"Southern Bastards: Here was a Man" is a pulpy, old-fashioned Southern violent tale of anger and vengeance

Earl Tubb has the ultimate face.  Chiseled and crafted by the winds of time and the tough side of life, he has the demeanor of someone who's always angry, with squinty eyes that barely appear to be open.   A native of Craw County, Alabama, Earl's been absent from his hometown for some forty years, and only after returning in order to help his ailing uncle does he realize just how little has changed there.  The weird thing is, his hatred for the place has never waned.

In the first Volume of Southern Bastards: Here was a Man, writer Jason Aaron and artist Jason Latour create a place forgotten by time and the tides of progressive change: a town where violence, corruption and love of high school football is just as distinctive as the citizens' passion for barbecued ribs and fried pie.  Earl's plight to try to save his hometown from the rotting infestation of crime and murder - where the law turns a blind eye - forces him to resemble the hero lead of Walking Tall, a man who took the phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" a bit too literally.  In a way, the man is a modern day backwoods superhero of sorts, but what he lacks in super-ability department he more than makes up with plain old guts and complete disregard for his own safety.

Latour's art is murky and dark, but very detailed and gritty, which is more than fitting for the series' violent and rough subject matter.  The characters properly appear to be the uneducated brutes living in a world where roughing someone is the best expression of oneself.  Also, dog feces is something we see here more than once, and it understandably symbolizes the underlying structure of Craw County's justice system.

Aaron's characters may not be the most original, because Southern Bastards' overall story is somewhat familiar, but I don't think we've ever seen a hero this old before.  Coach Boss is also a neat villain, a man so obsessed with winning that there's not much difference to him between leading his team to victory or killing an associate who's failed him, then burying them under the football field's bleachers.  Here was a Man is a fitting intro to this series, a story so rich in blood and guts that even a Northerner could appreciate it.
B+