Looking for a wintery chill with your horror? Then look no further than The Deviant, a currently ongoing horror series from Image Comics, written by James Tynion IV with art by Joshua Hixson.
In the series, we start with a series of horrifying murders in 1972, seemingly caused by a masked Santa Claus deemed the “Deviant Killer.” Years later, a young comic book writer attempts to interview the Deviant Killer to understand his fascination with killing. But over the course of those conversations, it becomes clear there’s more than a true crime aficionado at play here… The Deviant Killer was targeted in part because he is gay, and so is the writer. So what is the interplay between what society deems a deviant for sexuality, and one for taking another person’s life?
If that sounds upsetting and complicated… It is. Tynion IV doesn’t shy away from the trickier aspects of this concept. He also doesn’t let any of his characters off the hook (probably, there’s still one issue to go as of this writing). They all have their flaws, some worse than others… While the setup is Silence of the Lambs, the execution is far more Mindhunter.
Add in the art from Hixson, which fully embraces the snowy, sintery midwest setting. Somehow, the airy expanses feel as claustrophobic as a prison; and the terrifying Slender Man Santa Claus is a slasher gift that keeps on killing.
Sure, we as a society rail against the immediate turnaround from Halloween to Christmas. But with a comic as good as The Deviant, it’ll make the strange season between October and December all the more scary.
It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.
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