Book Review: Hack/Slash: First Cut

Over 10 years ago, I bought and read this first volume of the slasher series Hack/Slash and loved it. I'm not sure why I never got around to reading any more of the series. However, I purchased Volume 2 recently and decided to revisit Volume 1 first.

The series revolves around slasher killer Cassie and her hulking companion, Vlad. Cassie survived her undead mother's reign of terror as a teenager, leading her to set out on the road in search of other murderous monsters to kill.

Hack/Slash is absolutely as good as I remembered it. I might even like it better this time around. I still completely love Vlad. Now that I'm older, however, I definitely view Cassie a little differently. I noticed her vulnerabilities more this time around. She may be a badass ass kicker, but she's also still very much a kid and still finding herself. I don't think I paid as much attention to that last time I read it, when I was still very much a kid myself.

All three stories contained in this volume are excellent, although the first one involves animal death (and subsequently, zombie animals), which I always have a hard time stomaching. Parts two (undead priest killing spring breakers) and three (murders at comic con) were more my style.

This volume closes out with a brief poem covering Cassie and Vlad's rendezvous with a Christmas killer and a collection of related art, some of which is quite stunning. There is also an entertaining "Psychofiles" bit covering the killers we've met so far that closes out the book. I hope it's featured in the following collections as well.

Hack/Slash is a great comic for both fans of slasher movies and the demon/vampire/monster/etc. ass kicking exploits in shows such as Buffy and Supernatural. It's shit tons of fun, and I definitely won't be waiting over a decade again before I revisit it.