I’m sure at this point Tim Seeley is probably tired of me reviewing his work each week, but frankly I’ve had nothing but praise lately. That’s not to say that I won’t always, but for now he is producing some of his best work. Hack/Slash is a book that I’ve followed near the beginning of its creation and eventually when it restarted at Image I grew pretty tired of it. Something about this week told me to give it another chance and I’ll say that I’m glad that I did. The issue opens with Cassie, Samhain and Cat Curio on a charter boat-plane over the Caribbean. They’re heading to an Island that may house the cure for the Slasher disease. As they land Cat tells the group about her research into the island and the movie studio that has led them there. This is the part that gets cool, because they talk about the possibility of their being giant monsters. Hold the fucking phone that is awesome! Really this is probably the coolest concept introduced into the comic since the idea that Slashers are caused by a disease.
I won’t go into too much about the movie studio and all of Cat’s research because there is something really charming about the dialog. The gist is that every “B” monster movie creature from yesterdays may in fact be real and very dangerous.
I really enjoyed the writing and story for this issue. I think the fact that the amount of supporting cast characters being toned down helps a lot. Then there is the fact that this is venturing out of the norm for our characters which pushes them into situations that you can’t simple guess the ending to. I also enjoyed the fact that Vlad was missing from the series. He’s a great character and he and Cassie have wonderful chemistry, but it again mixes it up by not having each other to rely on.
The art is as good as I remember it and really this book seems to be hitting a new stride that’s refreshing. If like me you gave up on this series or just fell out of love with it, then I recommend giving this issue a shot. The concept of the monsters alone is worth the price of the purchase. I for one will be back next month to continue the adventure and looking forward to what awaits.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Tim Seeley Artist: Daniel Leister Publisher: Image Comics