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Review: “Southern Bastards” #3

Published

10 years ago

on

Armed with his Daddy’s stick, Earl Tubb has decided to stay and get some answers from the men who killed Dusty Tutwiler.  Earl proves himself to be a genuine ass-kicker and has managed to piss off just about everyone in Craw County in just a few days.  “Southern Bastards” #3 continues to build out this fascinating world and move the plot forward quicker than anyone could have imagined.

SouthernBastards_03-1

 

WRITTEN BY: Jason Aaron
ART BY: Jason Latour
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: July 2. 2014

Reviewed by Epic Switzer

 

 

 

“Southern Bastards” is doing for the rural south what “Fargo” did for the rural north.  Aaron’s vision of a corrupt small town in Alabama is instantly iconic, and not without it’s charms.  Latour’s art is raw, almost tactile.  Like the people of Craw, everything is right on the surface.  Every close up makes you a little bit sick.  The atmosphere in this book is chilling, invoking the base animalism of human nature, yet warm and familiar at times.  “Southern Bastards” precisely captures the conflicting dualism of the American South.

Aaron’s voice obviously comes from a very honest place.  His characters are not caricatures, but archetypes, and he is such a strong dialogue writer and plotter that even the most despicable killers are grounded in something real and relatable.  This issue in particular is very much “Earl Unchained”  as he goes after the bastards that killed his acquaintance Dusty.  Whether Earl is a seeker of justice, or merely an uncontrollably violent man remains to be seen, but I’m loving the journey.

What’s remarkable about this book is that Aaron and Latour aren’t necessarily telling a new story, yet their brilliantly constructed setting is what is really driving this narrative.  That’s not to say it is predictable, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue here about Earl’s dad and the inner workings of Craw County. But the most interesting thing about this book is just living in this world for 24 pages.I feel gross when I read “Southern Bastards”, but I love every second of it.

With seeing Earl finally come out of his shell and a pretty effective cliffhanger to boot, there is no reason at all to stop reading “Southern Bastards” at this point.  And if you haven’t read it at all yet, then this is a worthy title to add to your stack if you can manage to snag the first two.  The letter column is well put together, but if you are typically a trade-waiter, you really won’t be missing anything.  If you think the south is scary, I think you’ll be moved by this book.

Epic Switzer AKA Eric is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles.  His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality.  He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com. 

 

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

14 hours ago

on

April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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