This stress-dream of a miniseries from Top Cow – to be released weekly through October – delves into the murky past of a seemingly normal guy. And while it doesn’t play out flawlessly, “Cutter” still manages to draw blood.
Written by Robert Napton, Seamus Kevin Fahey
Illustrated by Christian DiBariCUTTER: Issues 1-4, weekly throughout October! What if that kid you and your friends picked on in your youth came back with a vengeance…to kill you and your friends? That dark guilt-ridden fear is at the core of CUTTER, a cautionary tale about the sins of your past coming back to haunt you. Jeremy lives a quiet life with his wife in a rural town. Successful and stable, Jeremy is the guy next door. But he and his high school friends share a dark secret. And when that secret literally comes back to haunt them, Jeremy must confront his past and his own sanity as he comes face to face with a vicious serial killer…”The Cutter.” From television writer SEAMUS KEVIN FAHEY (Battlestar Galactica, The Following) and comic writer ROBERT PLACE NAPTON (Son of Merlin) with art by acclaimed horror artist CHRISTIAN DIBARI.
It’s not a wildly original premise; but on top of the nuts and bolts of the plot, it’s the prevailing tone of this comic that makes it remarkable. Pervasively dark, but veering close to the realm of comedy at key moments, there’s a healthy dose of the ’80s in “Cutter”. You’ll know what kind of comic you’re reading once you get to the fifth page; a beautifully executed red herring grabs the attention, going for a cheap thrill and pulling it off with panache.
Christian DiBari’s black and white art gets us in the right mindset. While it’s a little shallow overall – not much depth to the compositions, or too much meaning to unpack in the characters’ faces – the prevailing superficiality has its own flavour. This small world contains multitudes, veering from quiet suburban gardens to grotesquely knarled tree roots. All the while, the mix of textures keeps us on our toes – from inky crosshatching to delicate watercolour to sketchy charcoal and even halftone dots.
Aesthetically, the effect of these mixed textures can vary; some of the pages have a fun eclectic feel, while others look too busy. But ultimately, this versatility and capacity to surprise at every moment is the perfect complement to the twisty plot. It’s like every panel brings with it a new way of looking at the story overall – a new lens through which to view our ambiguous protagonist.
And ambiguous he really is. We’re led to sympathize with Jeremy in the first half of the story; after all, finding out two of your high school friends are dead and becoming a person of interest in the investigation does not make for a relaxing day. But a few fleeting flashbacks are enough to convince us he can’t be guiltless, all the while obscuring what he did to provoke this protracted, bloody vengeance.
Right up until the last few pages of the issue, the beats of the plot are clear. This is a well-structured horror story, quickly setting up a cast of characters and their shared, dark pasts. There’s nary an as-you-know-Bob to be found; a quick interrogation scene shortcuts us past most of the exposition, and the brief glimpses of our murderer at work fill in the blanks. And actually, one dialogue-free page that fits into the latter category might be the strongest moment in the book. The way the horrific elements are relegated strictly to the visual is refreshing after all the conversation, and DiBari mines the moment for all it’s got.
It’s only in those last few pages that matters get murky. Two dialogue-heavy scenes are intercut with one another, and at this late point, it feels like there’s a little more story here than one issue should be made to carry. In that respect this issue bears bears a TV writer’s stamp; these scenes feel like they should be spinning out over the course of a five minute segment, rather than a compact few pages. Obviously some slack should be cut all miniseries in this regard, especially when there’s a scant four issues to work with, but it’s hard to ignore how flat the cliffhanger feels after this rush to cram in detail.
In the end, this is a miniseries peculiarly suited to weekly release; it’s the kind of intricate, snowballing story where the feeling of gathering momentum is half the fun. And despite some faults, “Cutter” has good bones; its plot has a worked-out feel, and the art is unfailingly interesting. For those of us who like to turn October into one protracted Hallowe’en, this miniseries is a sensible choice for late-night reading.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – A well-constructed plot and slightly campy tone make this horror miniseries stand out.
