Comic Book Review: Hack/Slash
Comic Book Review: Hack/Slash
In keeping with my theme of curious, cute and creepy things I bring another (comic) book review. This week I have been binge reading a comic series called Hack/Slash, published through Image Comics. This is a (literal) slasher comic series that all lovers of old school slasher flicks will enjoy.
So far I have worked my way through the first two omnibus volumes, and I am pretty much hooked. I am a big fan of old school slasher flicks and creature features like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Alien, etc. If you like those types of movies then you will probably like Hack/Slash.
The basic breakdown of this plot is this: Cassie Hack and her sidekick Vlad are Slasher Hunters. Slashers are evil murderous creatures born when a murder dies and decides he isn’t quite done killing just yet. Slashers come back from the graves as twisted versions of their former selves. To make matters worse they usually come back with some sort of supernatural power, which explains many of the classic baddies returning for a never ending strng of sequels. It is Cassie and Vlad’s jobs to kill them … and make sure they stay dead. There are of course back stories and such, but I don’t want to give too much away.
This series definitely follows the old horror tropes right down to the tad-too-frequent nudity. Ya, even excluding the gore, this is not a safe for work read folks. Main squeeze, Cassie Hack, ends up with her clothes torn off in every issue more or less, and if it is not Cassie it is one of the victims-to-be. Blatant male pandering aside, Hack/Slash does not take itself too seriously, and there are some genuinely funny moments. This is particularly enjoyable for those of us who enjoy a little gallows humor every once in a while. The more lighthearted moments are an excellent tool for balancing out the … well … hacking and slashing.
The main characters of Hack/Slash are solid. Cassie has her moments when you wonder why the heck she keeps walking into obvious traps (and her choice in clothing), but as a whole she is capable of defending herself. When Cassie drops the ball there is always her partner Vlad, who is an obvious nod to big-baddies like Jason and Leatherface. This book makes me genuinely think these two characters are friends that would put their lives on the line for each other.
A nice little bonus of this series are the celebrity cameos that pop up from time to time. Again, I do not want to give too much away, but a certain possessed Good Guy doll may or may not be a featured slasher in this series. Read and find out!
If anyone is looking for good Halloween Season reading I would take a look at this series. Both hilariously self-aware and gut wrenchingly gruesome, I highly recommend these to horror fans.
I will be doing more Halloween reading in the next few weeks! Next up will be Fables and Morning Glories … in no particular order.