Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta vol. 1: A Darkness Surrounds Him
It’s clear from his comics work that Robert Kirkman is still not satisfied with what he has achieved. Despite “The Walking Dead” enjoying unbelievable success as an ongoing comic and TV show, and with “Invincible” being one of the longest-running creator-owned superhero titles out there, the writer still keeps trying to capture lightning in a bottle one more time. His efforts up to this point have been kind of a mixed bag: “The Astounding Wolf-Man” was alright, I never read his kids series “Super Dinosaur,” and he appears to have handed “Thief of Thieves” over to Andy Diggle full-time. With “Outcast,” Kirkman returns to the genre that he made the biggest splash in to tell a much different story. It’s a promising start, yet I’m not entirely convinced about its long-term prospects.
Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demons all his life. Not in the metaphorical sense, and not in a way he can talk about with most other people. First his mother, and then his wife were possessed by demons and Kyle has suffered for it because who would ever believe such a story? One person who does is the local pastor in his town, Reverend Anderson. After the son of one of the members of his congregation starts displaying disturbing, violent out-of-the-ordinary behavior, the Reverend asks Kyle to help him with an exorcism of the child. Kyle reluctantly agrees and finds out that the demons not only remember him, but also have their own name for the man: Outcast. What does it mean? Only the Devil himself may know.
What success this first volume has comes down to Azaceta and his art. It’s very moody, immersive work that keeps the reader in a constant state of unease. There aren’t any instances of the real world being warped by the supernatural in his art — things like that really get to me when they’re done right — but Azaceta creates a very grounded and believable world within the context of this first volume. I wasn’t scared, yet I was still creeped out when the supernatural aspects made their presence known. Also worth noting is the artist’s skill with conveying the characters’ emotions, particularly in the small square inset panels which are present on nearly every page. It winds up being an effective stylistic tic here.
The fact that I’m bringing up the art first shouldn’t be taken as a sign that Kirkman’s writing is weak here. Just that it feels like Azaceta is setting the tone and defining the style here. Kirkman’s work here is very much in line with what we’ve seen from him on “The Walking Dead” and “Invincible” so if you’ve got issues with his verbose, explanatory style then you’re going to have the same problem here. I’ve always felt that Kirkman has done a good job with his explanations, making sure all the key points in his narrative are clear, and I think that holds true here. Not only does he have to set up Kyle’s tortured history, but also the rules of how demonic possession and the means with which to fight against them are going to work in this series. By the end of the volume, Kyle emerges as a well-developed character with a purpose that will help drive future stories in this title.
As to what form these stories will take, that’s a potential dealbreaker. While “Outcast” establishes that demons are real and Kyle has the means to combat their possession of normal humans, it also introduces another element that suggests the scope of the conflict here is going to be much larger than what’s shown here. In fact, it almost seems like the battle here will become downright biblical in nature before it’s all over. What we see here is engaging in an “ordinary people struggle against extraordinary evil” setting, yet the implication is that this setup is going to be demolished as the series continues. Does Kirkman really plan on turning this title into a showdown between Kyle and the Devil for the souls of humanity? As it seems at odds with the story being set up here, I certainly hope not..
Regardless of where things go from here, Kirkman and Azaceta have given us an effective horror story with this opening volume. Kyle is a sympathetic, engaging protagonist and certainly someone whose struggles look like they’ll be worth following as things go on. Whether or not they’ll be exorcised (*rimshot*) by the expanding scope of the title remains to be seen. Kirkman and Azaceta are on good form with this opening volume, so they give the impression that things may turn out alright in the end.