Outcast vol. 6: Invasion

The slow-y burn-y approach of “Outcast” continues unabated in this volume as a major new character makes his debut.  Rowland Tusk has just moved to the town of Rome and is dealing with the usual headaches that such a thing entails.  A wife who has to deal with the unpacking, kids who are uneasy about going to a new school, and getting acquainted with the rhythms of small-town life.  Why has Tusk come to Rome? He’s the replacement for the late and unmourned Sidney, sent to make sure all of the possessed citizens are taken care of and that nothing gets in the way of the upcoming merge.  Top of his to-do list is finding the Outcast, Kyle Barnes who has gone to ground with his friends and family in the rural countryside. They’ve also been attracting a rather large congregation of refugees from the goings-on in Rome who they may wind up having to turn into an army sooner rather than later now that Tusk is coming for them.

Tusk makes a pretty great first impression as he’s shown to be a great dad who genuinely cares about his wife and kids.  Later in the day, after confronting one of his minions who has let an individual in the early stages of possession escape, he rips out the man’s tongue as punishment.  Charming and ruthless in equal measure and the parts of this volume that focus on him are the most engaging ones. It’s too bad that the end of this volume implies he’s about to be one-upped by someone even more sinister, but Kirkman clearly sees the finale of vol. 6 as a major raising of the stakes for the story.  In the nick of time too, if I’m being honest. The parts of the story focusing on Kyle and company really feel like they’re marking time waiting for the finale to set up a tense new status quo and some potential allies. So I’m left hoping that everything that this volume sets up results in vol. 7 finally (FINALLY) turns “Outcast” into a must-read series for me instead of one that’s only good enough to keep me reading.