The ‘Texas Noir’ may not be an official genre just yet, but writer Quinton Peeples is doing his part to make it happen with the coming launch of Humanoids’ THE BIG COUNTRY. It’s a detective story being described as a meditation on violence, murder, toxic masculinity, and more against the backdrop of the harsh Texan landscape. And with explicit reference to James Ellroy and Cormac McCarthy, it’s learning from the best.
This noir tale comes from the mind of Peeples, a veteran of writing, producing and directing television for over thirty years, including Runaways, Iron Fist, Flashforward, The Last Ship, Unforgettable and Hulu’s adaptation of Stephen King’s best-selling novel 11/22/63, as well as the film Woodlawn. This month, Humanoids is publishing Peeples’ graphic novel debut THE BIG COUNTRY, a Texas noir about toxic masculinity and the cycle of violence, illustrated by Dennis Calero, and Lisa Lubera. And to help readers get into the mood, Peeples has supplied Screen Rant with a custom Spotify playlist, along with personal commentary bridging the gap between his own Texas upbringing, and the story and themes of THE BIG COUNTRY, arriving November 26th.
Set in the year 1978, THE BIG COUNTRY tells the story of Grissom Callahan, the last in a long line of sheriffs. Callahan learned everything he knows from his father and grandfather, but the ways of the old regime don’t prove effective when a violent serial killer emerges in their small town. In a single moment of shaking down an informant, Grissom triggers a chain of events that will reshape his life and the world of Texas law enforcement. Peeples explains his inspiration:
Readers can find the pages of our exclusive preview (including cover art by over by The Boys’ artist Darick Robertson, colored by Bryan Valenza), along with the aforementioned Spotify playlist for THE BIG COUNTRY, and full commentary from Peeples below:
THE BIG COUNTRY is a story I’ve had in mind for years. I grew up in a very tough small-town environment in West Texas and wanted to write about that world and those people. The theme of violence and the damage it does, both at the personal level and in communities, is something I return to again and again. So, I took that theme, gave it a cowboy hat and a gun and here we are.
THE BIG COUNTRY is a Western Noir story, a meditation on violence that has echoes of our current cultural discussions around toxic masculinity. I’ve taken noir tropes like crime, outsiders and loners and simply dragged them into the blazing sun instead of rain-drenched back streets. The fedoras have been replaced by Stetsons. But the soul of these characters, their complicated inner lives, is what keeps it in the family of Thompson, Ellroy and the name that looms large over everything: Cormac McCarthy.
PLAYLIST FOR “THE BIG COUNTRY” By Quinton Peeples
THE LONG BLACK VEIL by Lefty Frizzell – This is where it all starts. We were going to use this song in the book, but couldn’t afford to clear the lyrics. But it is the perfect introduction to the atmosphere of the graphic novel; haunted, romantic and ultimately doomed.
MAMMAS DON’T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS by Waylon and Willie – In my house growing up, these records played constantly. This song in particular. I can’t hear it without being immediately taken back to small town Texas in the 70’s.
BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN by George Jones - I hated this song as a kid, and it delighted my parents to no end to sing it outside my bedroom door at night to torture me. By now you’re getting a sense of my strange upbringing.
HE’LL HAVE TO GO by Jim Reeves - This haunting, over-produced style of country music has just enough of the David Lynch feeling to transform it into something scary. Just the way I like it. And when Jimbo hits that low note – look out.
IT WASN’T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS by Kitty Wells – I was raised by a tough bunch of Texas women. They were fierce, hard-scrabble and not to be messed with. Just like Kitty. This song reminds me of them.
(Pardon Me) I’VE GOT SOMEONE TO KILL by Johnny Paycheck – If you need an explanation as to why this is on the list, you should not be reading “The Big Country”.
RIGHT OR WRONG by Wanda Jackson – This is the female equivalent of the Jim Reeves song above. Imagine this song playing on a pick up’s dashboard radio while you dig the grave of the man you just killed. Perfect.
ABILENE by George Hamilton IV- Abilene, Texas is the name of the town I grew up in. Every single lyric in this song is a lie.
DELTA DAWN by Tanya Tucker – Another song that haunts the memories I have of those days. It was on the radio constantly. More gloom and doom drenched in ‘70’s studio production value. Truly weird.
ROSE GARDEN by Lynn Anderson – My mother loved this song. I wonder why? (Not really. I know why.)
INDIAN LOVE CALL by Slim Whitman – I put this into my Halloween episode of “11-22-63” because it truly scares me. The yodeling. Slim’s mustache. The steel guitar. I believe this song plays on an endless loop in the seventh circle of hell. I love it so.
I’VE GOT A NEW HEARTACHE by Ray Price – If you ever see me in my car singing at the top of my lungs, it will be to Ray Price. His music played across the endless jukebox’s of my childhood. This may be a perfect song.
I’M A HONKY TONK GIRL by Loretta Lynn – There is no country music without Loretta. The hair. The voice. The piercing lyrics. She sounds like every girlfriend I ever had in Texas.
LET’S THINK ABOUT LIVING by Bob Luman – In explaining everything that’s gone wrong in music and art, he basically lays out everything I write about. So, there’s that.
WALKIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT by Patsy Cline – Um…this song is about creepers. Pull your blinds down, Patsy’s in the neighborhood.
UNDER YOUR SPELL AGAIN by Buck Owens – Obsession is a major theme in the book and this little song lays it all out. Plus Buck Owens.
MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COWBOYS by Waylon Jennings – In my opinion the myth of the cowboy has led to more death and destruction than I care to think about. It’s a major underlying theme in the book. This song is sad in many intended (and unintended ways). It played constantly in the background of my childhood.
HONKY TONK HEROES by Waylon Jennings – So, I’ve doubled down on that idea. “Loveable losers, no account boozers and honky tonk heroes like me.” I’m lucky I got out alive.
I’M LOOKING FOR BLUE EYES by Jessi Colter – Another song my family loved to sing after getting plowed. Good times. (Not really.)
TIME OF THE PREACHER by Willie Nelson – No other artist casts a longer shadow over my Texas years than Willie. I imagine a lot of people could say that. I can hardly listen to this song without getting choked up. I heard it riding next to my father in his truck, in my living room, slow dancing with a cousin on my grandmother’s screened in back porch.
RELEASE ME by Ray Price – my grandmother Chloetielde’s favorite song. We called her “The Dirt Dauber” (as in the wasp) because she had a mighty sting. She is a serious inspiration for the women in “The Big Country”.
BLUE YODEL (T for Texas) by Jimmie Rodgers – every person I knew growing up could sing this song. Which is weird if you listen to the lyrics. And here’s that scary yodeling again. Plus, there’s murder involved. So, pretty much a perfect Texas song.
MILES AND MILES OF TEXAS by Asleep At The Wheel – casual racism, stereotypical fantasy viewpoint of Texas and a happy beat. Everybody ate this up without a second thought. Except me. This marked me as a weirdo, so I retreated into comic books. They were more real than what you hear in this song.
WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – a song about a whisky and blood-soaked automobile accident. Now, this is what I call music!
FAMILY TRADITION by Hank Williams Jr. – So much of “The Big Country” is about family and the devastating effects it can have on our lives. The “sins of the father” as it were. Seems fitting to close with a nod in that direction.
THE BIG COUNTRY will be available in bookstores on November 26th and in comic shops on November 27th.
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