The Deviant #5: Awakening

The police have found the new Deviant KIller. Or have they? Following last issue’s shocking conclusion that revealed a bloody Santa suit in Michael’s closet, The Deviant #5 explores a critical moment in Michael’s past. But a moment of self discovery in his youth may have left him as the perfect suspect for murder.

The year is 1999 when The Deviant #5 opens. Michael is a teenager living in Milwaukee. He and his friend are looking up a web page on the “Deviant Killer.” This leads them to a webpage with gay pornography. The interaction gets awkward when Michael gets aroused. When his friend excuses himself to the bathroom, Michael appears to start pleasuring himself. Shortly afterward, Michael convinces his friend to bike to the killer’s old house, empty and graffitied. But when the pair arrives, Michael has more plans than to just look from the outside.

The Deviant #5 brings much needed context for Michael. The series previously established that Michael’s development was tied to the “Deviant Killer” and his house. Tynion ties it all together here, connecting Michael’s early moments of awakening with specific actions related to the house in a way that explains not just why he’d have such interest in writing about the killer but also why he would be a logical suspect for the present-day murders. To this point, the most significant developments for Michael came via conversations featuring Michael’s boyfriend. There’s almost a sense of relief in receiving this formative information.

There are also strange parallels in Michael’s moments of self-discovery in The Deviant #5 and most people’s more ordinary self-discovery. Michael’s is spurned on not necessarily by plain physical or emotional attraction, but the same kind of “Ah-ha” moment happens. The series has already established that Michael isn’t heterosexual, but the issue posits that part of that realization came via what he learns about the “Deviant Killer.” This also explains his preoccupation with true crime. Tynion has created a complex character that appears to be twisted up on his own sense of self.

Learning more about Michael also advances the murder plot. There are no new developments as such. But the possibility, even likelihood, of Michael being the present day killer is real in a way that it wasn’t even as recently as the previous issue.

Hixson’s art accentuates Michael’s moment of self-discovery. A complex blend of emotions play across young Michael’s face throughout the issue–excitement and curiosity mixed with shame and doubt. But it isn’t just through facial expressions that Hixson communicates Michael’s feelings. Michael’s gestures start off somewhat open as he and his friend look at the computer and interact, but he is closed off as soon as he is alone and acting on his impulses.

There is a recurring color choice that further connects young Michael’s development to the present day suspicions. When young Michael stares at the computer screen, the light is reflected off his glasses. The effect repeats near the end of the issue when present day Michael stares at a small Christmas tree.

Otsmane-Elhaou effectively advances both a change in emotion and power dynamic as the issue goes on. In the early pages, as young Michael first sees the webpages, his dialogue repeatedly appears in bubbles that are more scribbled than symmetrical with wavy trails pointed toward him. The appearance of his friend’s dialogue is traditional. In the final pages of the young Michael sequence, that dialogue style is used for Michael’s friend while Michael’s is traditional.