Multiple Eisner Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (W0RLDTR33, The Department of Truth) and acclaimed artist Joshua Hixson (The Plot, Children of the Woods), and award-winning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou unite for a pitch-black holiday horror story in The Deviant. This chilling, nine-issue miniseries is set to launch in November from Image Comics.
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.
“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.”
The Deviant #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 15:
THE DEVIANT #2 (OF 9)
Arriving: December 20, 2023
Lunar Code: 1023IM305
Diamond ID:BUY
Cover price: $3.99
The Deviant Killer was apprehended half a century ago. So who’s behind the grisly slaying of a young man in a Chicago department store…and why does Michael see so much of himself in the man locked behind bars for the original murders? JAMES TYNION IV (W0RLDTR33) and JOSHUA HIXSON (The Plot) cut deeper into their Christmas horror tale, just in time for the holidays.
THE DEVIANT #3 (OF 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: January 17, 2024
Lunar Code: 1123IM268
Diamond ID:
Age Rating: MBUY
Cover price: $3.99
The only police officer to get close to the Deviant Killer in ’72 took an ax to his face…and lived. But when that same officer starts tracking down possible leads, will the primary suspect survive the encounter? The winter nights stretch on as JAMES TYNION IV (DRACULA) and JOSHUA HIXSON (The Plot) continue their snow-swept horror story.
THE DEVIANT #4 (OF 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: February 14, 2024
Lunar Code: 1223IM267
Diamond ID:
Age Rating: MBUY
Cover price: $3.99
When Michael Schmitz decided to turn his lifelong fascination with the Deviant Killer into a comic book, he didn’t realize the process would bring him so close to the abyss. Now, as new blood spills in a decades-old story, Michael discovers that he might already be in too deep.
J’ai lu les quatre premiers numéros, ça me tombe des mains. Trop de blabla. Ça devient un peu le problème de Tynion, j’ai eu le même soucis avec W0RLDTR33.
THE DEVIANT #5 (OF 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: May 8, 2024
Lunar Code: 0324IM221
Age Rating: MBUY
Cover price: $3.99
Michael Schmitz is working on a book about the man imprisoned for the grisly slaying of two teenage boys fifty years ago. But for Michael, the Deviant Killer isn’t just his subject, but an obsession—one that changed the course of his childhood. THE DEVIANT returns as Michael’s connection to these gruesome slaying begins to unravel.
THE DEVIANT #6 (OF 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: June 12, 2024
Lunar Code: 0424IM263
Age Rating: MBUY
Cover price: $3.99
One of the grimmest chapters in Milwaukee’s history repeats itself as the law descends on Michael Schmitz, eerily echoing the Deviant Killer’s arrest half a century ago. But is Michael the copycat murderer…or just another outsider primed to take the blame for an act of horror he didn’t commit?
THE DEVIANT #7 (OF 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: August 7, 2024
Lunar Code: 0524IM286
Age Rating: MBUY
Cover price: $3.99
With Michael accused of being a depraved copycat killer, Derek struggles to put together the clues to clear his partner’s name. And the only person he can turn to for help is Randall Olsen…the man convicted as the original Deviant Killer.
Arriving: October 2, 2024
Lunar Code: 0624IM284
Age Rating: M
Cover price: $3.99The police are sure that Michael is guilty. Derek is convinced that he’s not. And if Derek is right, that means the killer responsible for the grisly murders is still on the loose…and is very, very unhappy that Derek is getting closer to unraveling the truth.
Writer
James Tynion IV
Artist
Joshua Hixson
Cover A
Joshua Hixson
Cover B
Letizia Cadonici
The Deviant #9 (of 9)
Series: The Deviant
Arriving: December 26, 2024
Lunar Code: 0824IM364
Age Rating: MBuy
Cover price: $3.99
MINISERIES FINALE
Fifty years ago, circumstantial evidence was enough to convict the man locked behind bars as the original Deviant Killer. Now, as history threatens to repeat itself, Derek will stop at nothing to clear his boyfriend’s name. Because Derek knows the truth behind the new Deviant Killer…and the new Deviant Killer knows that Derek knows.