Since Halloween is near here’s special review for Hack/Slash, the ongoing comic series created by Tim Seeley. It’s a horror action series that lampshades, parodies, and subverts the horror genre, particularly horror movies.
The series follows Cassie Hack, a “horror movie survivor” or “final girl” as it were, she was a shy, quiet, girl whose mother killed everyone who picked on her when she was a kid. When Cassie called the police her mother took her own life, but like any good horror villain she came back to kill more people. Cassie had to shoot and kill her again to stop her permanently. After that she went on the road to kill any other “Slasher” monsters, killers like the ones from horror movies essentially.
She later meets up with Vlad while dealing with another Slasher, the Meatman killer. He’s giant sized deformed man who wears a gas mask to hide his face and because of respiratory problems. Despite his outward appearance he’s much more a gentle giant, who was raised by a kind butcher after he was abandoned as a baby. Cassie invites him along on her travels and the two become close friends. He’s got a much more child-like nature to him having never experienced much of the world. He is the muscle of the pair.
The series is primarily about the two of them going around killing Slashers while trying to survive and keep themselves sane. Most of the Slashers are creations of the comic but still fit so well into the classic slasher horror mould that they could easily be turned into movie monsters. There however some well known franchises used, such as Chucky & the Reanimator, as some interesting stories. There was even a crossover with The Suicide Girls, although with them being the victim of a Computer Slasher and not them being Slashers.
At the beginning the comic is a series of one-shots and minis that tell single stories with very minimal ongoing story. After it got an ongoing it started doing some more continuing stories. They were more things that carried on from one story to the next, characters reappearing and more ongoing development. There’s also a government agency researching the Slashers and a mystery revolving around Cassie’s father. They’ve still got the “horror movie plots” for every arc, the ongoing stuff is a backdrop to that.
The variety of stories told is pretty expansive. From standard horror plots, to crossovers with franchises, character pieces, parodies, there’s even an Archie style story drawn in that comic style where the characters come to a faux-Riverdale town. Probably some of the better moments is when we see the tough girl veneer of Cassie crack a bit and we get a look at how much of a toll this life has taken on her.
The series, while not that deep, is great fun and offers a different perspective on horror stories. The art changes between stories but they fit with the story being told and are usually pretty good. There is some cheesecake and fanservice in the series, and by some I mean quite a bit, but it’s more playing the genre. It’s in the vain of horror movies that show off girls in skimpy clothing and the comic does the same thing because of that. I’d recommend checking it out if you’re a fan of horror movies and want to see what happens when the survivor girl snaps and has had enough. The series is collected in Omnibus’ so it’s easy to find without getting confused over which trade or miniseries comes first.
