Review- SEVERED

SEVERED (Image, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Severed Nos. 1-7 (cover dates August, 2011- February, 2012)

Writers: Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft

Artist: Attila Futaki

Colorists: Attila Futaki and Greg Guilhamond

I love Horror. I love stories about serial killers. I love comic books. I love Norman Rockwell paintings and Americana in general. Combine them all and what do you get? Severed. This is a gripping, often deceptive read. Not deceptive in the storytelling sense, as it is pretty straightforward, but deceptive in the respect that the artwork and colors are soft like a Norman Rockwell painting. This contrast offers a nostalgic, familiar, warm vibe to the proceedings, which is the opposite intent of the story.

The gist, with mild potential S P O I L E R S- The story starts out in the mid-50s and then proceeds to a flashback in 1916, where 12 year old Jack, an adopted child, runs away from home in search of his birth father. Along the way, Jack encounters a traveling seria...er, salesman who likes children so much that he could eat them up. That is all I am saying. E N D S P O I L E R S

Severed is a great read and is well worth your time and money. It is a solid concept that has haunted me in the days since I have read it, and it will likely do the same for you. It will go on the re-read pile.

The OCD zone- The image on the cover is screen printed on the book itself; no dustjacket required. The paper stock is pretty nice and smells great. Yes, scents are worth a mention here in The OCD zone. The binding is sewn but the book block is glued flush to the spine. The books does lay reasonably flat, but either way it is fine because it falls in the under 200 pages threshold where my OCD afterburners kick in for this sort of thing. This is a nice, high quality package overall.

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