Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #7

January 14, 2008

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Tub Club Part 1

Cassie and Vlad visit a women’s college with a big secret…

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Crank!
Editor: Mikeo’!
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Splash! (Cover A); Sara Pichelli (Cover B)
Publisher: Devil’s Due Productions

The slasher genre, which this book is both a celebration of and a parody of, is known for two things: blood and boobs. While this title has prolifically indulged in both elements, the second really gets the spotlight this month. Cassie and Vlad get called upon to visit a women’s college, where members of a top-secret club are indulging in some highly questionable rituals, and some seriously messed-up bodies are turning up.

While this story is, to be certain, a chance to indulge the sex appeal inherent in the genre, the cheesecake is actually relatively subdued. In fact, you’ll see more flesh in the average issue of Lady Death than in this issue of Hack/Slash. What’s more, the sex doesn’t come at the expense of the story. Seeley is slowly building the supporting cast of this title, and using the secondary characters to help develop our heroes. Cassie, as we learn this issue, has been spending an awful lot of time on the phone with Georgia lately, something that doesn’t sit entirely well with Vlad. While he’s clearly jealous, his jealousy doesn’t appear to be out of a physical desire for Cassie, as would so often be the case in a story like this. These characters are much more original than that, and that’s something you can really appreciate.

Rebekah Isaacs’s artwork also helps make the story. While she certainly nails the cheesecake, the gore, the monsters, and even the quiet moments all look wonderful. This highly underrated little title keeps chugging along, satisfying the heck out of me month after month.

Rating: 9/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #5

November 5, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Love Stories

The return of Ms. America?

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Crank!
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

Tim Seeley takes a break between story arcs to give our heroes a chance to catch their breath, and give a villain the chance to reemerge. This issue pretty much follows three different stories in three timelines. A young man who grew up in love with the fallen Ms. America Emily Cristy is now one of the scientists studying her deceased form as a slasher killer. Like all good movie slashers, though, is she really dead? Cassie’s friends Chris and Toni return home, recuperating from their ordeal in the Hack/Slash Vs. Chucky one-shot), only to find some added comfort with one another. Chris may have some added difficulty, however, in the form of Toni’s ex. And as for Cassie and Vlad themselves, Vlad’s frequent respiratory infections are starting to concern Cassie, and she decides to find a way to make her friend more comfortable.

The three stories, although running concurrently, could almost be from three separate issues entirely. The Ms. America storyline is prologue to a new storyline. Toni and Chris’s story is filling in some blanks from the crossover that preceded the ongoing series, while Cassie’s story isn’t really related to anything at all but works extremely well as a gentle character study. This is a rare issue of Hack/Slash that is (almost) free of violence, and gives our heroes a rare moment of peace.

Emily Stone’s artwork seems to be undergoing a slow evolution. This issue has sort of a lighter line than some of the earlier ones, and it gives the art a bit more disjointed, scattershot quality that really works for a story of this sort. Courtney Via’s color art, too, is really strong – shifting to black and white for some key scenes and punctuating the rest of them just right.

This is a nice stand-alone issue, and a decent place for new readers to jump on.

Rating: 8/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #4

September 1, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good

Has Vlad lost what he needed to save Cassie?

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley
Publisher: Devil’s Due

Cassie Hack has been captured by hard rocker Six Sixx, the latest in a line of musicians who have sold their souls to the dark forces in exchange for rock immortality. Cassie and her friend Georgia, along with a score of concert-goers, have been taken to another realm, where they’re being held captive by the virtue the demons feed off of – their virginity. Vlad, discarded because of his ugly face, has had to lose his virginity to have any hope of rescuing Cassie.

That pretty much takes us to this issue, where Seeley really lets Vlad shine. While he’s by no means the first “monster with a heart of gold” in comics, Vlad is probably one of the best such characters to show his face in a long time. His innocence and naiveté make him a truly lovable monster, even to the point where he find himself unsure as to whether or not he’s still a virgin (one of the funniest scenes in the book).

The mixture of horror and humor makes this book something that I dearly love to read. While Cassie doesn’t really get to do much this issue, that’s okay. Vlad’s time to shine was overdue, and the promise of the return of an old foe next issue makes it clear Cassie is going to have her hands full.

Emily Stone’s artwork continues to impress. There are two things vital for a book like this one – sexy girls and ugly monsters. Stone does them both exceedingly well.

This book just keeps getting better and better. Thank goodness it’s an ongoing now.

Rating: 8/10

Hack/Slash (2003 Series) #3

August 11, 2007

Quick Rating: Great

As Cassie is held in the clutches of a real “Death” metal band, there’s only one way Vlad can save her. Will he be man enough?

