There’s a very specific kind of excitement that comes with hearing James Tynion IV is doing a Christmas story, because you already know it’s not going to be cozy. A Christmas story from James Tynion IV? That was an instant must-read.
The Deviant
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: James Tynion IV
Cover & Interior Artist: Joshua Hixson
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Dates: November 2023 – March 2025
One of Horror Comics’ Best, Working at the Top of His Game
James Tynion IV is one of our favorite writers, and The Deviant is another strong addition to his already impressive lineup. Whether it’s Spectregraph, W0rldtr33, or Something Is Killing the Children, he consistently delivers top-tier horror, and his resume outside horror is just as stacked, including major runs on Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League Dark, and the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy for DC. This time, he teamed up with artist Joshua Hixson, known for The Plot and Children of the Woods and the co-creator of Shanghai Red and The Black Woods, to bring a blood-soaked holiday tale.
This one is genuinely personal for Tynion too. He’s talked about how the series grew out of his own experience as a closeted kid in the Midwest, where Silence of the Lambs and the Jeffrey Dahmer case were some of his earliest, most confusing glimpses into his own queer identity, and the title itself is a direct nod to how homosexuality was once classified as a form of deviance. Hixson has said this is the kind of book he’d wanted to make for a long time, unlike anything else he’d worked on before. That combination of personal stakes and craft clearly paid off, The Deviant picked up Eisner Award nominations for Best Writer and Best Limited Series in 2025, and Horror News Network named it its Series of the Year for 2024. Issue #1 even sold out completely at the distributor level on its release day, forcing Image to rush out a reprint in time for the holidays.
What Is The Deviant About?
The story kicks off in Milwaukee, 1972, where a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus commits brutal murders against young men. Decades later, a troubled writer interviews the so-called Deviant Killer, who still claims he is innocent. But as Christmas approaches, the past resurfaces in terrifying ways. A new string of killings begins, forcing the writer to dig deeper into his own history and the secrets surrounding the case.
A Christmas Horror Story That Actually Earns the Season
I love anything Christmas, and horror stories set around the holidays are always a treat, but so many of them just borrow the aesthetic without doing anything with it, tinsel and snow as set dressing for a story that could happen any time of year. The Deviant doesn’t do that. The killer’s gruesome crimes perfectly fit the holiday themes (I mean, the use of the Christmas tree in that series is quite brilliant), and the whole book feels like it could only exist wrapped around this specific season, which is exactly what I want from holiday horror.
The character development was excellent, as usual with Tynion, giving each person enough time to breathe across the nine issues. Nine issues is a real commitment for a horror miniseries, and a lot of books that length start to sag somewhere in the middle, but this one uses the space well instead of padding it. I especially liked how the conversations between them unfolded, especially the ones with the Deviant Killer in prison, those scenes in particular carry a weight that a shorter series probably couldn’t have earned, making the mystery feel even more layered the deeper you get into it. And those bloody Santa kills? Absolutely brutal in the best way, the kind of imagery that’s genuinely upsetting without ever feeling gratuitous for its own sake.
A Long Wait, But Worth Every Minute
Now, the wait between issue #8 and issue #9? Let’s just say it felt like an eternity! Over five months! That’s an agonizing gap to sit with when you’re this deep into a mystery, especially with everything the book had been building toward by that point. It was tough, but the payoff in the final issue was worth every bit of that wait. The big reveal, along with the resolution, was handled so well and really tied everything together beautifully, like the perfect Christmas present, the kind of ending where you can look back at earlier issues and see exactly how carefully it was all set up from the start. The extra-long final issue was a fantastic conclusion, wrapping up the story in a way that felt satisfying and complete rather than rushed just to hit a page count.
The Deviant is available in collected editions, with Volume 1 already out and Volume 2 arriving in June. You have to read it!
More COMICS to Check Out
If The Deviant has you in the mood for more, we’ve covered a couple more worth your time. Yuletide is another holiday pick, digging into the folklore hiding underneath a small town’s obsession with Christmas. And Spectregraph, another fantastic horror book from Tynion, trades Christmas for a haunted coastal mansion and the secrets its late occultist owner left behind.
FAQ
Is The Deviant worth reading? Yes. It’s one of the best horror comics of the last few years, and the Eisner nominations and Horror News Network’s Series of the Year honor back that up.
Do you need to read anything before The Deviant? No. It’s a standalone nine-issue miniseries with no required reading beforehand.
Who is writing and drawing The Deviant? James Tynion IV writes the series, with art by Joshua Hixson and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
Is The Deviant a one-shot, miniseries, or ongoing series? It’s a nine-issue miniseries, running from November 2023 to March 2025.
Is The Deviant available in a collected edition? Yes. Volume 1 is out now, and Volume 2 arrives in June.
