A new comic about Texas from a writer in New Jersey and an artist from the UK. What gives and how’s the book? Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips bring us That Texas Blood #1 from Image.
It turns out that you don’t need to be a Texan to write, draw, or enjoy reading this new title. Thank goodness, because there’s a lot to see and let sink in with That Texas Blood.
It’s all about a casserole dish that’s needed for Sheriff Joe Bob Coates’ 70th birthday. The straw that breaks the camel’s back, the dusty small town ways of small towns, the small things that lead to bad blood, the blood that can’t seem to keep inside when it wants to come out. It’s PTSD, perhaps, and maybe old age comin’ round the mountain, or just the way things swing in Ambrose County.
Writer Chris Condon weaves a tight tale, verging on puzzling to get ahold of. Just on the edge of being too opaque with too many ticking watches, too many rusty springs, but ultimately very satisfying. If you like cop comics combining themselves with horror and suspense. It’s daylight somewhere, and artist Jacob Phillips captures the weary rising of the sun, the same sun that’s risen daily like fresh bread in the hot oven of the south. The sheriff’s got his hands full with missing persons, drunks, and hot daytime tempers. The artwork is spare and sparse but full of detail and atmosphere. The dried sweat, the clinging of the shirt on the back, the small panels, and big expanses. Coloured in wonderful warms and cools that lend air and sun to the environment.
This book is a great read, very entertaining, and well worth your entertainment dollar. An added bonus feature is an editorial plus a preview of Pulp from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.
Image, That Texas Blood #1, $3.99 for 24 pages of main story. Mature
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