The Deviant (2023), Volume 1

Hannibal meets Silent Night, Deadly Night in this pitch-black holiday horror story that cuts right through our most taboo notions. As snow falls over Milwaukee in 1972, a blood-stained Santa Claus commits unimaginable atrocities against young men. Fifty years later, a troubled young writer interviews this so-called Deviant Killer, who still maintains his innocence from behind bars. And as Christmas approaches once again, the past returns, wielding a sharpened ax. Multiple Eisner Award-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (W0RLDTR33, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and acclaimed artist JOSHUA HIXSON (The Plot, Children of the Woods unite for a psychological crime thriller that explores the intersection of queer identities and a broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance. Collects THE DEVIANT #1-4 Select praise for THE DEVIANT: One of the most impressive fi rst issues of a comic book we've had in 2023. JAMES TYNION and JOSHUA HIXSON knock it out of the park creating story you can't help but be immersed by. This may be the most terrifying version of Santa Clause we have seen. It's definitely a must read for fans of horror. —Comic Book Revolution There's something truly haunting and chilly about THE DEVIANT, not unlike Robert Eggers' The Witch. Mood and tension come together in an excellent opening issue that's filled with unease. There's a hopelessness that rings throughout that makes it hard to put this book down. - AIPT Horror and Christmas don't overlap much in popular culture, but this creative team has masterfully blended the two here—while throwing in an homage to The Silence of the Lambs. —Comicon A creepy, terrifying read in the mode of THE CLOSET. And JOSHUA HIXSON's design for the main killer character is terrifying. -Comic Book Club podcast