That Texas Blood: Hell Comes to Allison Ranch #1 Review
Many people my age talk about how they remember where they were when the attacks of 9/11 happened. I could tell you I was in my 3rd-grade classroom as I watched my teacher sob before leaving us alone in the classroom. But that isn’t the memory that sticks out for me. No, the memory that is forever etched into my mind is watching the opening salvo of the endless War on Terror on March 19th, 2023. I stood in my mother’s room and saw bombs being dropped in night vision on her television. I watched in shock as I saw a war begin in real time and lives being taken by the dropping bombs.
I didn’t understand why we were attacking a city of people when all I ever heard my parents and neighbors talk about were “the terrorists”. It’s been 25 years since 9/11 and the start of the War on Terror; I am still just as confused about it as I was that night as a kid. One act of violence as an excuse to do more has been a running theme in the American story. That Texas Blood: Hell Comes to Allison Ranch opens at the same time period that has been carved into my mind for the rest of my life.
America has once again entered into another frivolous “war” on Iran without much backing. One of the main characters of the story, Martha, wife of Sheriff Joe Bob, makes a comment about history and dishes that has informed my entire reading of this book.
“History’s like the dishes, Joe. Both repeat offenders.”
While history goes on around us, we still have to do the dishes at the end of the day. Our lives continue as they always have, even if horrors are being committed around the world. I have been alive for 34 years, and it feels like every year is marked by a historic event, a travesty, or a crisis. But off to the side, I have still been growing up, changing, and trying to understand my place in the world. The dishes still need to get done despite what goes on around us.
It not only speaks to a universal truth, but it is also an apt description of what That Texas Blood has always been. Each volume is almost a vignette in a town plagued by its own travesties and horrific events, but at the end of the day, things still move forward. The gas station still fills the gas, monsters are born, and the dishes still get done. Life happens alongside so much in That Texas Blood. The newest installment is no exception. These stories follow Sheriff Joe Bob as he faces the horrors head-on but still returns to living his life despite them. Even after stopping a cult or a serial killer, you must still maintain your humanity, which Joe Bob does by building his models and loving his wife, among other things, while serving his community.
There is such intrigue and mystery to every installment of That Texas Blood, but with Hell Comes to Allison Ranch, it feels like it’s really come to hit home with how topical it has become. Even the back matter from Michael Tivey feels like things I have seen in my own life. Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips have crafted a story that can say so much, and with this newest outing, it feels more topical than ever as we see these characters struggle with something so many of us have lived through ourselves.
It feels like I have been seeing horrors nearly daily since I watched that bombing on the TV in my mother’s room. Even if now I see them through a tiny screen in my hand, I watch as Israel commits genocide for the world to see, the US attacks places without rhyme or reason, and school shootings become so commonplace that they are nearly a daily event in the United States. That Texas Blood: Hell Comes to Allison Ranch is a reminder that no matter what, the dishes still need to get done.
Main Cover
THE ACCLAIMED FAN-FAVORITE SERIES RETURNS WITH A JAM-PACKED NEW NUMBER ONE, PERFECT FOR NEW READERS! On March 19, 2003, Sheriff Joe Bob Coates and Deputy Wilson Hart are called to the Allison Ranch — the largest and richest ranch in the United States — where family grievances are blooming into full-blown war. This first issue will be loaded with bonus materials including behind the scenes peeks, newly conducted interviews, essays, cartoons, and MORE!
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