The Light by Nathan Edmondson

Rating - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10

"A world where any light attached to an electrical grid can burn you up from the inside out sounds pretty messed up, but that's whats on offer here."

Story - Nathan Edmondson
Art - Brett Weldele

Publisher - Image Comics
Release Date - April 14th, 2010
No. of Issues - #5


So, how do I try and explain this one...
The plot is based around the concept of a plague or virus, in the comic book I believe the term they use is an infection.
This infection has manifest itself in the electricity grids that unfortunately cover a large proportion of our planet. It seems that any poor person unfortunate enough to look into a light connected to 'the grid' somehow burns up from the inside, like an explosion of light.
The story follows Coyle, a downbeat father who works as a welder and quickly finds himself in a world where the people around him are getting killed by 'the light'. Luckily for Coyle being a welder has paid off big time as his welding goggles seem to protect him from this deadly light. This gives him the perfect opportunity to try and save himself and his daughter before it's too late.

- The first thing that stands out about The Light is its modern twist on a dystopian world. The plot is pretty unique, that's for sure, and the writer deserves credit for coming up with a different take on global disaster that doesn't involve the 'Z' word. But before you get too excited though, The Light unfortunately never really reaches the levels of drama and character development that one would expect to see when people are put in such traumatic times. With the story unfolding over only five issues, its frustrating because you want this to be really great, and to a degree it is. However, I can't help feeling that both the explanation of the main plot itself and the development of the lead characters has suffered as a result of the writers intentionally not wanting to cram things in. This however, leaves us as the readers a little in the dark (Haha! See what they did there). On the plus side, the line art and choice of colours really is fantastic. It gives a great impression of this dark and eerie world and lends itself well to the beautiful lighting effects that are predominant throughout the art.
If you enjoy a distopian world with elements of survival horror then you may well enjoy this one more than I did. Its not bad by any means, its just unfortunately not great (but what can you expect from five issues?). I certainly couldn't even imagine a plot this bizarre let alone make it tangible in the space required. - Matt W

(Pictures Copyright of Image Comics)

Severed by Scott Snyder

Rating - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

"A great little horror story from start to finish, I enjoyed every moment of it"

Story - Scott Synder, Scott Tuft
Art - Attila Futaki
Colours - Greg Guilhaumond

Publisher - Image Comics
Release Date - Feb 8th, 2012
No. of Issues - #7


Severed is a seven issue run of psychological horror that will keep you gripped from start to finish. Set in 1916, the plot centers around a young boy named Jack who has run away from home in search of his father. The terror slowly unfolds as Jack meets a travelling salesman who has a sinister plan and a taste for flesh.

Having spent many years reading comics, its always refreshing when you come across a story that really stands out. I'd not heard of Severed at all before I read it but I can honestly say that once the pages started turning I quickly became drawn into the slow and tense atmosphere that was building with every issue.
Without giving away any specific spoilers, the final confrontation is pretty brutal and after all that progressive build up, it's well worth the wait.
If you're a fan of the horror genre in any sense then you'll enjoy Severed, It's a well written story with some great artwork and it will tease you until the very last page. - Matt W

(Pictures Copyright of Image Comics)