Hack/Slash Omnibus by author Tim Seeley
Hack/Slash should be perfect for me. I LOVE horror movies. When I’m not reading I can probably be found watching something gory. I love all the classics and slashers are one of my absolute favorite subgenres. That is what attracted me to this series.
I saw that it was supposed to be about a Final Girl going on the hunt for slashers, a branch of the undead, which explains why you can burn a slasher alive and they just come right back. Great concept, I am about it. Unfortunately, the book falls a bit short of my expectations. Also, for those who aren’t horror afficianados a final girl is the last person to survive a serial killer attack. Think Jaimie Lee Curtis in Halloween.
Let’s get this part out of the way, it’s exploitative to the highest degree. That’s not inherently a bad thing, a lot of the horror genre is designed to be gratuitous is every sense. But here, it got very tiresome very quickly. Mostly because it is just panty shot after panty shot of our heroine Cassie Hack.
Now, based on the covers I figured she’d be drawn as the sexy goth girl. I can get past that, it kind of just comes with the territory for both horror and comics, I’m not gonna be able to change that overnight. But panel after panel of upskirt views starts to feel creepy. I felt like I was intruding on her in a way that made my skin crawl.
Okay, now that that part is done, let’s talk about the plot of Hack/Slash. There isn’t one. The premise is basically it. The author, Tim Seeley, came up with the idea and then took it no further.
We have our Final Girl, joined by a lovable giant Vlad, killing slasher tropes across the nation. For 10 issues. We get a little glimpse into who these two characters are, enough to really want to know more, but are left empty handed.
The killing horror movie stereotypes thing was fun at first but by the end of the volume I kept checking how much was left and was just ready for it to be over. Sorry to say I wont be continuing with Hack/Slash because I just read 10 of the same issue and that’s more than enough.
There are also some weird art issues. The illustrator seems to change with every issue and they range from quite good and eye catching to distractingly bad. More than once there were perspective issues in which a character’s face looked odd and distorted. And one issue had some of the worst line work I’ve ever seen. The lines were thick and uneven and made everything look wonky and out of focus.
The main factor that makes Hack/Slash popular is nostalgia and genre love. If you don’t recognize every slasher serial killer from horror movie history you will be unlikely to enjoy this comic book.
This all being said, if you’re looking for something mindless to pick up one issue at a time, this might be for you. I really did like some of the nods to my favorite movies and Vlad is a truly enjoyable character. But this one is not for bingeing.
3/5 butcher knives 🔪🔪🔪
If you’re looking for a traditional horror comic book with a bit more plot I’d suggest Nailbiter.
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