Review: Severed #5

After issue's 4 tragedy, Jack continues along the murky road with his 'salesman' companion en route to meet his father. This hope and dream sees Jack mired in mistrust and doubt after the fate of his friend Sam, whom he thinks deserted him. Jack and his friend continue to be scripted a la the best works of Stephen King via chilly atmospheres, eerie settings, some dystopian dialogues, all added in to a learning experience called a road trip. It's clear that there's adolescent education and coming of age tied into the seeds of horror sewn by the eclectic duo of Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft. The frenetic sense of impending doom is better enhanced by Attila's smooth and succinct artwork, which gets better by the issue - not to mention the impressive coloring.
The art continues to be a wondrous spectacle by me as it's glossy yet so straightforward. True intricacy in its simplicity.

This issue here doesn't expand on much except the theme of bonding on the road. It's one to test and build loyalties and the fear of doubt that sets in when building this particular bridge. Somehow carved here, while not in stone, is a sense of empathy and sympathy as the salesman looks out for Jack, in ways not usually expected, while adding small semblances of humanity to his own villainous purposes. We see him with personal effects, relationships and mysterious belongings/affiliates that make him more mesmerizing and complex than first assumed. It's safe to say that his portrayal as an enigma won't give away his hand and true motives/ID just yet, but the portraits painted here show that a lot lies beneath the surface than first envisioned with respect to the 'villain'. An extra layer and supplemental degree of mystery is well added here to the murderous intent offered.

There are some gruesome panels and while they go for scary, the creative team try and succeed in keeping a momentum going that maintains a sense of humanity, innocence and naivety while wrapping it literally, in a flesh of something macabre. The cadre of the plot is simple yet precisely grim when need be...and it's timely that Jack finds his little 'trinket' at the end of the issue. The cavalcade of what ensues will no doubt be ghastly and set up for a grand issue 6. The ride just got a bit scarier...in the least dramatic fashion. These guys continue to craft a decent book...and it's getting choppy for young Jack...pun intended. His journey to find his dad took a brief respite, but what he found in the meantime, has him in his world of cynicism and mistrust, more and more as the issue ends.