Alcatraz is now a museum longer than it was a prison, but it remains the most famous prison in pop culture. The very name Alcatraz connotes an inescapable prison—except that three men escaped in 1962, a year before the prison closed.
It was Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin who attempted to row to freedom ashore. (A fourth inmate, Allen West, was part of the breakout plan but failed to escape his cell in time.) Authorities eventually concluded that the escapees' raft never made it to land and they drowned, but without bodies, the imagination gave way to their destinies. The new Out Of Alcatraz comic by writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Tyler Crook will operate on the premise that men do they made it to land, but did they ever find freedom? Oni Press shared an exclusive preview of "Out of Alcatraz" no. 1 with /Film (via Superfan Promo), including three previously unseen pages. These may help shed some light on the matter.
Cantwell is best known to TV fans for co-creating Halt and Catch Fire, a four-season Mad Men-style drama about the early days of the computing revolution in Silicon Valley. However, he also built a prolific comic book writing career; his work includes a 10-issue Doctor Doom solo series at Marvel and "Briar", a dark fantasy, a reimagining of "Sleeping Beauty" in Boom! Study.
Crook is mostly known for drawing horror comics; he rose to fame by working on the 'Hellboy' spin-off 'BPRD' He has since drawn the horror series County Harrow (written by Cullen Bunn), as well as writing and drawing the monster hunter series The Lone Hunters. His experience drawing dark shadows, gory violence and haunted faces serves him perfectly in Out of Alcatraz.
Crook's cover for "Out of Alcatraz" no. 1 is a work of beauty, combining detailed illustration and minimalist graphics while tying together form and narrative (ie the prison spotlights serve as dividing lines). Orange-black color scheme, cut-outs of shadow figures and uneven letters are made in the style of Saul Bass' famous posters for Vertigo and Anatomy of a Murder — beautiful and accurate!
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The 1962 Escape from Alcatraz was previously dramatized in a 1979 Clint Eastwood picture, briefly titled Escape from Alcatraz, with Eastwood playing Maurice. Directed by Eastwood's previous Dirty Harry director Don Siegel, Escape is often considered one of the best prison movies. "Out of Alcatraz," however, skips the incarceration and follows the imagined aftermath of the escape. Crook previously stated he considers the comic to be similar to a "classic 60s crime/road movie".
Beyond Alcatraz will answer the unsolved mystery of history
The opening pages of "Out of Alcatraz" no. 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 depicting the turbulent tides; there are no letter onomatopoeia sound effects, but you can hear the roar of the waves from just one look at the art. While the pictures set the scene, the narration explains the true history of the case; the last panel, titled "bodies never found" shows a close-up of Frank's face as he swims.
In Cantwell and Crook's version, it turns out that one of the prisoners indeed 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 mourn.
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Once on dry land, the pair reached Modesto. There they meet their contact and the third lead of the mini-series; an unnamed woman who Frank and Clarence pay to herd them across the Canadian border. In a quote for /Film, Cantwell explained that she is a cornerstone of the series and its themes:
"An essential character of this series is built from the whole dramatic canvas. Yes, the escapees are at the center of the story, but I've researched successful prison escapes in history and they often work best when there's someone on the outside helping. Enter our mysterious character, who our refugees must meet once they get off the cliff, this gives the refugee a true vector to run towards. It gives them a plan, but our character on the outside is a complicated mystery that even the refugees themselves will take some time to unpack."
The first issue of "Out of Alcatraz" remains unclear as to who this woman is, but she seems to have a history with Frank. On three pages shared for an exclusive preview by /Film, Frank and the woman discuss plans outside their safe house, there are two fewer prisoners than expected, to see if Clarence is worth keeping around.
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The true fate of Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin may never be truly resolved, but Out of Alcatraz is poised to offer a convincing answer.
Out of Alcatraz #1 is scheduled for print and digital release on March 19, 2025.
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