Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, image comics, invincible, Outcast #1, Paul Azaceta, robert kirkman, The Walking Dead

How Not To Miss The Arrival Of The Next Big Thing: Read Outcast #1

By Shawn Perry

What can I say about Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta's Outcast #1 that hasn't already been said? Well, it is a great book I picked up because this is one party I did not want to be late for, and the first issue left me confident that the Kirkman machine had once again churned out another hit. It has already been optioned for television and judging by the stellar first issue this series will be around for a while so this is a good one to pick up!

Now unlike a lot of you other Bleeders out there, I have only seen a few episodes of The Walking Dead. Well, let's say I have seen a few marathons but I fell off the wagon after the Governor storyline and just haven't found the time to come back between House of Cards and comforting reruns of Parks and Recreation. Now please don't burn me at the stake because I do read the comics and enjoy what I have seen of the show!

As Julz Hendricks said in her review of Outcast on Bleeding Cool, the reason I find it difficult to join the party that is the television series is that I am honestly intimidated by how much there is to catch up on and how passionate the fans are about the program.  It's not as fun when you're late, and personally, I find it a lot harder to join a party that has already been rocking for years on end than a relatively new one.

That being said, The Walking Dead is an once-in-a-lifetime cultural event akin to The Grateful Dead that transcended the media of comic books and serialized television. It marks a special moment in time when cultures combined and one of the biggest crossover hits was born. Did you really ever think that a comic book of the horror genre would become one of the most popular television shows ever? Well, even if you did, it surprised a lot of people and left many of them wanting more and, for whatever reason – either the desire to please his millions of fans, the desire to earn millions of dollars or just because he felt like doing it– Kirkman decided to dip back into the horror pot for a new series that will have one of the biggest built-in audiences ever.

So, yeah, expectations might be a little high.

Personally, I found the first issue of Outcast to be an exciting and engaging introduction into this new world that left me filled with questions that I can't wait to see explored! As you would expect, the tone of the series is similar to The Walking Dead in that you see people confronting some truly horrifying shish kebab with the sort of grounded touch that only a really skilled writer/artist duo can do effectively.  Kirkman is at the top of his game here – which, in my opinion, is where he has been since Invincible – while Azeceta's art matches the tone perfectly, and boy does he know how to leave a strong impression when things get hairy which, incidentally, they do quickly.

What fascinates me the most about this series is that it will focus on what are, to me, the most terrifying subjects in the horror/supernatural lexicon: evil spirits. Zombies and vampires might sell more media but they are never what keeps me up in the middle of the night because they aren't real…but the thought of being possessed by an evil spirit is something that really does scares me and Kirkman echoes that point in a message to his readers at the end of the book. In addition, he also makes it clear that his story will not be subject to deontological attitudes or religious imperialism despite the very spiritual nature of its content, or as he put it:

Zombies are not real…and never will be. And an apocalyptic scenario, we hope, is just as unrealistic. The scariest things are REAL. There is evidence that supports the possibility that demonic possession is very much real.

I don't want to use this page to get into a larger religious debate, but I know there are a lot of first-hand accounts out there that paint a very strange and terrifying picture. So without making this a pro-religion or anti-religion book in any way…my goal is to explore this phenomenon in a fictional story…in an effort to look at all the angles and y'know…entertain people."

So while I started THE WALKING DEAD series by saying it WASN'T a horror comic…there is an attempt in these pages to up the creep factor, and hopefully get some real scares out of people…

If Kirkman still does not consider The Walking Dead horror, I shudder to think what he has planned here long-term…I digress.  In the first issue, Kirkman introduces to two characters who perform their first exorcism together – one is a man of god, Reverend Anderson, and the other a jaded rationalist, Kyle Barnes, who has a tragic penchant for encountering evil spirits that has haunted him all his life.  The back-story of Barnes looks to be ripe with creepy possibilities but I am not going to tell you anything more other than that I doubt he has taken part in his last exorcism.

Bottom line, pick up this book as soon as possible and be able to say you joined the party from the start because I would be willing to bet it's going to be a good one – nuff said!

Shawn Perry is a comic book and film enthusiast striving to be here now.  He currently resides in East Hartford, Connecticut. Tweet him @thesperry and feel free to email at Shawn.Perry88@gmail.com.

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