COMIC BINGE: Hack/Slash
I have been wanting to read Hack/Slash for a long time now. Ever since I started reading comics religiously when I started working at a library, I always knew there was a horror comic market. I had seen comics of famous horror movie franchises and other types when I would get the rare treat of visiting a comic shop when I was younger. Now, I know all of these comics are out there but they seem to be somewhat difficult to get your hands on. This was one series that I was able to get omnibus editions for, so I was able to read the entire series from beginning to end. They definitely made a moderate fan out of me just with artwork and subject material. However, this book was not nearly as awesome as I think it should have been, and I was definitely let down by the end. When reading an entire series like this one, it gives you a real good opportunity to take a look at quality over time. When reading a series as each volume comes out, a little bit of each volume is left to carry over into the next. That 9-month wait for the next volume gives the volume a little added imaginary quality, just because of the suspense of getting a new book. When reading something all the way through from the beginning like this, you get to see where it all goes wrong. Unfortunately, Hack/Slash never seemed to get it right.
From the outset, they do a fantastic job of establishing Cassie Hack as the main character. The daughter of a psycho lunch lady, she sets out to slash the slashers as a career. Seeing her demented mother turn into a slasher caused her to want to fight back against the slashers for the rest of her life. You can obviously see where this common story is headed and that it takes a certain sense of horrific humor to get into it. Right off the bat, I was sold. A goth girl in a short skirt running around and claiming vengeance on the slashers of the world sounded perfect. All of that surface-level quality can lose all of its charm quickly when there’s nothing to back it up. The magic expired soon into the second omnibus edition of Hack/Slash and I found myself a little tired of the act. Part of it may have been due to the fact that I did indeed read the entire series in such a short amount of time, but it really just doesn’t have much going for it. The stories became very plain or way too complicated, and the art started to suffer as the words took hold of the page. Some of the highlights include Cassie Hack’s battles with familiar characters like Victor Crowley, Re-Animator and Chucky, as well as some fourth-wall breaking moments with Robert Kirkman and Skottie Young.
I think that horror comics should be made for people that are fans of horror film, but obviously you can’t cater to the long desensitized or your book is going to be garbage too. Now, there are several degrees of horror movie fandom, but let’s just stick with die-hards for now. Die-hard horror fans want to see their horror, and that is not what Hack/Slash does for most of its run. Sure, there are some bloody pages here and there and some gruesome things, but nowhere near the level that some of us horror aficionados are used to. The covers of the books were probably one of the best parts, as there are some great bubblegum Cassie covers and some more edgy ones with other characters. I enjoyed getting to the end of each omnibus to look at the cover gallery, as it showcased what enticed readers to the title in the first place. The covers definitely attract a certain crowd, and they hooked me right away. I gave it a shot and while there were some exceptions to the following statement, Hack/Slash for the most part is not worth your time. I would recommend it if you are truly looking for more horror in your comic lineup and haven’t found it elsewhere. Hack/Slash is nothing near what we horror fans would expect from its advertised content, but it did keep me interested enough to read through the series before moving on. It does have some great stories contained within, Hack/Slash vs. Army of Darkness unfortunately not being one of them, but overall it doesn’t do much to impress. If anything, just take a look at some of the covers in the Hack/Slash series and decide for yourself if taking a look around is worth the sacrifice in quality of writing.