Severed is a film written by Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft about a young child named Jack Garron who lived with his loving mother in a small village in Western New York. When he discovers he was adopted, his world is turned upside down, and he embarks on a cross-country search for his biological father.
He faces a number of challenges along the road, but none are as terrifying as a centuries-old monster who feeds on youngsters to satisfy his hunger. But this is not your average maniac; he keeps his victims hopeful until the very last moment, presumably because it makes them taste better.
Despite the fact that it is a violent and gory comic, it is not what makes it bleak. Attila Futaki’s masterful narrative and masterfully created images create the necessary dread, terror, and horror.
It is a steady burn that shocks and terrifies you to your core, leaving you fearful of your safety. In this video, we will take a closer look at this fantastic comic, which features fantastic writing, stunning artwork, and aggressively realistic ideas. Let us go right to the point, shall we?
Issue 1—Nothing Wasted
The story begins with an old man with a severed arm named Jack Garron and his wife watching the T.V., just when their grandson Jimmy dashes into the room with a letter in his hand. Jack asked Jimmy who gave the letter, but Jimmy didn’t know the person, and all he had for an answer was that the man introduced himself as Jack’s old friend.
Jack opened the letter, and Jack was struck with horror and terror as if he had seen a demon. It seems that Jack never told anyone the truth about his severed arm. Born in 1904 in New York, Jack took advantage of the first world war and told everyone, including his wife, that he had lost his arm in the war, but he was hiding a dark secret, one that had always haunted him.
Back in 1916, a young Jack Garron lived with his mother, leading a rather comfortable life. But the twelve-year-old Jack had other things on his mind than just going to school and playing the violin.
He wanted to go out, explore, play his instrument on the streets, and get recognized. You may wonder where this was coming from; well, Jack wasn’t Katherine’s biological son, he was adopted when he was an infant, and Katherine raised the child as her own. One day in the attic, Jack found an old photograph of his father and himself, and a little note on its back requesting Katherine to take care of the child.
In fact, Jack had started conversing with his apparent biological father through letters. The letters addressed to Jack came from a Brakeman, who told Jack that he plays the fiddle at the Majestic Theatre in Chicago. Jack was ecstatic and determined. I mean, there’s much less you can expect from a boy his age, who just learned about his true father’s identity.
So, on one fateful night, Jack decided to run away and boarded a freight train heading to Chicago. But life was not a bed of roses, and Jack learned the lesson real quick. He was ambushed by the train copper, who took away Jack’s belongings and pushed him out of the moving train. Lucky for Jack, he held on to a bar and was pulled out by a few other boarders of the freight train, one of whom seemed kind and friendly to Jack.
Meanwhile, at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Matteson, Illinois, something much worse was taking shape. A man in a plain suit and hat had arrived to take away a boy named Fredrick from the home to work as an apprentice for a big firm named General Electric. Sister Jaworski, who gave away the child to this man called Mr. Porter, seemed to be happy and believed that this would be a great opportunity for Fredrick.
Alas, how wrong was she! Fredrick was happy to ride a car for the first time and was excited about his new and independent life; little did he know the trap he was walking into. On their way to a secluded house, Mr. Porter told Fredrick all about life and salesmanship, and how he had razor-sharp teeth underneath his fake teeth. Upon reaching the destination, Mr. Porter asked the boy to go into the house and fix the cables. As Fredrick moved into the dark house, Mr. Porter removed his fake teeth and walked in, only to reveal a horrific body filled with weird tattoos and a set of razor-sharp teeth, as he had revealed earlier.
Issue 2—New Skin
It’s revealed in the second issue that little Fredrick and been bound by the man and cannibalized. But that’s not it; around fifty kids had gone missing in the past few months, and it was clear to the cops that they were looking for a ruthless serial killer and cannibal. Meanwhile, with the help of his newfound friend, Jack Garron managed to reach Chicago. They sort of built a friendship of utilities, wherein Jack would help his friend find a place to lie and in return, he would get help finding his father. The two friends get into an affordable hotel with the money Jack had on him, and it’s revealed that Jack’s new friend was actually a girl, masquerading as a boy for safety.
A while ago, it had been made clear that not even young boys were safer in the real world when Jack was about to be assaulted by the copper, but then again, it’s way more unsafe for a girl. And if you think about it, that’s exactly what Arya Stark had done in Game of Thrones, when she was heading for the wall looking for Jon Snow. Nevertheless, Jack and Samantha, aka Sam, reached the Majestic Theatre that evening to look for Jack’s biological father, but disappointment had come knocking for Jack.
The musicians told him that they knew no one by the name of Brakeman. Sam suggested to Jack that he should write to his mother and get back to Jamestown, where he belonged and where it was safe, but Jack was not determined to do otherwise. However, the guy who played the fiddle for the Majestic Theatre band told Jack that his father may have been an alternative in the past and that he was now back in Mississippi.
