Review by Booklist Review
Cooper is the teenage son of Jack "Meadowlark" Johnson, a legendary boxer-turned--prison guard in Huntsville, Texas. After a troubled Cooper is expelled from school, he accompanies Jack to work, not knowing that he is about to be caught up in a prisoner escape. As Cooper and Jack go on the hunt for the prisoners, they learn about each other in the process. The gritty, Southern-noir style of writing pairs well with the setting and characters and the way they are depicted in rich grayscale illustrations. Most panels have a yellow-green wash over them, evoking the Texas climate and atmosphere. Occasional pops of blue attract the reader's eye, as do some photorealistic and mixed-media images throughout. Jack is illustrated with a strong resemblance to Ethan Hawke, which most readers will surely catch. Fans of the crime genre will enjoy this, as will readers of native Texans Greg Ruth and Ethan Hawke's previous collaboration, INDEH (2016).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A troubled teen gets more than he bargained for in this Texas crime story, heavy with sticky-hot atmosphere and rippling with familial melodrama, from actor Hawke (A Bright Ray of Darkness) and Ruth (Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars). Sick of his stepfather and expelled from school, Cooper tags along with his ex-boxer father Jack on his job as prison guard. But just after another guard gives Cooper a rundown on the characters in lockup--including Red, a bear-sized albino who has it in for Jack--a riot breaks out. As the pair escape, the lackadaisical family drama turns into a criminality-fueld roadtrip, including standoffs, a sleazy motel room, a cartel, a giant pile of cash, dark secrets, and a psychopath who calls himself Wolf Boy. Emotions ratchet up as Jack and Cooper navigate the plot's hairpin turns while working out their relationship. Ruth's naturalistic art and washed-out sandy coloring bring a timeless feel to the action while also highlighting its cinematic qualities (his rendering of sensitive, rakish Jack looks quite like Hawke). Neatly balancing pulpy thrills with well-observed father-son dynamics, this is a genre tale that punches above its weight. Agents: (for Hawke) Eric Simonoff, William Morris Endeavor; (for Ruth) Allen Spiegel, Allen Spiegel Fine Arts. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Clashing with his mother and stepfather is bad enough, but after Cooper is caught with drugs and expelled from high school, there's no doubt that he's teetering on the edge of real trouble. Cooper's father Jack (a professional boxer-turned-prison guard) has no better idea what to do with his son than bring him along when he goes to work at the prison in Huntsville, TX, where he tells Cooper that he oversees some of the most vicious criminals imaginable. Cooper, for his part, is pleased to discover that his father's coworkers worship the former boxing champion almost as much as he does; he thrills to their tales of Jack's exploits. Suddenly, a riot breaks out. In the bloody aftermath, Cooper and a severely wounded Jack race across rural Texas, chasing a group of escaped prisoners who think Jack has hidden a fortune in cash in his ex-wife's home. (The inmates, Jack, and Cooper all present as white in the naturalistic illustrations by Ruth.) As they fight for survival, father and son struggle to come to terms with the way the myths they've created around one another have defined their relationship, as well as the way each sees himself. VERDICT The second collaboration between Hawke (A Bright Ray of Darkness) and Ruth (Freaks of the Heartland) is an emotionally complex hard-boiled thriller.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
For this coming-of-age neonoir about a troubled boy and his troubled dad, illustrator and author Ruth reteams with his Indeh (2016) collaborator, actor/writer/director Hawke. Teenage troublemaker Coop has been expelled from school, hates his mom's dorky boyfriend, and wishes he could just live with his dad, Jack, a brave and charming (if frequently late) corrections officer with a past as a boxer. But when Jack's fraught relationship with Coop's mom forces an impromptu bring-your-son-to-work day at the local prison, a series of events unfold that upend Coop's understanding of his father and force him to grow up quickly. The story is swift and breezy, relying on archetypes (tough but maternal boss, lunatic killer inmates, exasperated woman who still cares about her screw-up ex-husband) and pattering dialogue ("Buck will never be too dumb to forget how smart you think you are, Jack") to fill in characters painted mostly in broad strokes. Coop is unhappy and self-sabotaging but without clear motivation other than the strained relationship with his father. We get a peek into Coop's head through dreams and nature-inspired reveries, and Ruth's exceptional art imbues those moments with a power beyond words. But with the intensity of Coop's experience by the end, a bit more exploration of his interior landscape would've helped the brutally life-changing events of the story resonate beyond the raw power of blood spatter. The near photorealism and energy of Ruth's linework are absolutely gorgeous, and the striking similarity between Jack's physical appearance and that of co-writer Hawke is a fun nod to the actor and co-author. But the story's reliance on Hollywood tropes keeps the tale from full poignancy. Rich art in need of a richer story. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
