Review: Crossed: May Speculative Fiction Challenge
Crossed Volume 1 by Garth EnnisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"In the blink of an eye, humanity is lost. The Crossed are upon us. Men, women and children alike fall victim to the mystery infection... Now, a small band of survivors make their cautious way across a deserted America existing in a state of constant terror.."
Garth Ennis is one of my favorite Comic Writers, but initially I avoided The Crossed. Something about the covers bothered me. The grinning viscous faces of The Crossed are extremely disturbing. Im a huge Horror fan but felt a strong aversion to this book. As the issues continued to be released I heard great acclaim for the series and strong recommendations, yet I continued to resist it.
One of my favorite Twitter friends is also a huge comics fan and in our conversations, again The Crossed came up. On May 1st while visiting a comics shop for Free Comic Book Day. I decided to pick up a copy of the trade paperback.
All my fears and aversions about this book proved correct, but there is so much more to Crossed than violent acts. Firstly though lets get this out of the way: Crossed is NOT for the faint of heart. There are acts of violence, rape, torture, you are held spellbound buy the intensity of these scenes,it is impossible to look away. These acts are illustrated in unflinching detail by the sharp, crisp, vivid art of Jacen Burrows.
Twice I had to put this book down. Once I walked outside in the sunlight, the second time I found my self watching the silliest, happiest show I could find. But I returned. It is the quiet moments between the horror of daily existence that Crossed shines. As the uninfected cross paths, sharing food, stories and information about the world around them. Crossed explores the drive of man to survive. What would you do to protect the life of your child? What makes us want to fight to survive? and What situations would make us want to embrace death?
The crossed themselves are horrifying. More so because they ARE us. The infection along with their facial changes, releases every violent urge and desire that man fights daily in the civilized world. The infection burns like a fever infecting all with the urge to hurt and kill,they will even turn on themselves if no uninfected are around to feed their need for violence.
The small band of survivors form a plan to head North hoping to reach Alaska where they are hoping to find less infected and hopefully safety.
As time passes and their journey continues the necessities of living in this violent world require a heavy toll on them and their humanity. There are unexpected moments of true beauty in this book and like all great horror Crossed shakes you up mentally and emotionaly. It isn't an easy read but it is rewarding. I don't know if I will ever read this book again but I know I will never forget it .
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This is the First of My May Reviews for Book Chick City's Speculative Fiction Challenge
My Goal is 3 books per month :)
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