The Deviant Vol. 1

by James Tynion IV, Joshua Hixson (Illustrator)

Overview

Hannibal meets Silent Night, Deadly Night in this pitch-black holiday horror story that cuts right through our most taboo notions.

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.

Multiple Eisner Award-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (W0RLDTR33, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and acclaimed artist JOSHUA HIXSON (The Plot, Children of the Woods) unite for a psychological crime thriller that explores the intersection of queer identities and a broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance.

Collects THE DEVIANT #1-4 (of 9 total issues).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534356917
Publisher:	Image Comics
Publication date:	10/29/2024
Pages:	152
Sales rank:	250,980
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 10.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

JAMES TYNION IV is the writer of Batman, and many other titles for DC Comics, including Detective Comics, Justice League Dark, and the New York Times best selling Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy. He is the co-creator of Wynd, Something is Killing the Children, Memetic, and the GLAAD award winning series, The Woods. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY with his partner and their nice old dog.

Joshua Hixson graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2014 and has been working in comics ever since. He’s the artist and co-creator of Shanghai Red from Image Comics, and The Black Woods. He also works as an illustrator for Kannibalen Records. He resides on Long Island with his wife and their lazy pup Luna.

Editorial Reviews

"There’s something truly haunting and chilly about The Deviant, not unlike Robert Eggers’ The Witch."

AIPT

"If you're just looking for a murder story set at Christmastime, the comic book delivers that ten times over."

ComicBook.com

06/01/2024

Just before Christmas in 1973, a group of young men in Milwaukee, WI, are tortured and brutally murdered by a man dressed like Santa Claus. In 2023, a writer named Michael conducts a series of interviews with "the Deviant Killer," Randall Olsen. who has been convicted of committing those murders. Olsen maintains his innocence, insisting that he was convicted on circumstantial evidence, largely due to society equating queerness with abomination. The premise resonates with Michael, whose earliest recognition of his own queer identity as a young man is inextricably linked to hearing tales of Olsen's supposed depravity. Rattled by how closely he identifies with Olsen, Michael begins looking into the details of the case at what turns out to be the worst possible time, as a killer clad in a Santa costume is once again targeting young men around Milwaukee. VERDICT Bestselling author Tynion (Blue Book) and illustrator Hixson (The Plot) deliver a moodily illustrated and psychologically complex horror thriller that examines the consequences of refusing to acknowledge the humanity of an individual who does not conform to the societal expectations of the prevailing culture.

Library Journal