aaron broke out of the six issue story mold while working on Scalped, and Southern Bastards has taken that confidence of direction into new territory. The first issue opened with a splash page of some craw County church billboards, a pooping dog placed prominently in frame. The protagonist, Earl Tubbs, drove his U-haul truck past some more signage, before coming past the Craw County Line. How often are county lines relevant in modern times? Not often, but it’s a simple way to show us a different culture, a culture that still cares about arbitrary rules that don’t necessarily make sense. Southern Bastards may only be two issues deep, but I can tell it’s characters are ones interested in tradition, in football, and in familiarity.
Those establishing pages of the county line don’t tell the reader this. It’s more of an omen than anything else, but the pooping dog does announce a certain tone. Southern Bastards isn’t content to drop you into this territory. It really wants to rub your face in how filthy it is. It’s a great first two issues, but sometimes it tries too hard. When this comic goes over-the-top, it really goes over-the-top. Every nasty character seems particularly nasty. It’s not enough for a bad guy in Southern Bastards to yell at some ladies while he’s urinating in public. He’s gotta piss on a dog in the process. Sometimes the excessively offensive approach works, but when it’s happening every time a new character’s introduced, it loses its luster. Issue #2 introduces the man who looks to be the main villain of the series, and it’s a good introduction, but the introduction of his goons in the first issue overshadow Boss Coach himself. Everything can’t be a big moment, nor should it be, but it’s a factor worth considering.
Series hero Earl Tubbs might be the book’s biggest problem right now. Jason Aaron really wants this guy some sort of mysterious, dangerous, stranger, but that’s a character type comic readers should be very familiar with. Earl’s another old tough guy, something we’ve had plenty of, ever since they introduced Cable way back when. Earl is a larger guy too, like Cable. He’s a big white rhinoceros. Looks like he can take a hit. Of course I’m excited to see him tussle with some more redneck goons, but at this point I’ve got absolutely no idea on his personality. I don’t want to root for a guy too much before I find out how dark his past is, because that’s inevitable coming eventually. I only know earl’s a touch more courteous than the bad guys. He’s certainly better groomed than the bad guys. He looks like the type of guy who talks of “cleaning up the streets,” while the villains all have a distinct yellow to their teeth, a nice detail that does more to sell their scumminess than the over-the-top dog pissing stuff. Yellow teeth themselves aren’t evil, of course, but it’s the sort of detail you don’t see a lot of in comics. Like armpit hair. I wasn’t checking for armpit hair, but Jason Latour will probably draw some of it before this series concludes.
Latour is going to be this comic’s secret weapon. His title cards look great, and I look forward to seeing more of them. Latour can draw fat people, he can draw gross people, and he can draw slabs of beef, probably figuratively and literally. Latour is the right guy for this comic. His art is gritty, but in a fun, silly way. There’s loads of contempt in Jason Aaron’s script, and in Latour, he’s found an artist who shares a distaste (and a love) in the subject matter.
A Look Inside
