Story
This issue of Southern Bastards kicks off at the cemetery with Sheriff Hardy paying a visit to Earl Tubbs grave, when Coach Big shows up and the two have a conversation about the role Big played in helping Coach Boss become the giant, murderous jerk that he is, and how he’s tired of lying and carrying around the guilt.
We then cut to Hardy and Boss finding Coach Big dead from what looks like a suicide gunshot to the head, but Boss claims it’s murder and believes it’s someone from Wetumpka county desperate to win the big Homecoming game against Craw County.
It’s only through winning this rivalry that Boss has kept his position of power, and for most of his coaching career it’s been Big who has been his secret weapon, and now he’s gone.
We later find out the reason why Hardy is Boss’s pawn is because back when he was a high school football star, he helped the corrupt coach cover up a murder, something that cost him the love of his life.
Coach Big didn’t want to lose Hardy to college ball, so he broke his leg and then helped him rise up to be the sheriff so he could do his bidding.
Hardy later stops the football team from going to burn down the Wetumpka high school in retaliation for Big’s death by locking them up.
This doesn’t make Coach Boss to happy when he encounters a drunk Hardy who talks tough for a minute, then caves the next after a solid punch from Boss to the chops.
The issue ends with Hardy licking his wounds for once again failing to seize the moment to do the right thing, headed home to a life he doesn’t seem happy with.
What I Liked
Southern Bastards is a comic that’s full focus is on telling deep, emotional stories about complex characters with layer upon layer of depth, which is something I love.
It’s great to step away from the superhero genre and find a comic that plays out like the perfect blend of cinema and novel prose, which is exactly what Southern Bastards does so well.
I really enjoyed the probing monologues and deep, brutal reflections of Sheriff Hardy, particularly at the beginning where he discusses how many of the moments in life that we think are important really aren’t, and those small, fleeting moments we often don’t give much thought end up being the ones that change our lives and define who we are.
I’m also a big fan of the way Jason Aaron highlighted a truth — a principle, if you will — that has come to play an important role in my own life, which is that of standing firm for what’s right and not compromising values, something Hardy fails at repeatedly.
The artwork for the book is very dark and gritty, which matches the story perfectly. The art is rough and it isn’t supposed to look pretty, as it’s designed to capture the real heavy weightiness, the gravity of the situation as it were, and it accomplishes it’s mission.
And when there’s action in this series, it’s usually always well placed and freakin’ awesome.
The pacing for this issue was fantastic, given that this series isn’t a high octane action adventure comic. It moves slowly building up tons of great character development and taking time to set up the rest of the arc in such a way that you know the eventual pay off is going to be amazing.
What I Didn’t Like
The only thing I didn’t like was that the issue came to an end!
Overall this issue was mind-blowingly awesome and is nearly flawless in it’s storytelling, character development, and art work.
I’d give this a 9.5 out of 10