Writer Jason Aaron had two big profile releases in consecutive weeks. If you're like me and a big fan of his, that's a good thing. The first out of the gate was Southern Bastards #1, an Image book and Aaron's first outside of Marvel since Scalped ended two years ago. This new book is a rip-off of the movie Walking Tall. A guy goes back home to a small, southern town to clean up his dead father's house. The catch? The town is run by a kingpin thug and the main character's father died fighting them with his infamous club. So now the son will inevitably do the same and fight. Not a terrible premise, albeit super unoriginal. The book opens with a dog taking a shit. I guess Aaron couldn't write a scene like that in a Marvel book so he was dying to for years. The art is sloppy and herky-jerky in a lurid style by Jason Latour. It screams indie. Not a bad start, though. It's compelling. Original Sin #1 (of 8) is not. It's this year's big Marvel event. The Watcher is killed and Captain America and Wolverine and Thor and the usual gang have to solve the mystery. The Watcher knew everything...so I'm assuming everyone's sins will be revealed. The art by Mike Deodato is mediocre, and the coloring (by Frank Martin) and inking by Deodato are way too dark. I thought I was reading it in a cave. Big event books usually suck (remember last year's bore Infinity?), although DC's current Forever Evil is super fun. Original Sin so far is just dull.
Oh, well.
Southern Bastards #1 *** Original Sin #1 *1/2
