Outcast Volume 1: A Darkness Surrounds Him

More Comics
Outcast Volume 1: A Darkness Surrounds Him
By Hervé St-Louis
November 16, 2019 - 17:25

Image Comics
Skybound
Writer(s): Robert Kirkman
Artist(s): Paul Azaceta
Colourist(s): Elizabeth Breitweiser
Letterer(s): Rus Wooton
Cover Artist(s): Paul Azaceta, Elizabeth Breitweiser
ISBN: 978-1-63215-053-0
$9.99

In Outcast Kyle Barnes, a man haunted by his past as the victim of physical abuse from his mother and the perpetrator of an even wicked crime, beating his wife and daughter comes to grip with his powers as a person able to repel diabolical possessions in people. Aided with the local parish reverend, Barnes is on a quest to find out about this evil that shuns him but attempts to destroy his life.

I’m late to the party but I can still say that Robert Kirkman is a master of intrigues set in small towns and small worlds where the most banal things matter in the lives of people. Of course, the story read as a television epic with expert pacing and multiple plot threads that come to a head in the final issue of this first story arc. I’m not sure if I were living under a rock (I was) but having discovered this series, I can tell that it’s a good ride. I do feel somewhat manipulated in the slickness of the whole package.

I tried to check where individual issues broke down, assuming they were each 22-pages. It did not turn out this way. Paul Azaceta has long been a favourite of mine. He is a wonderful storyteller whose thick lines convey emotion and motion at once but without delving too much into details. If like me you just landed on planet Earth, do yourself a favour and try Outcast Volume One. The best part is that it seems to continue for several more volumes so it’s easy to binge read.

Rating: 9/10