But young Jack didn’t have any money on him, so how would he reach Mississippi, and Sam was wise enough to advise against boarding another freight train. But the two of them soon arrived at a workable plan, wherein Jack would play his instrument on the streets to earn money, and Sam would serve as his agent in exchange for a fifty-fifty share. But they were not alone in the alleyway, they were being listened to by the same monster who had killed Fredrick a few days ago.
The killer was street smart and had a certain quality about him that made him trustworthy, even if for a little while. He chanced upon a man named Alan Fisher, who sold phonographs. Mr. Porter killed Alan Fisher in cold blood and assumed his identity. In a display of utter crazy and psychopathic tendencies, the newly born Alan Fisher tattooed his chest with a violin, and apparently, he had been saving the spot near his heart. It was clear that every tattoo on this man’s chest was the result of a murder he had committed. Some men take trophies, this guy used symbols representing his victims.
Issue 3 It’s A Jungle Out There
Jack and Sam’s collaboration brought fruit, and they were making money, not enough to reach Mississippi just yet, but enough to be able to live off the streets. One day, they were met by our child-eating psychopath Alan Fisher, who introduced himself as a man of music. He bombarded Jack with praises, who was more than charmed, for he believed that Alan Fisher understood music.
After a little chat, he invited the kids to his home, his lair, for some food and drinks. Jack almost immediately agreed to the offer, but he had been on the streets for only about a few days, but Sam was the wiser. She knew something was off about Fisher. Having a horrible past where Sam’s parents sent her to live with his abusive uncle, she knew that most men want something nefarious from young children; and she wasn’t wrong.
Nevertheless, Jack convinces Sam to go to Fisher’s home, and have some chill time. The three of them arrived before a spooky-looking dilapidated house, with an interior that was largely effeminate. In all probability, it was the real Alan Fisher’s house. One thing led to another, and not before long, they were drinking beer and sharing laughs. However, Sam was constantly questioning Fisher’s behavior and words.
Fisher served them some duck, and when complimented, he revealed that the trick to a good piece of meat was to ensure that the animal was well-fed; apparently, that’s what he had done to the duck. But the kids didn’t know that they were being fed and made drunk, just like a lamb for slaughter.
Fisher praised the friends for their trust in each other, in a world that was nothing less than a jungle. But to prove that they indeed had trust between them, he thought of putting the duo through a little test, albeit a crazy and sadistic one. He brought in a huge bear trap and placed his head on it, shocking the kids. He revealed that till the time the pin was intact, the trap was safe. Fisher then convinced little Jack into placing his arm on the bear trap while the pin was in Sam’s control. Fisher offered Sam money in exchange for removing the safety pin, but luckily, she didn’t.
The kids had had enough of it by now, and Sam forced Jack to scram. While bidding goodbye to Fisher, Sam heard Jack telling the old man that he’d see him on Sunday. When Sam asked what was to happen on Sunday, Jack told her that Fisher would be taking her and Sam to Mississippi to meet Jack’s old man, J.P. Brakeman.
Issue 4—Stealing Home
The following day, Samantha gave a call to the company that Fisher said he worked for. On the other side of the line was a man named Tom Granger, who introduced himself as Fisher’s boss. When Samantha asked him about Fisher, the boss man seemed to know nothing about him, but he did know that something terrible was going around, and he asked Samantha to meet him in a secluded diner at the far end of a trolley line. When Jack inquired her about the phone call, he and Samantha broke into an argument.
Jack was furious that Samantha called the boss of a harmless old man who only wanted to help, but the girl was not going to keep shut. She told him how he was gullible and trusted just about anybody, a phonograph salesman who didn’t know the first thing about phonographs and a man whose idea of parenting was sending out letters once in a blue moon. An infuriated Jack insulted Samantha, and she left, only for them to reconcile later and share a kiss.
The next morning, Samantha left to meet Granger by telling Jack that she was going to get catgut string for his fiddle, but the otherwise street smart girl fell for a trap. She was met by Fisher in his real avatar, his topless tattooed body, and his hellishly sharp teeth. The girl did put up a strong fight, but it was all in vain, and the personified nightmare devoured the little girl alive.
Jack didn’t know what had happened and came to believe that Samantha had run away with all his money. He now had no money to pay for his establishment and was about to be kicked out when a phone call came in for Jack. It was Alan Fisher, who had retrieved Jack’s fiddle from Sam, gaining Jack’s absolute trust.
Issue 5—The Road Beckons
The two of them begin their journey toward Mississippi in Fisher’s car, riding on the deserted roads, Fisher would tell Jack all about how unexpected and full of surprises the road was. How there can be surprises at about every corner! And why not, many surprises and shocks were awaiting poor Jack! A few miles into their journey, they got stopped by a cop who thought that the old man was indeed Fisher.
