The sheer simplicity of this page bears out the terror and fear of the dramatic situation young Cyclops finds himself in. There is a glorious composition which is not just the central placement of the image but more the lack of information at the peripheries. This provides no aversion of gaze and brings full attention to the assault of Summers. The image itself is genuinely quite scary because all we see of the assailant is a tentacle, or as we come to understand is a tongue. It is difficult to know which is more horrid but the way in which it strangles Scott’s neck brings fright to the comic. There is a great use of perspective as Cyclops grips the ground with his fingers, and the trails show how he is being dragged. The complete absence of colour around and behind our hero is all the more scary. Not only is Scott being captured but he is being dragged away from us into the darkness. The page is fantastic at inciting fear but hopelessness also starts to creep into our mind, thus demonstrating the intense ability of penciller, inker and colourist.
House Of Flying Scalpels 