Crossed vol. 14: Homo Tortor

Kieron Gillen’s arc of this series comes with two narratives.  The one that takes place 75,000 years ago hinges on the scientific fact that mankind was on the verge of extinction at the time with potentially as few as 2,000 humans alive.  While the eruption of a supervolcano and the resulting climate change it caused is thought to be the reason for this, that’s not the whole truth.  No, the real reason is that there was a brutal empire of blood red-skinned humans dedicated to raping and torturing everyone who was not them!  We get an up close look at this empire through the perspective of a young tribal man and his friends who are kidnapped and brought to its heart for bloodsport.  As for the one that takes place in the present, it concerns an anthropologist who claimed to have found proof of this ancient empire.  Though he was ridiculed for his theories, one of his students recalls his work and convinces a group of survivors to track down the man’s research in the hopes that it might lead to a cure for the Crossed plague.

If you think that the present day story isn’t going to end badly, then I welcome you to “Crossed” and recommend that you start reading with the Garth Ennis-written first volume of the series.  Which is still the best of them.  Gillen’s effort is one of the better stories not written by the title’s creator as it manages to avoid wallowing in gore, violence, and general depravity for their own sakes.  There’s still plenty of these things — this is “Crossed” after all — with people being turned into living chairs being one of the more memorable bits.  However, if you’re wondering about the logic about how an empire of psychopaths exists  within the world of “Crossed,” Gillen has you covered.  You’ll just have to stick around to the end to find out.  The writer also downplays his trademark wit in the story, using it mainly to deliver some morbid and/or pitch black humor.

Art comes from Rafa Ortiz.  The best thing I can say about his work here is that it gets the job done.  He’s decent with the violent bits and character drama, but there’s a lack of refinement to his style that undermines the visuals.  If you told me that this was his first major comics work, I would not be surprised.  While he’s got potential as an artist, the double-page splashes meant to show the scale of the ancient empire show that he’s got a ways to go.  At least there’s still enough depth here for me to recommend this volume to fans of “Crossed” thanks to Gillen’s writing.  It’s not one of his best works, but it’s another reminder that he can do worthwhile work outside of the genres that made him famous.