COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Outcast #1

Outcast is an all new horror title from the man himself, Robert Kirkman. This book caused scores of rushed frenzy to the shop as people picked up 10 copies a piece hoping to cash in on anything Kirkman related. The question is, do we have another Walking Dead on our hands, or will this book not live up to the buzz of having the creator’s name attached to it. You know what? Who gives a crap? Was it any good? That’s why you guys are here. Well, the short answer is, it was okay.

There were definitely some cool things going on there. I mean, got dang, the kid gnawed his finger off! The concept behind the book is pretty cool as well. I’m always up for some good ole’ demon hunting. Plus the main character, Kyle, has this whole creepy Constantine thing going on, but without the charisma. It also has real potential for a nice little buddy story to develop between Kyle and the Rev. Who doesn’t like a great buddy story. The brother in law thread was also done well and that could definitely add a nice layer of plot to the book.

There were a few things that bugged me about the book though. And after reading it a second time I still had a hard time with a few things. What the hell was that crazy essence transfer thingy going on between Kyle and the demons? Or more so how did it seemingly not affect him in anyway after? I mean what the hell? And what happened to Kyle’s mom? The reverend asked Kyle to help the boy like he did for his mom, but from what I can gather things didn’t end well for her. And his ex-wife as well, how did she get better? Kyle has this cloud hanging over him from incidents that occurred with his ex. I understand why he did what he did, but obviously beating her silly wasn’t the answer as it didn’t help Josh. We caught a glimpse of her, but they never show her face, which makes me suspicious. Maybe she is still possessed. Lastly the ultimate weapon against the demons was revealed, Kyle’s blood. So is he going to have to open up a vein on these suckers every time from now on? Are they going to synthesize his blood and weaponize it? I mean, it would suck to have to go around cutting yourself open and bleeding on everybody to exorcise their demons. Hopefully all of these questions will be answered in future issues, but for now I am just left scratching my head and wondering.

Now for the art…the art is grade A stuff here. It almost borders on Mignola-ish, but it hits all the right cues. It’s creepy, dark and muted. Kyle looks ever pathetic which helps to endear our protagonist to the reader even more; and how about that demon? Talk about some twisted stuff right there. Azaceta does the big over the top moments well while still nailing the small things like facial expressions.