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
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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