Severed #1

Written by Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft
Art by Attila Futaki

There are two things about this book that predisposed me towards liking it before I even glanced through its pages.  First, Scott Snyder seems to be able to do no wrong when it comes to comics, as I am a huge fan of his work on American Vampire and Detective Comics.  Secondly, although having nothing to do with  the First World War on a direct basis, this book is set during a favourite time period of mine.

So far, the comic seems to be the story of two boys.  One, Jack Garron, is narrating the story from the 1950s, where he is a one-armed grandfather.  We see twelve-year-old Jack run away from home and jump the rails, an attempt to go find his father.  He doesn't have a good go of it, as he runs into a corrupt railroad cop, and lands himself in what looks like even worse danger.

We meet the other boy, Frederick, in an orphanage outside of Chicago.  He is taken in by a Mr. Porter, who is going to give him an apprenticeship for General Electric.  There's something very creepy about Mr. Porter, and not just because he speaks ill of Mary Pickford, Canada's favourite silent movie starlet.  Porter makes reference to having shark teeth, and it starts to become clear that it's not a metaphor.

This book is pretty creepy, as Snyder and Tuft develop a general sense of dread that permeates every page.  This book can't be easily classified yet, and that's one thing that I like about it.  Attila Futaki's art is pretty nice.  It's a little like the Avatar house style, but would also fit well in an issue of Jonah Hex.

Image comics are on fire lately, and this series looks to be another example.