Exploring the intersection of queer identity and the broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance
The legend returns in an ice-cold Christmas thriller
The legend, Eisner Award winner and LGBT proponent James Tynion IV, gives us a subtle but terrifying examination of what it means to be gay in an age where your identity brands you as not just different, but patently flawed.
Tynion partners with Joshua Hixson in this gripping Christmas themes thriller that time-travels between two Christmases fifty years apart. Tynion takes us from an earlier time when festive bodies, young and old, pile up under shades of a larger-than-life Dahmer-like killing spree, to a modern-day interview with the maniac himself. But is the killer really who we are led to believe?
Fear and a lesson in identity
Along the way, we get a peak at various characters’ lifelong struggles over who they really are. It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves. Am I normal, or a deviant?
For a straight guy, the storyline provided a heart-touching look behind the veil of homosexuality in a day where closets were not just for storing clothes but a place to house one’s darkest secrets. And just when you thought it was safe to come out, an ax-wielding caricature of holiday goodness leaps from the shadows to spoil your parade!
First of a 9-part series
The Deviant #1 is the first of a 9-part series and a definite must-have for Tynion fans and everyone else who’s up for a terrifyingly brutal Christmas romp. It’ll hit shelves on November 15, 2023. Merry Christmas!
The Deviant by James Tynion and Joshua Hixson – product details
Official Synopsis: 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.
“The Deviant is something a little different,” said Tynion IV. “A dark, focused psychological crime thriller where I get to explore the intersection of my queer identity and a broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance. This is my response to Silence of the Lambs and Jeffrey Dahmer serving as my first real glimpses of my queer identity as a young closeted Midwestern boy. It’s one of the darkest and most personal stories I’ve ever written. It’s also a story about Christmas.”
Hixson added: “The Deviant is the kind of book I’ve been wanting to make for a long time. While I’ve been no stranger to the horror genre in my career of making comics, this story scratches a particular itch and is unlike anything I’ve been a part of. And to get to do it with James, Steve, and Hassan at Image Comics has been so creatively rewarding. I’m really excited for people to read it this holiday season.”
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: November 15, 2023
Page Count: 52 pages
Cover Price: $5.99
Writers: James Tynion IV
Artists: Joshua Hixson
Letterers: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover Artists: Joshua Hixson, Martin Simmonds, Andrea Sorrentino, Sean Phillips, Christian Ward
