Comics
Review: “Southern Bastards” #3
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.
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.
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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