The Deviant, Vol. 1

Just before Christmas in 1973, a group of young men in Milwaukee, WI, are tortured and brutally murdered by a man dressed like Santa Claus. In 2023, a writer named Michael conducts a series of interviews with “the Deviant Killer,” Randall Olsen. who has been convicted of committing those murders. Olsen maintains his innocence, insisting that he was convicted on circumstantial evidence, largely due to society equating queerness with abomination. The premise resonates with Michael, whose earliest recognition of his own queer identity as a young man is inextricably linked to hearing tales of Olsen’s supposed depravity. Rattled by how closely he identifies with Olsen, Michael begins looking into the details of the case at what turns out to be the worst possible time, as a killer clad in a Santa costume is once again targeting young men around Milwaukee.