REVIEW: The Deviant #6 by James Tynion (W) and Joshua Hixson (A)
This is the law of The Deviant #6: The System did it once, the System will do it again.
If you want to know why Grimdark Magazine is reviewing The Deviant #6, then the above is the one abiding lesson you can take away from reading this comic.
Once the System has it in your sights, no matter the strength of your alibi, the certainty of your memory, the fact that with your own eyes you’ve seen evidence contrary to what the System is preparing to the crash down on your head, you can’t win. It’s as simple as that. The System owns you body and soul, and with no reason other than it can, it will incarcerate you for the rest of your life, or better yet, yoke you to a gurney and pump you full of chemicals until the baying mob is satisfied.
Until the next victim comes along, with the gun sights of the System firmly aimed at their back.
The Deviant #6 is one long howl of frustrated fury at the way Michael, the protagonist of this series thus far, is treated by the law. He’s not really seen in this issue. It is only his partner Derek who firmly believes that Michael is being set up for a murder he didn’t commit. Michael’s divorced parents think he did it, mutual friends of Michael and Derek think he did it, and the district attorney, the very embodiment of the System, definitely believes he did it.
The very definition of cosmic horror is Creation’s indifference to humanity’s existence. The Deviant #6 narrows the viewpoint to a relatively mundane murder mystery in the American Midwest, but the idea still applies. The System, embodying all arms of the tentacular nightmare that is the American ‘justice’ system, is completely indifferent to those it hunts. Indeed, it cares just as little for the victim, their families, and the devastation all involved suffer. All it cares about is results (and the votes of a permanently frightened populace) and even then, whether the ‘result’ is the right one or not isn’t particularly contemplated to any great degree.
As always, there’s a barely suppressed fury in James Tynion’s scripting. The injustice of what is happening bubbles away under the surface, eating away at friendships and the sense of what is really fair and just in society. Michael’s partner Derek is the embodiment of this fury, lashing out at Michael’s parents for seemingly being willing to believe their son is a crazed murderer, while listening uncomprehendingly as a mutual friend lays out in precise detail why Michael is the killer. It’s a masterclass in methodical plotting and writing, allowing the emotions to spill onto the page in concentrated bursts that are revealing as they are authentic.
And as usual, Joshua Hixson’s artwork never misses the mark. The wintry setting, cold and dark and shadowy, perfectly complements the bleak mood of The Deviant #6. A lack of clear lines plus the muddy colouring create a world where there are no lines of demarcation, where the System does what it wants because it can, despite evidence to the contrary, and where the lives of the innocent are thus forfeit. The Deviant #6 is a compelling story, one that builds on the earlier issues to great effect, and well worth your time.
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