Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Various
Publisher: Devil’s Due
Price: $4.95
Horror movie fans will be familiar with the concept of the “Final Girl” – the last survivor, either the one who finally defeats the monster, or at least the one who manages to escape and tell her story. The term is used predominantly, though not solely, in relation to slasher movies.
Cassie Hack, heroine of Hack/Slash, is the final girl who struck back, the lone survivor of a slasher called The Lunch Lady, who happened to be Cassie’s own mother. Now, with the aid of her monstrous companion Vlad, she travels the world hunting and killing slashers, reimagined here as a form of undead killer, fuelled by rage and a hatred for life.
With a teen victim-turned-hunter heroine and her monstrous partner, the obvious lazy comparison to make would be to Buffy (Or, given Cassie’s dark hair and darker dress sense, Buffy’s fellow Slayer Faith). Despite the surface similarities, the two characters are very different.
There was a prologue to Slice Hard in the Pre-Sliced 25¢ Special, but basically Cassie and Vlad have been captured by a pharmaceutical research institute who want to use them to hunt slashers so they can investigate exactly what it is that enables them to resist physical damage and use it in age-defying cosmetics.
Unfortunately, and utterly unsurprisingly, something goes hideously wrong. Before Cassie and Vlad can get away, the slashers that have been kept captive manage to escape, and it’s up to them to save the day and everyone in the building – even if they don’t want to.
Seeley has crafted another fun tale here, with an interesting mixture of slashers, including one who returns from a previous storyline. On the other hand, the artwork (which is credited to five different people) starts at passable and goes downhill from there. With the amount of attention this title is getting – there has already been a stage play, a battle against popular movie slasher Chucky is forthcoming, and a movie is in the works – one would expect that a higher standard of artwork would be possible.
Despite reservations about the art there are great things in store for this title. If the concept appeals to you, you should definitely give it a shot.
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Russell Hillman was born in London but now lives in Coventry. His hobbies include precious little. He doesn’t get out much, but thinks reading a lot of comics makes up for it. He’s wrong.