Tag Archives: hack/slash: back to school

Around the Tubes

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Green Arrow #11

It’s new comic book day! What are you all excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below. While you wait for shops to open, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.

Engadget – Senate passes bill that could ban TikTok – We’ll be sticking with TikTok.

Kotaku – New X-Men Xbox Is X-Cellent (And Not For Sale) – Meh.

The Beat – Sam Kusek joins Kickstarter as new Senior Outreach Lead, Comics – Interesting.

Reviews

Comicbook – Green Arrow #11
The Beat – Hack/Slash: Back to School #1-4

Hack/Slash: Back to School #4 Tragically Hacks Your Heart to Bits

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Hack/Slash: Back to School #4

With The Mother still on the loose, Cassie Hack and the remaining students at the Hunters for Hire lock down the academy to protect themself. As a slow-burn romance fully blooms for Cassie while finding the family she always wanted, it’s only time before her dreams get shattered by a slasher. Zoe Thorogood delivers a hilarious, horrific, and heartbreaking finale in Hack/Slash: Back to School #4.

Over its four issues, Hack/Slash: Back to School has been an extremely delightful series to read and watch Thorogood put her stamp on the characters and the world. Due to Thorogood’s expert writing and art, I became a massive fan of Cassie. Balancing horror and comedy but grounding the reader in Cassie’s headspace, we experience the whole gambit of emotions while hoping she can find the happy life she has always desired. Considering the many challenges of prequels, Thorogood crafts an enthralling narrative that significantly contributes to the world of Hack/Slash and provides a different viewpoint on the previous material. This is especially true for the found family aspect and the romance between Cassie and Sam since Cassie never mentions these events or people in the present. And I appreciate their inclusion as doomed couples, due to later titles will touch upon Cassie’s queerness.

At the center of Hack/Slash: Back to School is an emotional and tragic gut punch that would not be effective without us being invested in the people at the academy. Because of how much death and tragedy have followed Cassie all of her life, the event should not come as a surprise, but the build-up helps signal that disaster will strike. Thorogood presents this tragic event with the needed gravitas and weight while conveying its traumatic impact on Cassie. By having a possessed Cassie kill her friends and new mother figure, it not only mirrors her slasher mother’s actions but reinforces her isolated life where she can never indeed be safe or happy. Lastly, Vlad removing Cassie’s memories of the school adds a final tragic bow to the story since she will never remember her love of Sam, her friendships, and the potentially happy life she could have had. Vlad, her closest friend, will carry the weight of the happiness and horrors she had while at Hunters for Hire.

Thorogood’s experimentation with different artistic styles and the reproduction of different mediums add to the book’s strong and striking visuals. Paired with color assists by Sarah Mitrache, Hack/Slash: Back to School Issue 4 is an artistic delight that blew my mind. Thorogood continually exceeds her previous work as she delivers incredible job, especially on this issue. Juggling different tones and moments of diagramless storytelling, she showcases her strong penchant for a narrative, demonstrating why she is one of the most exciting comic voices. In her art, you can see her love and passion for the characters and world and the medium.

Hack/Slash: Back to School #4 by Zoe Thorogood ends on an intense and tragic note. Perfect for fans of past titles, the horror genre, or Thorogood’s previous works, the issue will expertly break your heart after such a fun and exciting ride. While the series could have only ended on a bittersweet note, Thorogood made it worth it to experience that painful stinging that would eventually arrive.

Story/Art: Zoe Thorogood
Color Assists: Sarah Mitrache Letterer: Zoe Thorogood
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Hack/Slash: Back to School #3 Slashes Up a Bloody Good Time

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Hack/Slash: Back to School #3

Cassie Hack continues training at Hunters for Hire to become the greatest slasher killer ever. Now, she and her school friends are hunting a slasher who has been forcing children to kill their families. Hack/Slash: Back to School #3 by Zoe Thorogood has plenty of blood, humor, and charm that will delight horror fans looking for a unique coming-of-age story. 

Almost immediately, Thorogood draws the reader in with her engaging characters and excellent horror comedy. She has a great hold on the series’ established tone and mood and injects it with her sensibilities and idiosyncrasies to make Hack Slash Back to School match her solid artistic style. Thorogood expertly balances the campy high school drama with the horrors of the slashers they face. Considering how dangerous attending high school feels, placing Cassie in the setting makes sense. While the issue has heightened characters, they still appear relatable and flawed in human relationships. Especially for Cassie, who is trying to find her place in the school and the world itself. Thorogood nails that coming-of-age aspect, which gives the series its emotional solid core. 

