First published within a single compilation volume back in May of 2015, the twelfth instalment in the post-apocalyptic ‘Crossed’ series was entitled ‘Crossed Volume 12: Badlands’ and collected together issues 62 – 70 of the Badlands comic series. The issues were written by David Lapham with artwork by German Erramouspe.
DLS Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Land had made a bad choice. She’d run away from her home in Queens, to find a new life for herself in L.A. However, she’d soon found life wasn’t that easy on your own and had fallen in with some very bad people – namely Curtis Wentz.
Wentz was a pornographer. One who specialised in underage girls. With Jennifer he’d spotted an opportunity and taken advantage of the girl’s vulnerability. Hooking her on drugs and getting the young girl into a debt she had no way of paying back.
Before she knew what she was doing, Jennifer was being coerced into performing for Wentz. Drugged up and made to have sex whilst being filmed for Wentz’s next set of underground pornos.
Having received a distressed voicemail from Jennifer, her father, Gavin Land, was desperate to get her safe and back. However, the local authorities said their hands were tied. They had no evidence to go on. Nothing but rumours.
So, Land took actions into his own hands. He left Queens, leaving his wife and their young son behind, to try to track his daughter down in L.A. He’d follow every lead he had until he had a list of names. Those he knew to be responsible for whatever hah happened to his beloved daughter. Those he would make pay.
But his fury had gotten the better of him. In a desperate attempt to get to Wentz, Land had killed four people. Four supposedly innocent individuals, landing him in prison facing a long stretch. Leaving his wife and family to fend for themselves. Abandoning them when they needed him the most.
And then the outbreak hit. The Crossed swept across the country unleashing a tsunami of violence and depravity. But it also brought Land chance to escape. To get out of his captivity and back on the trail of his daughter. However, now it’s more than just Jennifer he needs to track down. Whilst the world around him explodes into unparalleled violence, Land will do whatever it takes to wreak a long overdue revenge upon those who raped and murdered his family…
DLS Synopsis:
Here we have another Crossed story, which takes us back to when the Crossed virus first hit, following the story of ex-police officer Gavin Land as he desperately tries to track down those responsible for raping and murdering his daughter as well as his wife and son.
It’s a classic story of revenge, mixed with a ‘Taken’ (2008) style ‘father on the rampage’ plot. This is essentially told in two parts – the first being pre-Crossed outbreak, when Land sets out to track down his daughter but ends up behind bars for multiple murder. The second part is set immediately following the outbreak, with Land escaping from prison and going on a mission to track down and kill Wentz.
We flitter back-and-forth between these two storylines throughout much of the graphic novel. Each time we jump between them, we’re not really prompted about it. At times, this can get a tad disorientating, although only for a second. Until we realise, we’re back on the other storyline thread (i.e. the pre or post outbreak).
The earlier reference I made to ‘Taken’ (2008) is a very pertinent one. The vast majority of the story is very much of that nature. A pissed off father, who’s more than capable of handling himself, even in a world with rampaging infected lunatics.
Land is a guy who’ll stop at nothing. Pushed ever onwards by his moral compass, by his inner drive for revenge and justice for his family. Of course, that’s put to the test more than once. Most notably when he finally catches up with his nemesis – Curtis Wentz.
If you’ve gotten as far as Volume 12 of the ‘Crossed’ series, then there’s absolutely no need to warn you about (or even mention) the high volumes of explicit violence and extreme depravity on show within the graphic novel. It’s to be expected. Although the inclusion of kids and a teenager within the plot, although not explicitly shown, does add in a further, darker tone to the whole thing.
There’s also a lot that goes on and around the overarching ‘Land seeking revenge’ storyline. We have a squad from the US army attempting to rescue as many civilians as they can from the Crossed, which Land et al find themselves assisting with. This essentially involves an attempt to steal a massive cruise ship, out from under the protection of the US Navy, in order to transport a couple of thousand civilians to a supposedly Crossed-free island.
As such, we have a whole additional military angle added into the mix. The end result delivers pockets of explosive action, where we see scene after scene depicting Crossed vs the US Army bringing us all sorts of chaotic mayhem.
All in all, it’s a damn good instalment into the ‘Crossed’ series. There’s everything in there to appease any good fan of the series. It’s action rich, gory as holy hell, dark, twisted, and follows a couple of tight and unpredictable storylines. What’s not to like?!
The graphic novel runs for a total of 224 pages.
© DLS Reviews
