Image Comics; $3.99

Here’s an evocative, atmospheric, compelling new crime comic with a great title and a sterling lineage. Criminal colorist Jacob Phillips (and son of artist Sean Phillips) has teamed up with writer Chris Condon for Image’s new ongoing series, That Texas Blood. This first issue starts off with Sheriff Joe Bob Coates’ wife nagging him to retrieve a casserole dish for his 70th birthday dinner and ends up with a stunning, literal bang, setting up a clear mystery in addition to a few smaller ones seeded through the comic.

The creators paint their West Texas setting with a brush that is neither lost entirely in the larger than life mythos of Texas nor completely dwelling in its darker side. They deliver a slice of life that comes with plenty of noir, but not to the exclusion of everything else. It’s a very interesting first issue and one that commands us to come back next time.

– J.C. Vaughn