Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Cutter” #1 Is A Solid Start To A Slasher
‘Cutter’ #1 is a solid start to something that could be incredibly unique or could look like an unfortunate b-movie supernatural horror. When a deadly, dark secret comes back to haunt a grown-up group of old high school pals, shit gets real and people start getting cut. Like…by giant hedge shears. The whole “past sins coming back to haunt you by picking you and your friends off one-by-one” is a familiar horror trope made popular by…well a ton of things. Agatha Christie, for one. But for the purpose of this article and all the teen slasher references I want to make, let’s go with ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.’ This will either be fantastic, or it’s possible we’ll end up with Jennifer Love Hewitt screaming into the sky, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HUH?”
WRITTEN BY: Seamus Kevin Fahey / Robert Napton
ART BY: Christian Dibari
PUBLISHER: Image Comics / Top Cow
RELEASE DATE: October 1st, 2014
PRICE: $3.99
Reviewed By Bree Odgen
‘Cutter’ starts off with a bang, or a slash, rather, so gruesome I felt like I could actually hear the sound of shears sinking into flesh. It’s a fantastic cold open that sets up the story perfectly. Someone or (more intriguingly) something is holding a grudge and she’s going to murder away her rage. Cut to: Jeremy and his pregnant wife, and the happy, normal life he’ll probably never get to live. Because his old high school friends are being hacked to bits and not only does it appear that he’s a suspect, he also seems to be a target.
As Jeremy puts the pieces together, rather quickly I might add, he starts to warn the rest of his old high school crew that their past may literally be coming back to haunt them. Through randomly placed, sparse and quick teasing panels, we see a girl named Emily Higgins, a girl clearly in pain and distress, a girl we are led to believe was tortured (definitely emotionally, possibly physically) by Jeremy and Co. back in the day. But because no one believes Jeremy, these jackasses are gong to keep dying.
It feels very much like I’m writing a synopsis for the next Wes Craven film, which is why I’ll say it again, this could be fantastic or it could be a bit cliché and trope-y. I mean we’ve even got the mean sheriff buddy who believes no one until he randomly decides to believe everyone. You know the type.
Regardless of its ubiquitous nature, ‘Cutter’ is rocking some fantastic black and white art by one of my favorite horror artists, Christian Dibari. Honestly, blood splatter never looked so good in black and white. And the mystery is written very well: the “what” and the “why” are delightfully enthralling. There’s nothing about this comic that makes me want to stay away, just nothing to prove itself mind blowing–not YET.
Perhaps the coolest aspect of ‘Cutter’ is the fact that it’s a 4-issue weekly miniseries that runs throughout October. A horror comic just for October, you say? That’s the kind of candy I like. There is some insane talent on this project (SEAMUS KEVIN FAHEY!!!) so I’m inclined to be excited over exasperated.
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Bree Ogden is a literary agent at D4EO Literary Agency, a judge for the Ghastly Awards, and the managing editor of the macabre children’s magazine Underneath the Juniper Tree, which she co-founded in 2011 with artist Rebekah Joy Plett. When she’s not watching horror films, reading comics, hiding out at the Pacific Science Center, or killing off her bee colonies, she teaches graphic novel scripting at LitReactor.com. Twitter: @breeogden
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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