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley
Publisher: Devil’s Due

Last issue, Cassie and every other virgin in the Six Sixx concert got zapped to another dimension straight out of Clive Barker’s nightmare, ready to serve up as sacrificial lambs for a demon that make rock stars. Vlad, tossed aside by the band, has to get there to save the day, but he’ll fall under their power if he does. There’s only one way to break free of the curse – ol’ Vlad has to be de-virginized.

Since the beginning of this series, the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about it is the way Tim Seeley casually drops in the clichés and conventions of the horror genre, and finds ways to twist it around. The virgin angle, of course, is a big deal in slasher flicks, and as dirty a girl as Cassie appears, the revelation that she’s been chaste actually works extremely well. It also opens up the doors for some discussion of the character this issue that feels rather natural, not forced, as the character questions her own sexuality. Seeley does this without feeling either gratuitous or preachy, which are the two biggest dangers of such an approach.

Vlad’s story, meanwhile, is simply funny. The poor man-mountain has only one shot to save his friend, but finding a way to lose his virginity seems to be a particularly monumental task. The various solutions presented here are really rather entertaining.

Emily Stone’s artwork has been really strong for this series, and as we go to this hellish other dimension, she continues to impress, providing us with nice, horrific landscapes and nasty creatures you wouldn’t want to run into in your dreams.

This book has hands-down become one of my favorites. It’s one of the most unique reads on the stands, and every horror fan should be lined up to read it.

Rating: 9/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #1

April 9, 2007

Quick Rating: Great

Cassie captured – and her past is on trial!

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Emily Stone (Cover A); Stefano Caselli (Cover B)
Publisher: Devil’s Due

The best original property from Devil’s Due is finally graduating to its own ongoing series, and not a moment too soon. Tim Seeley and Emily Stone bring Cassie and Vlad into the regular publishing arena with a first issue that stands as a perfect introduction for new readers, and a nice refresher for longtime fans.

Cassie Hack, the girl who has devoted her life to hunting down slasher movie-style serial killers, has been captured by one of her targets. The killer, a psychologist who apparently likes to analyze his victims as he tortures them, invites a nice series of flashback sequences, which gives us a dandy recap of Cassie’s origins, how she first encountered Vlad, and why she makes killing serial killers her mission in life.

The book serves as a perfect recap. People who haven’t read a single Hack/Slash story before now will be able to pick this up and have everything they need to jump right in. For people who’ve read the series for a while, though, the killer this issue is a clever enough one-off villain that they won’t be bored. Although this is mostly a done-in-one issue, there’s also a great little reveal at the end that seems to point us towards the next story arc for Cassie, where something from her past will evidently come back to haunt her.

Emily Stone, on art, is a real find. She does a great job with our heroes and our villains, which may be even more important. Cassie is hot and there’s lots of gore, which means the two most important factors of the slasher genre are fulfilled, but she also has a good eye for storytelling and design. This is a book as fun to look at as it is to read.

The cover of the issue happily reminds us that Hack/Slash is in the works as a motion picture. Unless you want to be one of those losers who doesn’t start reading a comic until it gets mainstream appeal, start picking this up now. It’s a blast.

Rating: 9/10

Hack/Slash Vs. Chucky #1

March 13, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good

Cassie Hack’s greatest challenge? Teaming up with the psycho doll called Chucky!

Writer: Tim Seeley
Pencils: Matt Merhoff
Colors: Wes Dzioba
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley
Publisher: Devil’s Due

If you’ve never read one of Tim Seeley’s Hack/Slash stories, you can’t possibly be a fan of slasher movies. The concept – like all great concepts – is remarkably simple: the sort of teenage girl who usually winds up cannon fodder for killers like Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees finally gets fed up and becomes a killer herself – brutally murdering any serial killer she can find.

It was only inevitable that sooner or later that Cassie and her partner, Vlad, would come across an actual movie monster like they’ve been killing for so long. The reason Chucky gets the nod? Because Rogue Pictures, owner of the Chucky franchise (if not the Child’s Play name) is currently in production of the Hack/Slash movie.

But enough trivia, on to the comic. Is it any good? In a word: Hell yes! Tim Seeley has found a way to tell this story but still make it a little more special than just having Cassie hunt down Chucky. Instead, through, he’s found a way to force them together – despite a mutual urge to kill each other – to face a common foe with a penchant for aiming at Cassie’s friends.

Seeley manages to respect the integrity of both franchises, making the book work very well for fans of either property. Cassie and Vlad are doing what they do best, but Chucky gets plenty of chances to loose some blood on the page. Mat Merhoff’s artwork also fits the comic perfectly: his Cassie and Vlad are great, and his Chucky – while not actually menacing – fits flawlessly into their world. Of course, it isn’t Chucky’s appearance that’s supposed to be menacing, but his actions.

This book really rocks – it melds two great properties, giving Hack/Slash a nice breather before the ongoing starts and Chucky a good place to get his feet wet before his upcoming miniseries. If you dig slashers, if you dig buckets of blood, you’ve got to get this comic.

Rating: 8/10