That Texas Blood #12

That Texas Blood #12

Image Comics 2020

Written by Chris Condon

Illustrated by Jacob Philips

“EVERSAUL, 1981,” Part Six

The “EVERSAUL, 1981” storyline ENDS here! Joe Bob wrestles the ghosts of the past as he recounts the frightening conclusion of the Cult of Night’s ritual.

Not going to lie, this issue hit me square in the feels and I nearly lost it when I was reading the letter in the back of the book. I did get emotional and that I did should tell you the power that this story has on its readers’. This little series is one of those that really sneaks up on you with how strong the writing and the feelings behind it are. Before you know it you are incredibly invested and engaged in the story and that this is a flashback to when Joe Bob was a young man and new on the force really does set the stage for more stories like this. After all if you pay attention to what’s being said here “After that night things weren’t quite the same” and that’s an opening if I’ve ever seen one. So here’s hoping we see more stories about the town that weren’t right after that night because the way this continues to bring us the fuller picture of Joe Bob has been spectacularly well rendered. Then there’s Ana who I wouldn’t mind seeing come across something that isn’t right either and let’s see how she reacts after having heard this story.

I am in love with 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 are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which does a phenomenal job in expanding the personalities of the characters. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we want to see things explored further.

I am extremely impressed with how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I also like the way that these layers open up new avenues to be explored and this adds such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The interiors here are utterly fantastic. The style is Jacob’s own and it really brings this to life beautifully. The linework is clean, crisp and strong and along with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is sensational. Between the backgrounds and how we see the composition within the panels they expand and enhance the moments as well as bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellous to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an excellent eye for how colour works. That this takes place mainly at night with some unique colour choices makes the colour work that much more impressive to me.

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This is one of those amazing franchises that really captures your attention early and makes you fall in love with it and then you become a fan for life. With strong, powerful writing and in depth characterisation alongside these bespoke interiors create one of my favourite series.