Outcast, Volume 6: Invasion Review (Robert Kirkman, Paul Azaceta)

A terrifying new foe appears in town – the most dangerous Kyle has faced yet: Rowland Tusk, intensely crazy businessman, who will hunt down the Outcast at all costs.

I keep waiting for Robert Kirkman’s Outcast series to get good – it took The Walking Dead about three books – but six volumes in and I’m still waiting! Not that Invasion is bad but it’s also extremely average.

And speaking of The Walking Dead, I’m noticing that Outcast seems to be weirdly morphing into that series. Tusk reminds me of The Governor, the first major villain in The Walking Dead, and the way Kyle and his group are setting up a fort against the building threat feels a lot like the settlements in the current Walking Dead storyline. There’s even a character here who looks exactly like Jesus! Hmm… I guess if it ain’t broke, eh, Kirkman? Still, it shows that he’s a very limited writer.

That said, the comparisons aren’t unfavourable – the Governor was a great bad guy and so is Tusk, who’s deffo the best part of this book. He rocks up to town with his family and then gets after Kyle – hard. He’s such a compelling new character who approaches everything with this buh-roo-tull attitude, whether he’s being attentive to his kids or dealing with flunkies who’ve lied to him. Imagine Terry Crews if he were evil – that’s Tusk!

I also really liked the miniature panels overlaying and connecting the larger panels, highlighting a transition or action smoothly without taking up any extra space on the page. It’s an inspired touch by Paul Azaceta. His art is still a bit too ink-heavy for my blood but I certainly don’t dislike it either.

Besides evil Terry Crews and the associated table-setting, there’s not a whole lot else going on, so it tends to get dull quite often, particularly the few scenes Kyle’s in. It ends strongly though, teasing a potentially brilliant next volume on the horizon.

Outcast gets a shot in the arm with an exciting new Big Bad but gets boring whenever he’s not around. Volume 6: Invasion is another alright addition to a still very mediocre title.