1916. A man haunts the roads - a man with sharp teeth and a hunger for flesh. When 12-year-old Jack Garron runs away from home, he'll see how quickly the American Dream becomes a nightmare.
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Review
"For those who believe that violence and gore are the principal hallmarks of an engaging graphic horror story, Tuft and Snyder (Batman; American Vampire) make the case that exemplary storytelling is essential as well." - Publisher's Weekly
"Futaki's artwork is exceptional, mixing fine-lined horror aesthetic with homespun characters." - Publisher's Weekly
"One of the best horror comics in years" - Complex
"SEVERED is a masterfully paced thriller with a horrific monster endangering characters that you truly care about. Highly recommended." - Aint It Cool News
"Futaki's artwork is exceptional, mixing fine-lined horror aesthetic with homespun characters." - Publisher's Weekly
"One of the best horror comics in years" - Complex
"a perfect storm when it comes to horror comics." -IGN
"SEVERED is a masterfully paced thriller with a horrific monster endangering characters that you truly care about. Highly recommended." - Aint It Cool News
From the Back Cover
1916. A man haunts the roads. A man with razor-sharp teeth and a hunger for flesh. When twelve-year old Jack Garron runs away from home to find his father, a wayward minstrel who he hasn't seen since birth, he'll discover how quickly the American Dream can become a nightmare. From Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer Scott Snyder (AMERICAN VAMPIRE, BATMAN, SWAMP THING), writer Scott Tuft, and New York Times Best Seller artist Attila Futaki (PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS) comes the critically acclaimed horror hit of the year in this deluxe hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I opened my first Scott Snyder issue last year and have not looked back since trying to get my hand on everything he touches. I picked Severed up without really any expectations other than it would be completely awesome and I'm happy to say I was right. From the beginning until the end it truly plays out like a cinematic story the final panel especially included. (I think I heard the inception theme) Though I am not a typical fan of horror, I can appreciate any story told in any medium if done well. I have always liked how Snyder digs into his own deepest fears and allows us to share in his terrors. The characterization really moves the story line along and you really start to feel for Jack and Sam as we follow Jack through his coming of age journey and loss of innocence. This continues my vow to buy anything written by Scott Snyder and it seems I will have to keep an eye out for Scott Tuft's projects as well.
19 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The current trend of horror, whether in film, books, or comics, the trend seems to be that of the post-apocalyptic survival horror, whether (in comics, anyway) it's Garth Ennis' terrific Crossed, Vol. 1, or Robert Kirkman's insanely popular and addictive The Walking Dead, Book 1 (Bk. 1). Of course, there will always be vampire books as well, but zombies rule the earth of pop culture for now since zombies are a more appropriate commentary on humanity's ravenous consumerism.
Now, when I first heard that Scott Snyder, currently DC Comics' most talented writer as exampled in Batman: The Black Mirror, Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones (The New 52), Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52) and American Vampire Vol. 1, I had absolutely no trepidation about getting this book when it came out. I was also very interested in it since, from advance previews, it didn't seem to follow any of the current trends in horror fiction, and its setting was very different from anything that was currently on the shelves.
The story opens in the mid-1950's with an old man sitting peacefully in front of a television with his grandson watching a performance by Elvis (Snyder's personal favorite musician), when he receives something that frightens him. We also notice he's missing an arm. In his internal monologue, he states he never told anyone the truth of how he lost the arm, and thus we begin following him on the horrifying journey he took back just after the end of World War One.
The son of an absent travelling musician and a doting mother, 12-year-old Jack Brakeman's whole world is about to change. A talented violinist himself, his mother informs him he's been accepted to a prestigious music school. The problem is that Jack has dreams of meeting his father and has a picture of him with his address. Rather than go to the school, he packs some things and his violin and hops the nearest freight train so that he might meet his father as well as live some of the life that his father does.
In another part of America, a young orphan about Jack's age is being taken in by a friendly-seeming but nameless older man to be an apprentice for General Electric. And in terrifying fashion, we learn that this friendly-seeming old man is not what he seems at all.
Jack's journey is fraught with problems from the outset, though, as almost everything he owns is stolen by men, working for the railroad, who 'discourage' hobos and vagabonds and runaways from getting free rides on their trains. Jack is saved by Sam, another youngster who knows a lot more about living this rough and tumble life than Jack, and Sam has secrets as well. All Jack has left is his violin, and he and Sam travel through towns and play music for pocket change. As Jack gets closer to his father, the older man, referred to only as "The Salesman", gets closer to Jack. Nothing seems to connect the two at first, but as secrets are slowly revealed, it builds to an unforgettable climax.
The title of this review is not hyperbole. I haven't read a horror tale as intelligent, well-paced, or this frightening since Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing. While I love THE WALKING DEAD and CROSSED, they do have issues that drag or go too far towards shock and cheap scares. SEVERED is a book that drips with dread from almost every page. There are very few moments that don't have a sense of foreboding, and when the time comes to truly ramp up the terror, Snyder and co-writer Scott Tuft do so cleverly and with great precision. Artist Atilla Futaki also deserves much of the credit as well. The framing of the action and almost photo-realistic style Futaki has, as well as his use of color all show an extraordinary talent at work. I've never seen his work before, but I will certainly be on the lookout for in the future.
There are moments of SEVERED that will be hard, if not impossible to forget, and if Snyder does take the time to possibly expand on this story in the future, I'm sure it will be told with the same deft hand and remarkable sense of pace, style, smarts and sheer terror.
