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Devil’s Due Publishing/Pull Box Online
Written by Tim Seely
Art by Matt Merhoff
Good Guys. Bad guys. I’m the one with the comic book. Or maybe it’s Chucky? All I know is that Bruce Campbell does not endorse this lame paraphrasing.
Through the years, Hack/Slash has quietly appealed to the horror comic book audience through Devil’s Due Publishing. Mix in random horror movie references with a saucy lady-killer named Cassie Hack, and her partner, Vlad, being somewhat of a Jason Voorhees meets TurboGrafx-16 Splatterhouse “Rick” hybrid, Hack/Slash is actually a book that’s more of a guilty pleasure for horror hounds than the average blood and guts, scarefest. Nothing wrong with that. I like being guilty, and so do you.
Quick rundown here for the noobs like me, and if I get it wrong, blame the writer because this is my first Hack/Slash book. I’d read more, but you know how money is these days. Nonexistent! Cassie Hack is a killer of killers, and her partner Vlad is the beefcake that helps her track and take down these serial killer nutcases. They seem to like knives as well because I don’t remember any guns used. That’s good though. Keeping in tune with the title. I like that. So a villain from Cassie’s past shows up, Laura, and finds fan-favorite, Chucky, all in pieces.
She sews him back up and steals his amulet. Laura then sets a trap for Cassie and Vlad, and ends up switching her bandaged and burned body with Vlad’s 1980’s Schwarzenegger physique using the amulet. Cassie finds Chucky, and boom, the adventure begins to find the amulet and get Vlad his body back. And all this takes place mostly in a van. Wait… what? A van? Sounds very familiar. Cue Twilight Zone music.
Yep, writer Tim Seely loves his horror movies. Bride of Chucky was a big influence for this one shot comic book, and you’ll also find other popular references to horror films. Some references are fun. Some are disruptive. And some are just there, like the guy at the train station sitting across from you. Just staring. Yikes! But Seely does deliver great dialogue, and manages to move the story forward when needed. He also has a great handle on Mr. Charles Lee Ray, aka, Chucky boy, and just about steals the show from his film stars. Err. Comic book stars, I mean.
The art is simply great, and very appealing to both franchises. Merhoff does an excellent job with maintaining the horror film quality presentation, but also keeping in stride with that panel to panel delivery. I enjoyed Chucky’s jumping around and knife-wielding moments, along with some Cassie action poses without being slinky or overly sexual. I was happy to see Chucky and Hack/Slash get along perfectly in the art department.
For fans of Chucky, this is a must buy. He’s alive and well in Seely’s hands. It’s a pretty good introduction to the characters of Hack/Slash for new readers like me, but I did feel like I was missing out on a few thing mentioned in earlier issues of the book. With Rogue Pictures slated to turn this into a feature film, maybe I can get a chance to get the whole Hack/Slas story on the big screen. Either way, these are some cool characters. Be one of the Good Guys and check this out. Chucky will thank you at a later time. Probably around 2am with a knife bigger than him. No worries.
GRADE: B+
http://www.devilsdue.net/
http://www.pullboxonline.com/index.php
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