Image Comics 2020
Written by Chris Condon
Illustrated by Jacob Phillips
“A BROTHER’S CONSCIENCE,” Part One
The first five-part story arc BEGINS HERE! Los Angeles-based writer Randy Terrill returns to his abandoned home of Ambrose County, Texas after the sudden and mysterious death of his brother Travis.
I was blown away by the first issue of this and I was really looking forward to this one because of that. I rather enjoy finding something that I am not expecting and while as a reviewer I tend to read and review a lot of first issues it is the ones that take you by surprise in every single way imaginable that makes me love doing what I do. Joe Bob needs to be retiring, he’s got a little bit of mental forgetfulness going on and he’s not quite the man he used to be. Still he’s Sheriff and that holds quite a bit of clout in those parts. So that we see him as this fully relatable father figure whose wife just wants him to be home well it is endearing. The rest, well that’s something you need to discover for yourself.
I really do like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. There are several ways a story can be told, many of them good and too many of them not so good. Instead of feeling that what we see is forced or made to fit into a sequence this feels like an adaptation of a novel that has found a rhythm like that of smooth jazz. Everything follows each other in a way that feels normal, natural and as it should be. The character development that we see here is amazing. Each individual that we meet has their own quirky personality traits that we see continue to emerge with each appearance. Or by making quite the statement the first time we see them. Regardless these are people, characters in the sense of how they act and behave and they are like so many we already know in our lives. The pacing is perfectly done and as it takes us through the pages revealing one thing after another we see how well everything works together to create the ebb & flow for the book.
The interiors here are incredible. I love the way we see the linework here and how through the varying weights are being utilised and how the different techniques we see on the page are all brought together and it’s gorgeous. The attention to detail that we see is phenomenal and the faces, facial expressions and little details like hair on the chest and wrinkles around the eyes really make that subtle difference in how we react to it. The way we see the backgrounds utilised to not only enhance the moments but to bring us depth perception, this sense of scale as well as that overall sense of size and scope to the book is extremely well rendered. There is something about the way the colour work is being done here that is both retro and forward thinking at the same time. The variety of hues and tones we see within the array of colours and how they are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is utterly brilliant.
The first issue of this was spectacular and it surprised me in some of the best ways and then there’s this one and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It increases the interest, intrigue and fascination factors with each turn of the page. Who knew that this was going to be one of those books that is pure storytelling, no gimmicks like capes or powers, would be so damn compelling? You need to experience why the mytho surrounding Texas exists and this could help you at least understand why.