I also appreciate having a horror comic featuring a mostly exclusive female cast. Each supporting cast is not as simple cliches but as exciting characters; Cassie would be interested in becoming her friend. As a result, the school setting gains a life of its own as a little ecosystem that she must navigate. The characters interact in high school in different manners and take on different approaches when fighting slashers. Whether it be the more outgoing and obsessed Boo or the introspective warrior Sam, they each have a different bond with Cassie. And considering that this comic serves as a prequel, I enjoyed the aspects of the world that were fleshed out. 

Much like her writing, Thorogood’s sublime artwork pushes the issue over the top. Perfectly combining pop alt-indie art with macabre imagery, my eyes quickly clung to each panel. With clean action and small moments of physical comedy, every page is a treat. Similarly, the monster’s designs are excellent. Thorogood puts a unique twist on them by evoking classic J-horror films and manga. Along with color assists by Sarah Mitrache, the issue bursts with tons of energy and flair. Representing Cassie’s inner thoughts via diary paper, Thorogood’s lettering adds to the presentation.

Hack/Slash: Back to School #3 continues to demonstrate Thorogood’s artistic strengths and distinct creative style. The series delivers heart, gore, and comedy to horror fans. It is easily one of the more visually striking titles on the stands. Whether you are a long-time fan of Cassie Hack or looking for a new entryway into a long-running series, Thorogood’s current mini-series will perfectly fit your needs. It’s a bloody and hilarious good time.

Story and Art: Zoe Thorogood
Color Assists: Sarah Mtrache Letterer: Zoe Thorogood
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle

Mini Reviews: Go Back to School with Hack/Slash while the Justice League take on Godzilla and Kong

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Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1

Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.

Logan

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 (DC Comics) – There are glimpses of Godzilla, Kong, and other denizens of Legendary’s MonsterVerse in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1, but mostly, the comic reads like a pretty standard Justice League vs. Legion of Doom throwdown. Brian Buccelato and Christian Duce turn in an episode of Superfriends with more modern dialogue and an art style that’s a lot like the New 52 designs, but sleeker. Buccelato also seems to get some of his characterization from the early days of the New 52 with Hal Jordan acting like a total douchebag while Barry Allen is a little unsure of himself and hasn’t revealed his secret identity to Iris. However, Superman’s characterization is more traditional with the heart of the comic being his proposal to Lois Lane that’s, of course, interrupted by a certain kaiju. JL vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 is a pretty standard superhero comic, but it has flashes of fun like the Legion of Doom breaking into the Fortress of Solitude that’s thwarted by someone who never should have been on the team in the first place. It’ll be interesting to see if the quality gets better when we see more of Godzilla and Kong. Overall: 7.2 Verdict: Read

Hack/Slash: Back to School #1 (Image Comics) – Cartoonist Zoe Thorogood turns her talents to the postmodern horror genre in a new revival of cult 2000s comic Hack/Slash. It’s like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and X-Men, but way more fucked up. Thorogood immediately dives into the trauma of protagonist Cassie Hack who is living a wayward life after killing her mother who was a literal monster. She conveys this through messing around with layouts as a fast food mascot ghost merges into an image of Cassie’s mom. The intervention of former B-movie starlet/current headmistress sets up the premise of the series, and Zoe Thorogood subverts the “weird new girl” trope by having all the students of the school have traumatic backstories involving monsters, or slashers as they’re called in this universe. All in all, Hack/Slash: Back to School #1 is perfect reading for spooky season with buckets of blood, general creepiness, and a self-aware sense of humor to go with the vulnerability in the captions Thorogood writes for Cassie done in a handwriting type lettering style. Overall: 8.7 Verdict: Buy

Zoe Thorogood takes the reins on Hack/Slash

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Five time 2023 Eisner Award and Russ Manning Award nominee Zoe Thorogood will take the reins on the upcoming spinoff of Tim Seeley’s beloved Hack/Slash: Back to School. This all new chapter in the fan-favorite escapades of Cassie Hack will run four-issues long and launch this October from Image Comics.

Hack/Slash returns with an untold tale! Slasher hunter Cassie Hack is only just getting used to her man-monster partner, Vlad, when she’s drawn into a new case involving a murderous bunny mascot, dead kids, and an entire squad of maladjusted teenage serial-killer hunters. Hack/Slash: Back to School #1 begins a completely new chapter in the beloved, long-running series that’s perfect for new readers and old fans alike, just in time for Halloween.

Hack/Slash: Back to School #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 18.