After the creative team of James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson had been teasing their new series on social media over the past few days, Image Comics has revealed THE DEVIANT will release on November 15, 2023. The duo will be joined by letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for the nine-issue miniseries described as a pitch-black holiday horror story. THE DEVIANT #1 will feature a main cover by Hixson, as well as variants by Hixson, Martin Simmonds, Andrea Sorrentino, Christian Ward, Sean Phillips, and Lee Bermejo. In addition to the release date and cover artist news, the publisher also shared a preview of the first issue which you can see below!

“The Deviant is something a little different," said Tynion IV. "A dark, focused psychological crime thriller where I get to explore the intersection of my queer identity and a broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance. This is my response to Silence of the Lambs and Jeffrey Dahmer serving as my first real glimpses of my queer identity as a young closeted Midwestern boy. It’s one of the darkest and most personal stories I’ve ever written. It’s also a story about Christmas.”

Hixson added, “The Deviant is the kind of book i’ve been wanting to make for a long time. While I’ve been no stranger to the horror genre in my career of making comics, this story scratches a particular itch and is unlike anything I’ve been a part of. And to get to do it with James, Steve, and Hassan at Image Comics has been so creatively rewarding. I’m really excited for people to read it this holiday season.”

Image shared a brief synopsis to set up the series:

As snow falls over Milwaukee in 1972, a blood-stained Santa Claus commits unimaginable atrocities against young men. Fifty years later, a troubled young writer interviews this so-called "Deviant Killer," who still maintains his innocence from behind bars. And as Christmas approaches once again, the past returns, wielding a sharpened ax.