The plot is burning slowly but the quality is there to keep you gripped. Earl is as hardboiled as they come and seems tough enough to face the past, or even just the place, hes been running from for the past 40 years. I love him already. Whether he likes it or not, he looks up to the challenge. His clenched fists and gritted teeth show the anger hes struggling to keep in check. I just want to be around for the reckoning. Read Full Review

Image books tend to be a go-to when readers are looking for books that "aren't like anything else," but SOUTHERN BASTARDS is so fresh and fascinating that it even breaks Image's usual model. It's well-crafted, unapologetic, and tells a story that feels simultaneously familiar and strange. Family drama, corruption, murder, and revenge aren't new to comics, but the way they're packaged here most definitely is. Read Full Review

If you like Southern Gothic literature, Southern Bastards #2 is the book for you. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards #2 is an excellent example of the kinds of stories that can soar in this medium. The intensity of this story is driven home by cohesive writing and visuals, with Aaron and Latour crafting one of the most intense stories I've read in a very long time. Southern Bastards is not for everyone, as its unflinching portrayals of violence will definitely turn some people off, but the brutal honesty of the story being told by Aaron and Latour is not to be overlooked. This is creator-owned comics at it's best, and if that last page doesn't have you clamoring for the third issue, nothing will. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards is one of the best new comics on the stands. Get on board. Read Full Review

Fans of “Scalped” already have a barometer by which to gauge Aaron's gritty, tightly woven crime epics. “Southern Bastards” continues to do that legacy justice, thanks to the startlingly well developed lead character and Jason Latour's exceptional artistic contributions. The issue elicits a wide range of emotion, regardless of your affiliation with southern Americana, making the book a compelling read for all. The grandness of scope belies the book's humble trappings, suggesting the makings of another great run. Read Full Review

The concluding splash page, and Tubbs inability to convince the clearly corrupt law enforcement of Craw County that Coach Boss is an evil influence, clearly sets up some more time in Craw County for Tubb. Heres to more football, more Earl Tubb, and more Southern Bastards. Read Full Review

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. Read Full Review

The feeling of authenticity is what separates SOUTHERN BASTARDS from a lot of other comics on the stands. This feeling that we're now in a place that is wholly unfamiliar, but feels frighteningly real in all the right ways hits all of the right emotional notes, provoking us to stick around and ride out the coming storm. Image has a lot of great books currently being published, but few are as unique and authentic asSouthern Bastards. Put this on your pull list…now. Read Full Review

I’m worried about the next issue the way I would worry about running into Earl at the grocery store after seeing him break down like that. Has the tension been broken by the storm and the shouting, giving us some respite at the beginning of the next issue? Or will Earl and this story just get immediately darker and scarier? We have to look at a lot of ugliness in this book, but like Townes Van Zandt sang, there ain’t no dark till something shines. This story will stay compelling if it shows us glimmers of something in town that’s worth saving. Read Full Review

Latour, with colour assists from Rico Renzi, draws a book that sucks you across the border directly into Craw County. Every character carries an expression that feels like it belongs in the south, or at least thats how this Canadian sees it. His imagery, from the towering tree that is Tubbs legacy to the mangy dogs that roam the roads, delivers poignant moments on every page. Southern Bastards #2 is a book that looks as mean as it reads. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards is a slice of life story that is not afraid to look at the darker side of humanity. The subject matter feels honest and that is mostly down to the creators. This feels like a story with legs and if you want a story to get your teeth into you are in for a treat. Read Full Review

There's a reason this book's first issue sold out before it even made it to stores, and if you aren't yet reading it I would highly recommend you get to your LCBS and pick it up. It's a great series from a great team, and a standout story in terms of its caliber. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards #2 delivers you another dose of emotion, fun, violence and a want for more. Jason Aaron and Jason Latour are truly two talented individuals who's talent blended together have created a story that you not only read and enjoy but you feel and understand. While the low was dishing out $3.50 for these issues, it is hard to argue any other price with such an incredible story line. SB #2 follows up SB #1 in incredible fashion, you will immediately begin picking up that loose change for next months issue, that is a guarantee! Read Full Review

Aaron's story mixes real life small-town grit with supernatural elements, making for a powerful book about loss and redemption. There are no superheroes is this title as of yet, but Earl's resolve matches that of the most heroic heroes in comics. Read Full Review

Issue #2 delivers more of the same heft and grit as it's predecessor, setting Earl on a path that seems almost preordained. Jason Aaron continues to weave one doozy of a narrative, Earl continually stuck between what he wants to do, and what he has to do. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards follows up nicely from it's tremendous opening and though there is some room for improvement the overall quality is still to a high standard making it a no brainier to recommend. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards is a testament to execution trumping formula. From the outset all the elements we're seeing here: the evil football coach, the reluctant returning son, the old soldier, the sheriff father, the rotting town are in essence very stock basic ideas but it's the delivery that makes Southern Bastards such a great read. It's pulp and noir and a little bit western all wrapped up in a smooth rich coating of horror and rural Americana that always delivers and always brings you back for more: highly recommended. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards lives up to its name and cements the fact that Image is the place for top talent to create masterpieces. Read Full Review

This comic is opening itself up to a classic, old-school showdown between the bastardly forces of good (Earl, Clint Eastwood, The Rock) and the bastardly forces of evil (The Coach, all the bad guys from A Fistful of Dollars). At this point, I'm waiting for either a second faction to emerge to challenge the Coach, for Earl to play them both off of each other, or for Earl to straight up murder the Coach, and either take his place as crime boss or take his father's place as shit-kicking sheriff. It's a high-stakes family drama, the likes you only ever see in Southern Gothic literature and the Bible. It's high-stakes, and it's a lot of fun. Come on down and check it out. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards has the right mix of heart n grit, itll get under your skin and compel you to read on. The South has never been so ugly but Jason Aaron and Jason Latour vow to clean it up, theyre just going to make a bloody mess of it first. Read Full Review

At this point, Southern Bastards has had two strong debut issues, but some character questions are creeping into my mind. Why is Earl so insistent on getting involved? If he suspects that the town is run in an underhanded way by Coach Boss, why does he hope to accomplish by intervening? I think Aaron and Latour have answers, likely related to Earls late father, a legendary police officer. So I suspect Earls motivations and intentions become clearer as the first arc progresses. Read Full Review

There's a slightly, let's call it "not-quite-supernatural" turn that the story takes, but I'm still in. One can only hope that the hordes of fans who dug Aaron's Marvel work and followed him to Southern Bastards will go back and read Scalped, which was his breakout creator owned book before creator owned books became all the rage. Read Full Review

Southern Bastards continues to be a good look into the shady side of southern politics and crime. This issue introduces the main obstacles that Earl will have to contend with if he decides to live up to his fathers legacy. Tensions and emotions are increasing that will come to fruition in future issues. Read Full Review

Intriguing

Very good second issue. Art continues to be a strength and the ending makes me want to jump right into the next issue.

The story continues to be compelling. I do hope the cast of characters starts to grow and that this is not just a story about a lone old white man bringing justice to a back-woods town. I do feel that the depiction of the "South" continues to rely on fear-based stereotypes and not on the reality of small, rural communities in the South. Latour's art is very evocative and some of the details do remind me of the small towns of my youth. But I find his mix of cartooning and detail to be visually confusing at times. There was one face where I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the structure of the face was supposed to be--is that the mouth or the nose? Keeping in line with one of the apparent underlying themes of the book, he depicts all the rural dwellers as ugly and scary looking, with crooked-teeth and mean expressions. Again, not a very nuanced depiction. more