Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Colors: Dee Cuniffe
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

If you haven’t been reading Redneck, it deals with a family of vampires living in Sulfur Springs, Texas. After a night on the town, Slap Bowman, the youngest of three vampire brothers is murdered, and left burning in their yard the next morning.

Redneck has been a slow burn thus far, and it’s been a stellar ride. This issue deals with the aftermath of Landry’s men coming to the Bowman home, and it’s solid. The writing is superb, and hits at the family trying to deal with what to do next. Bartlett still can’t remember anything the night before, their barbecue business is burned to the ground, and Slaps death is still a mystery. Bartlett goes to his grandfather for answers, who’s been living in the attic. This is his first appearance so far, and he’s a bitter fellow. He doesn’t share the views of how the family should operate, and wants to return to the old ways of being a vampire. Even making an analogy of a caged pig being released, back into the wild. I’m curious who killed Slap, since it still hasn’t been revealed yet. The ending has me intrigued, because it may answer the questions, of how does Bartlett end up with the Bowmans and why can’t he remember the night before? The dialogue and characterization is strong in this title. The pacing is excellent, as it takes a break and shows what the other characters are up to.

I’m not a big fan of the art by Estherren, as it looks rushed in this issue. Characters look decent, but the line work for the character faces look busy. If he would minimize the number of lines on the characters, it would at least look superior to it was before. I like the design for grandpa, as he has a Nosferatu look to him, and he’s a double amputee. I wasn’t expecting that, and leaves me curious about how old he is. The environmental scenes look good, and show the aftermath of the vampire retaliation. The colors by Cuniffe is solid, and adds to the dark tone of the issue. The lettering is fine, and I like the contrast between the vampire elder, and Bartlett.

Redneck #3 has a really incredible story that is bogged down by the art. I’m going to stick with it though, and see if it improves down the line.

3 Nosferatu out of 5