Tim Seeley‘s Hack/Slash returns with a new miniseries from writer/artist Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School. And we’ve got an advance review of the first, blood-spattered issue.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Hack/Slash: Back To School #1 Review:
In the book, we remeet the slasher of slashers Cassie Hack just after she confronts her mother, the serial killing Lunch Lady. She’s also just meeting her partner Vlad, and having some serious flashbacks to her most recent trauma.
Host Alex Zalben called the book “awesome.” He also felt that Thorogood “channeled perfectly the world that Tim Seeley set up.” Frequent Comic Book Club listeners may know Thorogood from Rain and It’s Lonely At The Center of the Earth. The former was a favorite of the podcast. The latter was named one of our best graphic novels of 2022.
Pete LePage likened the book to Batman: Year One… Bringing Cassie and Vlad back to their beginnings is a “special time” to write about. “It’s also just exciting to see Cassie and Vlad back together,” LePage noted, after the epic and heartbreaking events of the main series.
Justin Tyler lauded the art, and on the story said there’s, “some great horror in here.” He agreed with LePage that taking the characters back to a, “younger, more innocent, what am I doing with my life,” time didn’t stop the story from hitting the “gas pedal… This is just a great beginning to this. I can’t wait to read more.”
Is Hack/Slash: Back To School #1 A YA Graphic Novel?
However, the hosts did take slight issue with Image initially selling it as a YA book, as it definitely doesn’t hold back on the blood and gore. Zalben called out that Thorogood, “draws melty, horrific things in such a beautiful way… It’s pretty intense.”
There are heads cut off, and there are horrific murders; not what you would normally think of as YA. “It’s set in that type of emotional world or setting, but the horror of this book is definitely straight-up, real horror,” Tyler added.
The book hits stores from Image Comics on October 18.
Hack/Slash: Back To School #1 Official Synopsis:
HACK/SLASH returns with an untold tale and critically acclaimed cartoonist ZOE THOROGOOD at the bloody helm! 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! 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.
