For me this is Garth Ennis’s most impressive book. Thematically similar to Robert Kirkman’s 'The Walking Dead', 'Crossed' is the story of a dwindling group of survivors traversing an America ravaged by a virus which turns its victims into homicidal maniacs: dubbed the Crossed for the cruciform facial scarring that accompanies infection. Unlike the shambling Romero inspired roamers of Kirkman’s dead-world, the Crossed are a pitiless embodiment of human cruelty, often cunning as well as ferocious, given to raping their victims before dismemberment. Illustrated in gruesome detail by Jacen Burrows, Crossed will be something of a joy to gore fans, a grand-guignol take on the post-apocalypse tale which makes even the bleak, chilly nightmare of Cormac Mccarthy’s 'The Road' look tame in comparison.However, as with all the best horror stories, the gore has a point. Told through the eyes of Stan, a twenty-something member of a group under the leadership of fiercely protective single-mother and one-time waitress Cindy, 'Crossed' is a portrait of characters in extremity. In a world where the whole concept of society has no meaning and the only imperative is survival, the actions of Stan and his companions gradually come to resemble those of their psychopathic pursuers. This willingness to engage with the human capacity to overcome moral scruple finds its grimmest expression when Stan and Cindy gun down a group of children who have been educated in murder and cannibalism by their kindergarten teacher. Whilst this act clearly leaves an emotional scar, Stan and Cindy are not destroyed by their shared guilt and there is no wailing or gnashing of teeth.It is the relentless pursuit of the group by an unusually cunning pack of Crossed that gives the latter half of the book its dramatic drive and one of its few moments of humour in Burrow’s depiction of the pack traipsing through the Nevada desert singing ”We coulda’ been anything we wanted to be…” The tension as the reader nears the climax is palpable and there’s a sweaty-fingered reluctance to turn the page. Ennis has made us care about his flawed and morally damaged cast of characters, we want them to survive as much as they do. I won’t reveal whether we are presented with a happy or tragic ending in the final page of Crossed, but suffice to say it’s dramatically satisfying, which is all you could want from any story. The baddy hoards who've crossed aren't mindless zombies. Well some of them are, but the ones you really have to watch out for are calculating. In a world of hedonistic cannibal rapists a small band of survivors fights to survive. Lead by Cindy, the survivors best chance for survival is to stay off the Crossed radar. Less fight and more flight is the name of the game. We've seen these stories before in The Walking Dead. The artwork is "eh" and the images of the Crossed raping and pillaging reminds me of a middle school metal heads notebook drawings.Rec'd from Arcadian Comics in Newport, KY.
What do You think about Crossed, Volume 1 (2010)?
I Recommend For: Creepy peopleJust ew. Don't waste your time.
—Neko007
Hardcore. Most shocking comic I have ever read
—mags
