Alcatraz has now been a museum longer than a prison, but it remains the most famous prison in pop culture. The very name Alcatraz suggests an inescapable prison, except that three men escaped in 1962, a year before the prison closed.
They were Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, who were attempting to row to freedom on the shore. (A fourth prisoner, Allen West, was part of the escape plan but failed to escape his cell in time.) Authorities ultimately concluded that the escapees’ raft never made it to land and that they drowned, but without a body, the imagination ran wild. about their fate. The new comic strip “Out Of Alcatraz” by writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Tyler Crook will assume that men did managed to land, but did they ever find freedom? Oni Press has shared an exclusive preview of “Out of Alcatraz” #1 with /Film (via Superfan Promo), including three never-before-seen pages. These could help shed light on this issue.
Cantwell is best known to television fans for co-creating “Halt and Catch Fire,” a four-season “Mad Men”-style drama about the early days of Silicon Valley’s computer revolution. However, he also built a prolific career as a comic book writer; his work includes a 10-issue solo series “Doctor Doom” at Marvel and “Briar,” a dark fantasy reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty” at Boom! The studios.
Crook is best known for drawing horror comics; he rose to fame working on the “Hellboy” spin-off “BPRD”. Since then, he has drawn the horror series “Harrow County” (written by Cullen Bunn) as well as written And drawing the monster hunter series “The Lonesome Hunters”. His experience drawing dark shadows, bloody violence and haunted faces serves “Out of Alcatraz” perfectly.
Crook’s cover for “Out of Alcatraz” #1 is a work of great beauty, blending detailed illustration and minimalist graphics while linking form and narrative (i.e. the prison spotlight serving as a throughline). demarcation). The orange and black color scheme, cutouts of shadow figures and irregular lettering are made in the style of The famous posters of Saul Bass for “Vertigo” and “Anatomy of a Murder” — charming and true to the era!
Oni PressThe 1962 Alcatraz escape had previously been dramatized in Clint Eastwood’s 1979 film, succinctly titled “Escape From Alcatraz,” in which Eastwood played Morris. Directed by Don Siegel, the former director of Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry,” “Escape” is often considered one of the best prison films. “Out of Alcatraz,” however, skips the incarceration and follows the imagined consequences of the escape. Crook already said he considers the comic to be a “classic ’60s crime/road movie.”
Out Of Alcatraz Will Answer An Unsolved Mystery From History
The opening pages of “Out of Alcatraz” #1 (previously published in previous previews) show the escape itself. The first page opens with a wide shot of the island prison, with panels running down the page showing the stormy tides; there are no onomatopoeia sound effects, but you can hear the roar of the waves with just a glance at the art. While the images set the scene, the narration explains the true story of the case; the final panel, captioned “No Body Was Ever Found”, features a close-up of Frank’s face as he swims.
In Cantwell and Crook’s version, it turns out that one of the prisoners actually did it drowned while swimming to shore: John Anglin. Clarence tries to swim back to save his brother but Frank pulls him to shore, where they have no time to cry.
Oni Press
Oni Press
Oni Press
Oni PressOnce on dry land, the couple arrived in Modesto. There they meet their contact and the third protagonist of the miniseries; an unnamed woman whom Frank and Clarence pay to guide them across the Canadian border. In a quote to /Film, Cantwell explained that she is a cornerstone of the series and its themes:
“An essential character in this series is a character constructed from dramatic material. Yes, the fugitives are the focus of the story, but I researched the successful prison escapes in the story, and often they work best when there is someone helping from the outside. Enter our mysterious character, who our fugitives must meet once they get out of the Rock. In the sense of the story, this gives the fugitive a real. vector, something to move towards and not just run away from. But our outward character is complicated. It’s pointing itself. And what would make someone help men escape from Alcatraz. ?The answer is very American: the money is not limited to that and it is a mystery that even the fugitives themselves will discover for a while.
The first issue of “Out of Alcatraz” remains vague on who this woman is, but she appears to have a history with Frank. In three pages shared in exclusive preview by /Film, Frank and the woman discuss plans outside their hideout, from there being two fewer prisoners than expected to whether Clarence is worth keeping.
Oni Press
Oni Press
Oni PressThe true fate of Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin may never truly be resolved, but “Out of Alcatraz” comes close to offering a compelling answer.
“Out of Alcatraz” #1 is scheduled to be released in print and digital on March 19, 2025.
