Cutter #1

by Forrest.H on October 01, 2014

Cutter 1 review
Cut from a different cloth 

Writing: Robert Napton & Seamus Kevin Fahey
Art: Christian DiBari
Publishing: Image


It's officially October. That means Halloween, it means candy, it means skeletons and demons. Most importantly though, to a lot of people, it means horror. Cutter by Napton, Fahey and DiBari is horror. Weekly horror through this October telling the classic tale of girl scorned who comes back for her revenge. Good horror. 

A group of former high school friends and graduates start dying off one by one, their bodies brutually mangled and cut up. Their lives taken by the "Cutter", a new serial killer who clearly has a bone to...cut over something. Jeremy, the main character, believes, no, knows, that this is the work of a former and supposedly deceased classmate. Something happened, something happened at Prospect Creek and now this group of alumni is going to pay for it. Pay for it, that is, at the hands of the Cutter.

Napton and Fahey (of The Following and Battlestar Galactica) weave a classic but still chilling tale of suspense and terror in this new book. This first issue gives and takes, playing carefully with what really happened to these men and women during their high school years, something that haunts them, something that they're paying for with their lives. Jeremy, the main character of sorts, is a relatable "next-door" type of guy who despite carrying some sort of horrible secret, you can't help but root for, especially when he tries to get his pregnant wife out of all of this before the shit really hits the hedge trimmers (the Cutter's weapon of choice). There's occasional moments of confusion and some pages are a little wordy as ideas and characters are introduced but ultimately it's easy to follow and interesting. 

DiBari's art is classic in execution but still enthralling. The first few panels of this issue, our only real look at the Cutter, are exquistely well done. There's some confusion between panels and I can't help but think that color would've really added to this story (it's in black and white) because the covers of this issue and upcoming ones demonstrate how well DiBari's art could be complimented by it. That being said, the art is without a doubt strong enough to hold its own and the careful use of shading and play black and white does a great job of conveying a specific dread.

October is Cutter season, it seems. 


 

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside