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

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