Kirkman's Outcast

[Patrick]

Anybody else reading Robert Kirkman's Outcast from Image?

I read the first year or so of it before I fell out of comics for a while, and was really impressed with the art by Paul Azaceta and the colouring by Elizabeth Breitweiser. Since I got drawn back in, I've caught up with the collected editions, and I'm just as impressed with the writing -  it reads much better in longer chunks.

It's about a young guy called Kyle who's a pariah in his hometown because everybody thinks he beat his now-estranged wife and daughter. In fact, his wife was possessed by a demon-like entity and he was defending his daughter from her. His touch has the power to cast out the demons (usually involving considerably violence), but they seem to be attracted them to people close to him - his mother was possessed when he was a child and abused him. He eventually cast the demon out of her, but put her in a coma.

These possessions are on the increase, and the local pastor, Reverend John Anderson, who has an unshakeable faith in God even if he doesn't like him very much, is convinced they are actual demons from hell. Kyle doesn't believe in God, and wants to know what the demons are and what they want with him. The demons recognise him, and call him "Outcast" - either because he can cast them out, or because he's an outcast from his community, or both, or something else.

The storytelling is quite "decompressed" - it spends a lot of time on moments, which is great for building atmosphere and character, but means you don't get a lot of story per issue - that's why it reads better in collections. I haven't read much else from Kirkman - not a zombie fan, so I avoided The Walking Dead - but I'm very impressed with the slow build he's done in this series. We're close to the end - the most recent issue is 44, and Kirkman has announced that the series will end with issue 48 - and it's definitely building to a climax.

The art and colouring are fantastic - they're what drew me to the series. Paul Azaceta is a very naturalistic artist, not a million miles from David Mazzuchelli's stuff, probably heavily photo-referenced, with a heavy brush line that's full of character and gets looser as the series goes on. Elizabeth Breitweiser colours it in flat shapes with a textured, dry-brush effect, and very autumnal colours that break out into intense, bright colours in hightened moments. There's a fantastic sense of place - the small rural town it's set in is very convicingly rendered. A couple of examples from the first issue:





The covers are also awesome. My favourite is this one, from Volume 4:

[Patrick]

It occurs to me that one of the reasons I like Outcast so much is it reminds me of one of my favourite book illustrators, Margery Gill, who used to do fantastic hand-separated lithographic book jackets:

[Rately]

It's a beautiful colouring job, and lovely art.

I was aware of the book through the TV series, but never watched it. Might pick up the trades based on your recommendation and add them to the large pile in the bedroom corner that are blocking me from the bedside table.

[Tjm86]

I've got the first three volumes in TP.  Did quite enjoy them and would agree with the analysis of the artwork.  I made the 'mistake' of watching the TV adaptation and found I couldn't get on with it which I think stalled me a bit on the series.  I've been meaning to go back to it and have another go.

[Patrick]

Haven't seen the TV version, but generally I find American TV tends to be very heavy handed - there's no subtlety, they bash you over the head with everything, and the lighting is always really dark. The TV adaptation of American Gods was much grimmer and harder work than the book. The adaptation of Good Omens got the tone just right, but it was made by Brits.

[Colin YNWA]

I got the first volume as part of a Humble Bundle at some point and read it a while ago. I agree the art was great but for whatever reason I just didn't get on with the story, mind that is often the case with Kirkman and me. I found it quite tired, which is weird as your description makes it sound great!

[Patrick]

It's a slow build. I read seven volumes and two issues over a couple of evenings, and the more I read the harder it was to put down.