Hack/Slash is a horror comedy comic by Tim Seeley that depicts the exploits of one Cassie Hack and her ogre of a partner Vlad as they travel across the country killing slashers, and you do yourself quite the disservice by not reading it.

Cassie is the survivor of a slasher known as "the Lunch Lady" who is also her own mother. Cassie's mother murders children who bully her daughter, but Cassie eventually exposes her. Out of shock Cassie's mother dunks her head in a pot of gravy and kills herself. Cassie is then placed with a foster family but her mother returns from the grave and begins murdering again. This time Cassie is able to fight back having taken all her aggression from being bullied and directing it  into fighting and kills her mother a second time. After burying her Cassie leaves her foster parents and sets out with a new found sense of purpose; "Find slashers and kill them." Also it may be because Cassie's afraid of becoming like her mom and at least wants to point those murderous urges in the direction of the bad guys.

Now at first glance this comic seems like utter trash. Cassie dresses like a Suicide Girl (There was actually an issue involving Suicidegirls.com and she even got an album that was featured on the site. I'm not making this up), there's a lot of profanity, excessive violence, scantily clad girls. Basically the parts of slasher movies everyone criticizes. Well that's cause Hack/Slash is trashy but it's unapologetic about how trashy it is. Its tongue-in-cheek humor helps to balance out the darker and trashier elements, as it parodies as much as it honors many of the cliche tropes found in movies like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. For the most part the book doesn't ask you to take it seriously and stays fairly consistent in tone. The storytelling's very simplistic, usually following a ghoul of the week formula. It does allow for some pretty creative slashers and monsters, but probably what helps is that Tim Seeley knows not to reach for unreachable goals and keeps everything simple. Cassie and Vlad find slasher, they kill it, rinse and repeat. That might come off as repetitive but it's a comic book that pokes fun at slasher movies. It's not Shakespeare, but neither is it trying to be. And that's one of Hack/Slash's biggest strengths, it wants to be a fun trashy good time and it is.

Course Hack/Slash wouldn't be half good if its characters weren't worth a damn. Luckily they are. Cassie can only be described in one word: BADASS. Cassie has to be one of the best female comic book characters I've ever seen. She's funny, resourceful, tough, and of course extremely hot. But around Vlad and her friends she does show her softer more human side, for one she cares deeply about their safety and doesn't want them getting killed on her account, and also worries that she may become like the monsters she kills one day. Vlad is a typical gentle giant, but he's also arguably more human than Cassie in spite of his appearance. He serves mainly as the duo's moral compass, there to keep Cassie from going over the edge. Oh if you're expecting a Beauty and the Beast type romance, don't. Cassie and Vlad are strictly friends and nothing more. It's also held up by a decent supporting cast none of whom are useless in the least.

Now if I do have one complaint with Hack/Slash, it would be the art. More specifically when the artist brought in has a style that doesn't seem suited to the book. There have been issues with a very cartoony art style and I never felt like they were right for the book. The more realistic and lifelike styles from people like Daniel Leister and Emily Stone fit the mood better, made the slashers more terrifying, and the violence more graphic.

So if you like horror, gore, humor, or slasher movies then Hack/Slash is without a doubt a must read for you. It has great characters, a consistent tone, plenty of funny moments, lots of all the good red stuff and meaty stuff, creative monsters, and plenty of good art. Also if you're a horror movie buff, there's a crossover with Re-Animator, and soon to come a crossover with Army of Darkness. Gee a team up between Ash Williams, the most badass misogynist ever, and Cassie Hack, SIGN ME UP!

Seriously go track down Hack/Slash you won't regret it.