No More Waiting. No More Hiding. Reviewing ‘Redneck’ #28

“Tall Tales,” Part Four. The last stand of JV Bowman!

In Redneck #28, Bartlett is on the mend and has taken to wearing a badge in Asilo Del Muerto. Makes sense, I guess, since JV is the de facto mayor. Greg is off with Demus and Gran’pa learning how to fight.

Now that all the identity reveals are behind us, we can talk about them, yeah? It kind of feels like everything just fell out of the sack all at once in the last couple chapters. We just learned that Demus is Nicodemus of the Sanhedron. Then Gran’pa was revealed as Vlad the Dragon. JV was kind of all over the place. He had already been revealed as having some history as a Berserker, but the part of his origin story Donny Cates dialed in on in chapter 27 was as some kind of Native American deity with ties to Roanoke. 

The thing that has always made Redneck stand out was the family dynamic. Here were these literal monsters, trying to transcend their nature and just get by peacefully in a world that hated them for simply existing. All the challenges that came up tightened the bond and made the Bowmans come out on the other side stronger than ever. 

Some of that is lost here. All the exposition and the origin stories get in the way. Jesus turned the first vampire? Cool. Didn’t also need the Voivode of Wallachia or the Roanoke Vampire. It’s a lot to unpack, and if there’s a payoff, it hasn’t hit yet. 

The art is the highlight of this installment. Lisandro Estherren’s loose, gritty pencils and Dee Cunniffe’s moody palette have always brought an aesthetic that is simultaneously beautiful and appalling. Even with the lull in action, there are a couple flashbacks, and one other massive thing where they get to flex their muscles. 

This was not my favorite chapter. I haven’t been very keen on the last two either. I do love this series, though, so I sincerely hope things are going to pop back off again in the next installment. The pieces are all there.

Redneck #28, Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment, 14 October 2020. Written by Donny Cates, art by Lisandro Estherren, color by Dee Cunniffe, letters by Joe Sabino.