Suspense, Isolation, and Heart: An Advanced Review of Sons of the Devil #1

With one eye of red and the other blue, main character Travis Crowe lives life troubled by his years spent bouncing in and out of foster homes. Struggling to hold onto a job as a mechanic and juggling his personal baggage while feebly attempting to be the boyfriend he should be, Travis can’t seem to find grasp toward establishing a normal life.
Making the character even more intriguing is his innate goodness, which is hidden below his anger that serves as a blockade from that which he sees as a threat. In fact, the length he goes to help a lost child reunite with his parents leads to his suspension from work–it was the name calling and head butting his boss that got him fired…
But even through his punishment Travis’ good nature is showcased. Instead of calling for his incarceration, his boss recommends  a sentence of anger management counseling, and the judge fully obliges.
However, matters are made even more complicated when his “brother” (the son of his late foster parent) Klay, a private investigator specializing in matching orphans with their families, discovers Travis’ father may have been found. The evidence, a photograph of a man with a similar build and familiar eye color: one red, one blue.
But is the trail to reunion peppered with danger? Lurking in the comics’ peripheral is a sinister cult–likely Satanic when considering the series’ title. Stretching back to Travis’ infantism, the cult has always been attached to his life. Starting with a visit to Klay, they are about to become a major part in Travis’ life.
Up and coming artist Toni Infante takes the reins for the art. His style appears a mix between Jason Latour’s grittiness and modern manga, and it could not look any better! With the influx of established creators leading the revolutionary direction for Image Comics, it is great to see the publisher remaining a strong supporter of new talent. This will not be the last we see from Infante.
My biggest complaint with the issue is the lack of Travis’ girlfriend’s name. It’s not like we don’t see her enough that it wouldn’t come up. Perhaps this was a creative choice by Buccelleto showing the distance Travis places between them. I’d rather believe that to simply forgetting to mention it.
Overall, this was a strong debut issue for the series. Slightly unexpected (though not entirely considering some of his work on Detective Comics) is Buccelleto’s ability to craft such a great suspenseful horror/mystery. The tagline Image released for this book was “True Detective and Orphan Black meets Helter Skelter” is so far holding up, whereas all too often the comparisons do not. By combining the perfect measurements of Suspense, Isolation, and Heart, Buccelleto and Infante have concocted a wonderful recipe that is sure to delight the palate.