The works of Stephen King are a guilty pleasure of mine. No other writer can draw you in with such inventive plots, suspenseful storytelling, and fantastical characters… then crash into a brick wall at 88mph with asinine twists and disappointing endings. And he gets me every time! The Dark Tower, The Stand, Insomnia, Cell; they’re all guilty. When the wolves of the Calla ended up being some Dr. Doom goons with golden snitches, I should have said “ok, enough’s enough asshole.” But it’s like telling your fat friend to stop eating McDonalds’ fish sandwiches; you know it’s going to end with some magical retard “shining” a 100 year old black woman in a corn field while listening to AC/DC, but it just tastes so damn good.
So why am I telling you this? Because, there’s a comic that reminds me of a Stephen King novel without the diarrhea. Severed is a story by Scott Snyder (American Vampire, Detective Comics) and Scott Tuft (I…don’t know) that was put out by Image. It’s about this kid Jack in the early 1900’s who runs away from home and travels across the country in search for his musician father. Along the way he teams up with a ginger tomboy named Sam and the Nightmare… aka some old fart who would be listed as a class B sex offender in modern times. Later you find out the old fart is actually some ancient/immortal dude who feeds off the hopes and dreams of gullible children. Part of his ritual is tattooing their symbol onto his body and saying some messed up shit like “Your dream was so strong. I can see it in every muscle in your body… And it’s gonna taste so damn good.” But yea he eats the shit of kids with gnarly bicuspids. Awesome, right?
And this is why it reminds me of King. Supernatural? Check. Americana horror? Check. Racial and homophobic subtext? Check, check. But it’s really the King-esc suspense that kept me reading. Issue #1 ends with the pedofart eating a nerd who just wanted to be an electrician. And you’re like “SHIT! Any guy who takes off his shirt yet leaves his suspenders on is messed up! Who is he?! What does he want?! Why are Jack and Sam in his apartment?! Drinking beers… and playing with his beartrap… guys stop! He tattoos light bulbs and violins onto his chest! Dude ain’t right!” Yea that’s right, I yell at comics.
So eventually, unbeknownst to Jack, the Nightmare eats Sam and delivers the appropriate one-liner “Only home for you, girly… ‘s in my BELLY.” Genius! Afterwards Jack and Nights hit the road, traveling south on a new lead of his father’s whereabouts. And they have a great time! Drinking more beers, getting laid, off-roading, fried chickening, pimp scalping… you name it! But now it’s at that point in the story (end of issue #5) where Jack finally becomes suspicious. Too late! They get to the house and it turns out his father’s been dead the entire time. Go figure! Jack gets tied up in the basement, loses an arm, and gets saved by his adoptive mother who we almost forgot about. All in all, not a bad ending!
Though one of my few complaints is I feel it could have continued for at least another issue. The finale happened so fast, and I found myself re-reading the last few pages trying to keep the high alive. But with an “Oh shit!” prologue, aesthetically pleasing gritty artwork, and some enjoyable Kingenuity, it gives you something this world needs more of; an original, suspenseful horror story that doesn’t involve vampires or little bald doctors who cut people’s invisible life balloon strings. I’ll give it a 7/10, losing 1pt for the aforementioned ending brevity, 1pt for the death of Sam (I have “a thing” for redheads who dress like boys) and 1pt because I don’t necessarily agree with the negative portrayal of train-hopping hobos.
Noteworthy: The Nightmare’s shirtless monologue in issue #7, and the full page in issue #6 with the Nightmare baring his teeth, about to strike with an axe… Terrifying!
-Chris
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