Advance Review: Southern Bastards #11

Writer: Jason Aaron / Artist: Jason Latour / Image Comics You figure at this point, we’ve discovered all the characters that might be necessary for the coming flashpoint that is Homecoming game in Craw County. Especially if you happened to catch this traffic stopper that Jason Latour put on his Instagram of issue #14… “The Return of Roberta Tubb” But then, the brothers Jason go and introduce another character into the mix that is wholly different than anyone else we’ve met so far. And we’ve met plenty. I had mentioned that in last issue, I was surprised that it took this long for religion to come into the narrative, given the environment. Well, the religious conviction we saw from the pastor that sought out Esaw doesn’t compare to mission driven, wrapped-in-ol’-timey-religion, ‘Deacon’ Boone. As Boone narrates, he’s REAL country, unlike these pretenders in Craw county. His belief in the Lord — or, rather, the Lord’s Wrath — brings a different element to this comic that is already multi-faceted. And that, really, is the triumph of Southern Bastards. It has taken a very narrow scope or setting, sometimes playing on the stereotypes many people have of the South, and then diversifying its many machinations on masterful levels. Boone might be the most authentic of characters they’ve created and it’s hard to forget how great a character in Tubb we started with. Late in the book, it ties Boone back to the main narrative and it will be thrilling to see another wild card thrown i…