Rating: 5/5
The second volume of Southern Bastards is brutal. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that read the first book. There is a mix of past and present in the story, which focuses on the antagonist of volume one, Euless Boss.
Boss was a scrawny kid that wanted to play football more than anything in the world. He fought for it no matter how hard things got. Of course, he got a little help along the way, while his daddy screwed things up royally. This book humanizes him quite a bit. The creators never apologize for the bad things this character has done. Instead they give insight into why he made some of those choices.
I liked this more than the first book because it had a little more focus. The creators already set up what to expect in Craw County, so they were able to go ahead full steam. It builds on the first book in some ways, like embracing Southern stereotypes, but the tone of the story feels different. The change from Earl Tubb to Euless Boss is a huge part of it. They are very different men despite some similarities.
As I was reading, I had to remind myself that Euless Boss is a mean bastard that shouldn't be trusted. His focus and stubbornness can be viewed as positive traits, but they lead him down a dark path that he may not be able to recover from.
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