Although a bit suspicious initially, he let them go after hearing Jack’s testimony. Just before nightfall, Fisher took Jack to a home in the middle of nowhere, where a weird family stayed. The kids addressed Fisher as Uncle Jethro; it seemed that Jack would be served for supper that evening, but lucky for him, he was spared, at least for now. When Jack confronted Fisher about the name Jethro, he told Jack that no one knew his name for real.
After the day’s ride, they stopped at a local pub for some food and drinks, when Jack went out to take a piss, he was stopped by a young hooker who offered Jack some good time but being the sweet innocent boy, he was, Jack refused. But this refusal was bad for the girl’s pimp, who demanded money anyway and started to hurt Jack. In the perfect example of the devil becoming the savior, Fisher arrives and saves Jack.
But to Jack’s utter shock and horror, he saw Fisher skin the pimp’s scalp with a knife. Jack was left in shivers at this sight, but Fisher convinced him to get into the car. They reached a motel to stay the night, and to ensure that his main course was well-rested, he laced Jack’s water with sedatives. The next morning, Jack woke up to find out that Fisher was far from what he had been portraying. In Fisher’s belongings, he discovered his wallet and his father’s picture, revealing that he had retrieved it from Sam.
Issue 6—Permanent Teeth
Fisher knew his way around the place and the woods, but when he asked Jack about his father’s address, Jack made up a route 14 and told the same to Fisher. Did the young boy succeed in fooling the experienced predator? Let’s find out. Jack and Fisher reached an abandoned structure, but Jack was well-prepared this time and was not going to fall for Fisher’s traps or kind words.
Having stolen one of Fisher’s knives, he confronted Fisher, who didn’t shy away from revealing his true identity and his razor-sharp teeth. To make it an even chase, Fisher gave the boy a ten-second headstart, but Fisher mildly underestimated the boy, who had not only placed a bear trap for Fisher but also fled with the car. An angry Fisher vowed to come after Jack. Jack couldn’t get very far before the car broke down; however, he was given a lift by an old man.
Jack was finally home, he could finally meet his father, his real father. But as we mentioned earlier, life was all but a bed of roses, especially for a boy of Jack’s age. As Jack went inside the house, he found a note left behind by his father. Jack looked around the house further, only to learn that J.P. Brakeman had passed away in 1905, a year after Jack’s birth. So, who had been writing all those letters to Jack? Well, it was Fisher. He ambushed the boy from behind, determined to devour him. Fisher had set up the whole thing, he ensured that Jack was full of hope so that his flesh would taste better.
Issue 7—Home Is Where The Heart Is
It seemed that it was all over for little Jack as Alan Fisher, or whatever his name was, started sharpening his knives so that he didn’t spoil Jack’s meat with a blunt blade. Interestingly enough, Fisher had come across one of Jack’s letters sent to the same boys’ home from where he had picked Fredrick up. Jack had enquired the home for the whereabouts of his father, but the letter got into Fisher’s hand, who made good use of it to write back to Jack by pretending to be Brakeman. While Fisher prepared to carve out Jack, he told him the stories of all the children he had devoured in all these years.
Furthermore, Fisher revealed that he had been in existence for centuries now, that he had been in the land since the time America didn’t come into existence. So, what was he? Well, the simplest answer is that he was a vampire of some kind, who didn’t need blood, but flesh, someone who devoured young children to survive, and his hunger was never satiated. Fisher hung Jack on ropes and chopped off his left arm, the boy cried for help, but it seemed to be in vain. But then someone knocked at the door.
It was Katherine, Jack’s mother, who came to the Brakeman home after receiving a letter from Samantha. The little girl did indeed love Jack, she was able to help him one last time, even from the beyond. Fisher invited her inside and offered her some tea, which was obviously laced with sedatives. As she dozed off, he revealed to her how they were going to eat her son. But Jack managed to free himself and came for Fisher with a blade in his hand.
Even though Jack’s shoulder was bleeding from the missing arm, his will to save his mother gave him strength. He struck Fisher and led Katherine out of harm’s way and into the car, but Fisher was provoking Jack. The kid returned back and trapped the monster under a rack of alcohol, before torching the monster. Jack and Katherine managed to flee the place as the house burned down, seemingly ending it for the child-eater. However, forty years later, the man sent Jack a picture of his father and him, and Jack knew, at that moment, that the nightmare that he’d been living with had once again become a part of his reality.
As far as suspense-style horror comics go, Severed is a masterpiece in its execution of sheer terror and horror in the comic book format. It’s safe to say that the comic and its story are equivalent to films such as the original Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s one of those pieces of literature that come once in a while and set new standards in the comic book market. Do give it a read and let us know what you think about it.