Hack/Slash #5
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Emily Stone
Colors by Courtney Via
Letters by Brian J. Crowley
Covers by Crank! (A) and Tim Seeley (B)
Devil’s Due Publishing
Cover price: $3.50; Available now

Hack/Slash does a lot of things that many comics don’t, and the best is that it’s a book that doesn’t pander to the standard comic book rigors as far as story-telling elements. At its core, Hack/Slash follows Cassie Hack and her friend, Vlad, as they hunt Slashers, basically people/things that run around murdering people — your basic horror film antagonists generally suffice. And while most comics are running around trying to find ways to crossover characters to branch out their markets, Hack/Slash books generally do it better and these crossovers logically fit in the title’s general theme.

Published by Devil’s Due Publishing, Hack/Slash #5 develops the relationship between Cassie and Vlad a great deal, showing how much compassion Hack has for her disfigured partner. Sure there’s the continuing saga of Chris and Lisa as they work through their problems, and the crazy doctor who’s in love with the reviving corpse of a former centerfold model, but it’s the ongoing struggle for Cassie and Vlad to provide for each other, despite the consequences and choices each has to make.

One deterrent to the issue is the constant time juxtaposition between scenes, as each jumps back and forth. The Cassie-Vlad storyline continues as normal, but the other two stories jump forward in time and it’s hard to keep the timelines all in order. But the tender moments between the book’s two main protagonists is enough to keep the book going.