You know, for a holiday that is supposed to be about happy times with family and friends, there’s a lot of media surrounding the Christmas holiday that revels in bloodshed, violence, and conflict. Maybe it’s people channeling the stress of trying to conform to a culture of forced jollity and togetherness, maybe it’s a residual effect of living with shorter days and colder weather, or maybe it’s just people trying to emulate the success of Die Hard. No matter what the reason, Christmas may be a time of comfort and joy, but there’s also a lot of stress and pent up emotion.
Into this stew of rage and anger comes “The Deviant” #1, a comic that is a Christmas comic featuring a serial killer dressed as Santa and yes, I can appreciate the frustration of a Christmas story being released before Thanksgiving. Let’s see how it is.
CONTENT WARNING: This book contains discussions and images of serial killers, violence, and sexuality that some people may find uncomfortable. This is neither a mark against the book itself or the people who made it, nor is it commentary on the personal taste of anyone reading this review. This is simply a notice that this book (and by extension the review of this book) deals with some very intense and heavy subject matter.
Written by James Tynion IVCover by: Joshua Hixon
Illustrated by Joshua Hixon
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
SERIES PREMIERE
As snow falls over Milwaukee in 1972, a blood-stained Santa Claus commits unimaginable atrocities against young men. Fifty years later, a troubled young writer interviews this so-called “Deviant Killer,” who still maintains his innocence from behind bars. And as Christmas approaches once again, the past returns, wielding a sharpened ax. Eisner-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (W0RLDTR33, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and acclaimed artist JOSHUA HIXSON (The Plot, Children of the Woods) unite for a pitch-black holiday horror story.
It’s December 2023 and a young comic book writer named Michael is interviewing a man named Randell Olsen for his newest graphic novel. Randell is an elderly prisoner who is serving a life sentence for the murder of two young boys back in December of 1973. Randell was working as a mall Santa, the two boys were his elves, and while Randell claims that he didn’t kill the kids, the police did find illicit pictures of the boys in Randell’s possession, which was enough for the legal system to throw him behind bars. That would have been the end of the case, but it seems that there is another serial killer out there with the same modus operandi that has decided to start killing again fifty years later.
“The Deviant” #1 is written by James Tynion IV, a man who needs little to no introduction and if you don’t consider him to be the greatest writer of modern horror comics, he’s definitely one of the best horror writers working today. As stated in the content warning above, Tynion isn’t afraid to talk about some very intense subject matter, and while he goes through the motions of establishing the characters, motivation, and conflict, the meat of the issue takes place in the prison visiting room where Michael is talking to Randell. On the surface, it’s a straightforward interview where Michael is doing research for his story, but it quickly gets a lot deeper and is kind of reminiscent of the conversations between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. While Randell is much kinder and less exploitative than Hannibal, there is still a sense that he is toying with the comic book writer. Both of them are queer men, both of them have a shared history of grappling with their sexuality, and while both of them are out of the proverbial closet they both seem to feel that there’s something darker lurking beneath the surface of their minds. The only difference between the two is that Michael is still grappling with these feelings and hasn’t done anything terrible while Randell has accepted them at the expense of his freedom.
It’s not the place of this review to comment on the mindset of the author, but the fact that the main character is a LGBTQ+ man from the Midwest who is writing a self funded comic makes the whole thing feel like “The Deviant” #1 is an incredibly personal story, and if that’s the case then the personal touch is what makes it very good. If it isn’t, then it’s still a very deep, poignant, and intense story that is also really good.
Continued belowIf “The Deviant” #1 has any problems, it’s the time and setting of the story. The book claims to be a Christmas story, but outside the fact that it takes place in a mall around Christmas time, and the fact that the main villain of the book dresses up as Santa, there’s a sense that this story could take place at any time of the year. To be fair, Christmas is as good a time as any to tell a horror story, but the core emotional conflict of the book has very little to do with the stereotypes and trappings of Christmas.
The artwork for “The Deviant” #1 is provided by Joshua Hixon, and it fits the needs of the story beautifully. Interestingly enough, outside of a few panels where we see the corpses of the killer’s victims, it’s not a very gory book. In fact, Hixon’s drawings of blood and entrails aren’t very detailed and create more of an idea of blood and guts instead of the direct and brutal reality of discovering the serial killer’s victims. However, the gore isn’t the source of the book’s horror. Hixon does an amazing job of creating an oppressive and suffocating atmosphere throughout the entire book with heavy lines, dark colors, and lots of shadow. Even in the rare scenes that take place in locations that are bright and colorful, Hixon removes the background details to hyper focus on the characters in extreme close ups that make the characters and reader feel isolated and lonely. The feelings are ramped up when it comes time for the actual scary parts to happen, and Hixon does an amazing job of making empty shopping malls, dimly lit prison rooms, and isolated Midwest farmland look bleak, lonely, and terrifying.
“The Deviant” #1 is a comic book that has a deep understanding of horror that goes far beyond surface level gore and crazy serial killers. This is a kind of creeping horror that lurks in the subconscious of its characters, ready to spring out at any moment, and while you can try and keep it down with bright lights and good company, it’s always there and can spring up at any moment.
Final Verdict: 9.2- A haunting and intense horror story that feels incredibly personal and doesn’t need the trappings of a major holiday to be effective.
