276°
Posted 20 hours ago

That Texas Blood, Volume 1 (Texas Blood, 1)

£4.495£8.99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Ditto Jacob Phillips. Prior to this I’ve only seen his colouring on Brubaker/Phillips’ books but damn this kid can draw every bit as good as his dad - and, again, still so young! The comic is well laid out with engaging and imaginative shots and expressive characters. Like the writing, it doesn’t seem possible that this is a first-timer’s effort but it looks like both Condon and Phillips are natural comics creators - or, more likely, have worked really hard at their craft to start this strong. Just when it seems like no other creative team will challenge the supremacy of crime comics duo Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, THAT TEXAS BLOOD comes out. Simply brilliant! This may be my absolute favorite crime comic of 2021, and I've read several outstanding entries. Artist Jason Phillips is the son of Sean Phillips, and that influence is all over his outstanding illustrations here. On to the story. It starts off with this typically Texan community thats close-knit. Condon really got down the dialogue that pe ople down in Texas or the Southern US in general talk, because some words I don't even understand. It might seem boring or casual, but going deeper into the book, a increasingly hints at a a future event. But that allurement still doesn't cover up that this book can be pretty bogged down or dull. idk, it was a jog to get through 2/3rd of this.

The text commentary by writer Chris Condon really nails the meaning of several of these scenes, kind of symbolic and poetic at the same time. Makes you wonder if the main character of this book is Coates, Randy, or the state of Texas itself. It's that Texas blood, quite the influence.Image Comics has long been known as the home of exciting new talent. From the earliest days of the publisher, they’ve been carving out a space for themselves as the bad boys and often the best work that the company puts out reflects that. The first issue of Image Comics’ newest series That Texas Bloodfits under that banner well not only as a horror tinged take on crime in Texas but also hinting at anexploration of masculinity, aging, and finding your place in an ever more unfamiliar world.

I think it tries a bit too hard to emulate the feel of a Brubaker/Phillips book but it as a damn good copy. As our Sheriff made his way around town, it started to dawn on me what the writing and artwork were accomplishing. Like any great modern-day Western, it isn’t flashy, but by the end of the story, you realize you’ve experienced something special. I’m not from Texas, but I am from the South, and I can say that I’ve been in this world. I’ve met these people. I’ve experienced the heat that this comic perfectly encapsulates. Everything the story wants to do, it does, and it does it to perfection. And yet, despite those issues, Condon knows how to write characterization that feels organic, most notably in the old-timer Joe Bob. The first issue is really about a day in Joe Bob’s life before the main storyline commences. Although he is determined to solve this murder case, you can also sense the weariness of this man, who prefers the quiet comfort of being with his wife. His recurring phrase throughout the book is “well”, which sums up Joe Bob completely.I guess I thought it was a horror thing but it being a sun-baked and boozy neo-noir makes all the sense in the world too. It’s basically Blood Simple: The Comic. Equal parts The Coens and Brubaker, filtered through the pen of a native (at least I’m pretty sure Condon is Texan. You don’t get this woefully and beautifully specific about the feeling of BEING Texan without actually being one). All that across six tersely beautiful issues that do you the courtesy of finally just showing you instead of telling you in laborious, overwrought narration. It’s also awesome too, Condon excels at the crime stuff but also totally nails the cosmic terror of bad childhoods, the death grip of “masculinity”, the grace of aging (and the disconnection from society that comes with it). This thing is kinda all things to all It's probably unfair to compare this to Criminal just because a member of the Phillips family is drawing, but it looks and feels like a Criminal story and that's what it seems like it wants to be. But the story part never really hits in the same way. Hell, the main character's narrative arc is nearly the same as Tracy Lawless. But the reason for Tracy's return and stay felt earned in a way it didn't here. That Texas Blood, vol. 2 - Collects #7-12. "Sheriff Joe Bob Coates travels down the long and winding road of memory to a dark night in 1981 that saw a boy killed, a girl missing, and a mad cult on the loose in Ambrose County, Texas." - NOV210187 - WorldCat - ISBN 9781534321694 - Kindle That Texas Blood doesn’t feel like it was adapted from short stories or an undeveloped script. Condon does a great job writing for comics and his power really comes from how well he crafts small character moments and builds atmosphere with the sharing of folkloric story tales between the people who inhabit the world. One of my favorite things that Condon does here is the addition of Joe’s wife Martha using the police walkie talkie to chat with him throughout the day. It’s a sweet almost irrelevant thing that showcases not only how much Joe loves his wife but also the usually slow pace of the day to day movements in Ambrose Country.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment