Cassie and Vlad are called back to the strange little town of Haverhill, as the peaceful, idyllic burg is beset by Mary Shelley Lovecraft and her Franken-Deep Ones. Mary, intent on taking a Groom in her quest to remake the world in fiction, just might have Our Pal Taber in her sights. But Taber already has enough trouble deciding between the blonde and the redhead
Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
The first half of this volume is (I think) supposed to give us some real answers. And I guess it sort of does, but I can't say I really get exactly what we're doing here. We certainly got a little more info, but I can't say it was very satisfying. This half is also hampered by art by Bryan Baugh, which is really excellent, but doesn't fit this story at all. (This has always been a big problem with this series--inconsistent art.) We also get the return of a slasher from a previous storyline, but one which I have apparently forgotten. I should really read these volumes closer together.
Anyway, in the last story, we revisit the faux Archie world, visited by my very favorite H/S villain: Mary Shelley Lovecraft. This story is superweird and MSL is much more meta than this series usually becomes, but I really dug it.
I've had mixed feelings about Hack/Slash ever since I first heard about it. I love the idea, the story is good. It's original enough to keep everyone entertained with just enough references for horror fans to find.
My only issue with this series is the art. Sometimes It's amazing, and sometimes it's cartoonish and unbearable. This entire volume had awesome art and it works as a "jumping on point" for new fans so if you want to see Hack/Slash at its best, I recommend this volume and My First Maniac.
I had to start reading the Hack/Slash series in the middle because I had to write a review of this particular book. Checking older issues, I apparently missed two other artists who brought really mature artwork to the series. The stories I read were entertaining enough, but the almost cartoon-like style didn't quite fit the tone. Anyway, I might want to catch up with the older adventures and then proceed from book 8 onwards.