Written By James Tynion IV
Art by Joshua Hixson
Published by Image Comics
I really love this creative team.
Writer James Tynion IV and artist Joshua Hixson are absolutely a wonderful collaborators and this horror fueled book is truly something excellent. I love what they accomplish here, and I have to say that I am impressed with the absolutely original premise.
It is well thought out and well executed. The only problem that I have with the book is that this first volume is way, way too short. The book just barely starts to get going and then it is “to be continued.” It was very upsetting where it leaves off too, as it is during a true moment of high drama.
The book starts off in the year 1972 and it deals with a bunch of atrocities being committed against a bunch of men in Milwaukee.
It seems that someone dressed up as Santa Claus is murdering and torturing people. Who is this killer?
What is their purpose in committing these acts of violence?
Not a lot is solved at this point but it really gives the book a solid launching pad for the rest of the story.
What does come from it is there a suspect being accused of being this “Deviant Killer” and they are now behind bars. But this killer is maintaining their innocence throughout the time of his imprisonment.
We then cut to the modern day and we see that the killer is still behind bars. What is crazy though, is that killings are beginning to happen again, and it seems even worse this time. That is when things take a turn for the insane. And then it only gets better from there.
The great thing about this book is that it all feels very down to earth. What I mean by that is that the writing is very identifiable and grounded. The artwork by Joshua Hixson had a mundane feel to it that adds to the horror. Even though it has that feeling, the artwork is also spectacular in that it really feels like someplace that normal, every day people would live in. There is something really great about that for a horror comic setting. It makes the horror seem even more terrifying as it pops off the page in a different way. It is commendable and it makes the atmosphere of the book one that is unique. It truly is something I have not seen before this, and that is pretty great.
It is also much deeper than a simple slasher comic book. It shows us the main characters Michael and who he is. It shows us flashbacks of the past incidents in the year 1973 and the horrifying things that happened then. It also starts to show us how those two things relate. Michael is a comic book writer who is in search of a good story.
Could this be seen as an autobiographical flex by Tynion? Well, perhaps. It certainly feels that way and this feels a bit more personal than a lot of his writing work.
Even so, Michael is looking for a good story to write. He comes across the story of Randall Olsen, a man who is in prison for the series of Santa related killings in 1973. Michael starts to look into his case. There are a lot of correlations that starts to come up as he does.
For one, Michael and Randall are both gay. We get to see how the life of a gay man is different from the two time periods represented. Michael visits Randall in prison. He starts to interview Randall. Randall denies he is this Santa killer. Things start to deepen as the killings start to happen in the modern time.
All of this and Michael starts to come apart little by little as the story goes on.
Can he possibly keep his sanity? Or is he on a path of destruction that he cannot see coming?
The story really is a slow burn. I appreciate that about it.
By the end of the third chapter, the story takes quite a turn indeed. But then, that was it. The volume just ended and right at the point when it was the most interesting. But that happens. It does feel a bit short for sure, but I am confident that will be made up for in future volumes.
RATING: A-
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