Get Caught Up On Robert Kirkman’s ‘Outcast’ Comics Before They Hit Television
The creator of ‘The Walking Dead’ tackles demonic possession in this series published by Image comics.
It’s good to be king.
Just ask Robert Kirkman. Having adapted his comic book series, The Walking Dead, into the biggest show on television right now, Kirkman could literally walk into the office of any production company in America and sell them on a TV show about killer toothbrushes.
Fortunately, Kirkman hasn’t tried to pull such a stunt, but he did manage to sell the TV series, Outcast, to Cinemax, before he even began writing the comic books upon which the show will be based.
#Cinemax picks up Robert Kirkman's #Outcast' for 10-episode serieshttp://t.co/WmRMil1K3F
— Filmworks (@MEGFilmworks) February 14, 2015
After hearing that he had written the script for the pilot before he had started writing the comic, I was curious to see if the comic series would suffer. Would the series come across as an after-thought?
Shame on me for even asking that question: having purchased Robert Kirkman’s Outcast Volume I using my ComiXology app (Volume I collects the first six issues in the series), I dove right in and couldn’t stop reading until I ran out of pages.
Two-Minute Plot
The series follows Kyle Barnes, a man who somehow possesses the power to exorcise demons from the afflicted. Unfortunately for Kyle, a few demonic possessions have hit a bit too close to home, as he had to deal with first his mother, and then his wife, falling under the control of the evil beings.
As you might expect, Kyle is haunted by the past, and reluctant to get involved with any exorcisms. Putting your mother in the hospital and having everyone in town think you beat up your wife and daughter will do that to you. However, a string of demonic possessions force Kyle to begin searching for answers – why does he have the power to exorcise demons? And why are so many possessions occurring close to him? – even though his search is attracting the attention of none other than Satan himself.
So How Is It?
In a word: Outcast is great.
Kirkman and Azaceta have created a fascinating hero in Kyle Barnes, a good man with a gift that he doesn’t understand, a gift that has both saved and hurt a few people he loves. The series uses flashbacks to gradually reveal how he came to discover that demons were real, and his troubled conscience provide him with the perfect motivation to seek answers now that he has come to terms with his past. Barnes is a hero worth pulling for, kind of like a John Constantine without the penchant for tricking his friends as a means to an end.
The horror factor is nice and high in this series, too, as the demons force their hosts to perform some nasty actions that only escalate in their gruesomeness as the series progresses. In one scene, a possessed young boy begins to nibble on his finger, while another event involves a possessed man biting the tongue of his best-friend’s wife in half and then apologizing profusely after his friend finds his wife murdered.
Cool stuff.
If you’re into comics and have not put this series on your radar yet, do so now.
Robert Kirkman’s ‘Outcast’ will be a ten-episode series, premiere date TBD. We’ll let you know when more news leaks out!