Halloween may be lurking right
around the corner, but luckily for those of you, who enjoy the feeling of
something lurking under your bed at night, can get your quick fix of horror in
July. “But, July was last month,” you say? Of course it was, silly me. I wasn’t
completely sold with “Outcast,” at first, which should explain why I picked up
7 copies of the book, but it wasn’t until the second issue that came out this
past week that put my mind at ease about how good this story is going to be,
and with it came inspiration for me to review it. Many fans of “The Walking
Dead” will immediately recognize Kirkman’s name on the cover. It seems
everything this guy touches becomes gold, because not only did the first book
outsell “The Walking Dead” prior to its first printing, but Kirkman also wrote
a television adaptation for the story, and it was already purchased by Cinemax.
As a speculator, I am not entirely sure how this one slipped under my radar. It
wasn’t until the day of its release that I saw people posting in the forums
about this book and how it was selling out everywhere. I immediately ran out to
my comic shop that had them safely stored away behind the counter with a limit
of one per customer. After about a week went by and people began raising the
price on them with a 200% markup, I found a nice cache of them at another local
shop, The Game Haven. So, currently I am sitting on a Kirkman gold mine waiting
like the ever patient wine maker for fermentation. Although this probably isn’t
true, if you see a first printing of “Outcast” at cover price, I highly
recommend picking it up, if only for a really good read.
Do not be confused, this isn't "Nailbiter."
The first issue is an oversized
one, well worth the money, and it’s quite impressive to have a full story in
one book, but still manages to keep you wanting to know more in the end.
Kirkman is without a doubt, a very talented writer, and the story he brings us is
both appealing to audiences of the classic horror genre, and to skeptics who
may find possession to be completely farfetched; the introduction of the book
even starts with a forward by the author, explaining how the non-fictional
possibilities behind “The Walking Dead” are near nonexistent, but yet, the fear
of possession is a factual and recorded occurrence. From my personal point of
view, he does have a point; there are even biblically recorded accounts of
possession in the past, and although the evidence we have about possession is
questionable, in its own right, it is still considered taboo within certain
groups. This is a great example of how an author can play to his audience’s
fear and naivety on the subject, allowing him to make things up as he goes
along. Paul Azaceta is the artist working on “Outcast,” which looks absolutely
horrifying, but in the best way. Straying away from the traditional black and
white of “The Walking Dead,” the colors ranges from dark orange to dark greens
and blues that really set the tone for haunting images that will make you
retrace your steps through the story.
Going to the kitchen for a late night snack will never be the same again.
Now that issue 1 is going into a
second printing, (not my fault, I swear!) you can pick it up alongside issue 2
that just came out. In the first issue, the main character, Kyle Barnes, is a
guilt ridden individual that has a tormented past. Small glimpses of his
childhood begin to seep into the present as he is presented with a similar
incident of demonic possession of a young boy that he has encountered before.
Puzzle pieces begin to fall into place as you begin to realize how massive this
puzzle actually is. Kyle befriends a local pastor who requests Kyle’s presence
in the exorcism he is about to perform. What comes next is a series of
disturbing images that can only be best described by reading the book yourself.
The second book picks up shortly after the first, and begins to shed light on
previous events that took place in the first book that still remained
unanswered. What I have noticed with most #1 issue of a series is that they
like to be stand alone, almost testing the waters with readers, so to speak.
“Outcast” manages to absorb you and leave you to marinade in the paranoia that comes
from having to wait for next month’s issue; and for those of you who haven’t
read it yet, you should be thanking me for not getting you interested in this
book until the second issue was out. Happy reading!
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