This was one of the very best comic series of the last 12 months, and I sincerely hope that this collection will be as successful as it deserves to be.
Now, when I first heard that Scott Snyder, currently DC Comics' most talented writer as exampled in Batman: The Black Mirror, Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones (The New 52), Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52) and American Vampire Vol. 1, I had absolutely no trepidation about getting this book when it came out. I was also very interested in it since, from advance previews, it didn't seem to follow any of the current trends in horror fiction, and its setting was very different from anything that was currently on the shelves.
The story opens in the mid-1950's with an old man sitting peacefully in front of a television with his grandson watching a performance by Elvis (Snyder's personal favorite musician), when he receives something that frightens him. We also notice he's missing an arm. In his internal monologue, he states he never told anyone the truth of how he lost the arm, and thus we begin following him on the horrifying journey he took back just after the end of World War One.
The son of an absent travelling musician and a doting mother, 12-year-old Jack Brakeman's whole world is about to change. A talented violinist himself, his mother informs him he's been accepted to a prestigious music school. The problem is that Jack has dreams of meeting his father and has a picture of him with his address. Rather than go to the school, he packs some things and his violin and hops the nearest freight train so that he might meet his father as well as live some of the life that his father does.
In another part of America, a young orphan about Jack's age is being taken in by a friendly-seeming but nameless older man to be an apprentice for General Electric. And in terrifying fashion, we learn that this friendly-seeming old man is not what he seems at all.
Jack's journey is fraught with problems from the outset, though, as almost everything he owns is stolen by men, working for the railroad, who 'discourage' hobos and vagabonds and runaways from getting free rides on their trains. Jack is saved by Sam, another youngster who knows a lot more about living this rough and tumble life than Jack, and Sam has secrets as well. All Jack has left is his violin, and he and Sam travel through towns and play music for pocket change. As Jack gets closer to his father, the older man, referred to only as "The Salesman", gets closer to Jack. Nothing seems to connect the two at first, but as secrets are slowly revealed, it builds to an unforgettable climax.
The title of this review is not hyperbole. I haven't read a horror tale as intelligent, well-paced, or this frightening since Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing. While I love THE WALKING DEAD and CROSSED, they do have issues that drag or go too far towards shock and cheap scares. SEVERED is a book that drips with dread from almost every page. There are very few moments that don't have a sense of foreboding, and when the time comes to truly ramp up the terror, Snyder and co-writer Scott Tuft do so cleverly and with great precision. Artist Atilla Futaki also deserves much of the credit as well. The framing of the action and almost photo-realistic style Futaki has, as well as his use of color all show an extraordinary talent at work. I've never seen his work before, but I will certainly be on the lookout for in the future.
There are moments of SEVERED that will be hard, if not impossible to forget, and if Snyder does take the time to possibly expand on this story in the future, I'm sure it will be told with the same deft hand and remarkable sense of pace, style, smarts and sheer terror.
This was one of the very best comic series of the last 12 months, and I sincerely hope that this collection will be as successful as it deserves to be.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
simple and sa·li·ent review. just saying.
not a bad horror story overall but milage may vary. the writing was pretty good throughout and it had some good moments of horror on several different levels. the art was great and added to and complimented the story well. give it a read. check out Scott Snyder's other writing too, probably something will get you sucked in.
not a bad horror story overall but milage may vary. the writing was pretty good throughout and it had some good moments of horror on several different levels. the art was great and added to and complimented the story well. give it a read. check out Scott Snyder's other writing too, probably something will get you sucked in.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Severed, the horror lies beneath
sometimes you can get a good horror history, most of all, the credibility of the characters and the place and time in which they live, and in Severed you can find something... Read more
Published 23 days ago by ceferino
2.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Good
I hesitate to criticize what is clearly a labor of love, but I think the story is just okay and the artwork is fantastic. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bruce E. White
4.0 out of 5 stars
amazing
It's scott snyder he has never written anything that has disappointed me and has becomes my favorite writer after american vamp and batman so i am not surprised that this books... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Adam Whisnant
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid story and artwork
The story was well developed as were the characters. I think a little more background into the villan would have been good (without spoiling it, the story gives out a few hints... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Marshall
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Cautionary Tale with Supernatural Elements
In an industry overruled by big events and even bigger revamps, the new becomes old very fast. Stale, even. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Arcadio Bolańos
3.0 out of 5 stars
Plotting leaves a bit to be desired
Overall this is a decent, 7 issue, horror storyline with some fantastic artwork by Attila Futaki. Where this one falls short is in the writing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sibelius
5.0 out of 5 stars
good read, gruesome
this creepy graphic novel pulls no punches. good set-up, good execution. should be a movie or something... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ben U.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evil undying
America, 1916, and 13 year old Jack Garron is running away from his adopted mother's home in search of his biological father, a fiddler who abandoned him as a baby. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Noel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Honestly I want to give it 3.5 but the creepy story is getting to me
I was looking for a good scary book from my logical comic book store, the owner gave me Severed, explained it a little and I looked through the book real quick, I was effy on it... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Moe Sislak
5.0 out of 5 stars
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL EVER!!!
This really is one of the best graphic novels I have read in a really long time. I don't have a single bad thing to say about it except that it wasn't long enough. Read more
Published 9 months ago by tyler w
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