5 out of 5

Calling a title like ‘Southern Bastards’ – with all its racial slurs, pecan pie recipes, and dogs shittin’ – contemplative may not seem like an initial match, but such is the high-brow / low-brow complexity of the book thus far, brought out all the more in this second arc.  It doesn’t hit as directly as the first four issues, and so I sat for a while after finishing issue 8, flipping back through, thinking about the construction and payoff.  And whenever this happens, it generally dawns on me that anything that moves one to reflection as such (and not strictly in a ‘what did I just read / watch?’ sense) has merit, and as that sank in for the millionth time, I was suddenly struck by how smart Gridiron is: proof of a fully realized setting; of fully realized characters; of fully understood intentions with the text and art.  We switch focus now to Coach Boss, which may seem like a delaying tactic, but as his relative rises and falls mirror Earl’s, it couldn’t be more relevant, bringing us back to center with another brief epilogue at the arc’s conclusion.

Jason Latour’s vibe and colors remain impeccable; there’s an earnestness and energy to his characters such that, even though the tone of the book hasn’t changed much from issue to issue, his understanding of how much to put on inks or colors and how much to actually detail in keeps the grisly and grounded vibe rumbling.  The blocking and angles of his panels (however much that’s Aaron or Latour) sets this up perfectly as well.  There wasn’t room to improve from the first arc to now, but it’s good to know that, though Earl and Boss may be mirrors, they are different and we initially feel differently about them, and the art is able to accommodate that.  When you’re heavily stylistic, it’s too easy to fall into a routine look that ‘writes’ itself without a story.  Also of absolute note are Jared K. Fletcher’s letters, unlined bubbles,  and differently sized and spaced lettering which all add weight and an actual voice to whomever’s speaking.

I really don’t want to discover Jason Aaron.  I’d peeked at Scalped and given it a pass, but now I’ll have to go back, as the depth of this book so far is killing me.  Hopefully I won’t like it, and my wallet and bulging comic shelf will be safe.