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Review: ‘Army of Darkness vs Hack/Slash’ # 1

Published

11 years ago

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Ashley J Williams lands into the Hack/Slash universe with a thunderous bang. Cassie and Ash were meant to be together. Tim Seeley’s script revels in character and still manages a fantastic pace. As someone who loves Army of Darkness, I was interested in this book despite not knowing much about “Hack/Slash”. Cassie Hack is an incredible and menacing protagonist. One who is worth Ash, and one who won’t put up with his bullshit.

WRITTEN BY: Tim Seeley
ART BY: Daniel Leister
PUBLISHER: Dynamite
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: July 24, 2013

The world of “Hack/Slash” could have overpowered the world of “Army of Darkness”. This story feels like a great meld of the two. Tim Seeley knows “Army of Darkness”, that much is clear. He forgoes the typical story structure of introducing characters from separate worlds, and decidedly mashes them together through action. What results is a believable alliance between two heroes who aren’t used to being anything other than the leader. The dynamic Seeley creates is funny, tense, and totally working.

Ash isn’t the easiest of characters to write. A man who survives on one-liners easily borders on unreadable and too ham-fisted. Seeley manages to find a happy medium, giving Ash the one-liners he needs, and the brains that make him so endearing to horror fans.

The story rockets into conflict almost immediately. Cassie attacks someone who is lurking through her home. Only to be introduced to Ashley J Williams. It is immediately clear that these two characters are far too similar to get along without a certain level of conflict. The introduction of Ash is handled through great action beats, only to be muddled by Ash’s stupid explanation of how he ended up in Cassie’s home.

The descent into Cassie’s basement pushes the story into overdrive. Here we get to see just how Ash and Cassie are a haphazard match made in heaven. Their fighting styles don’t perfectly compliment one another, but they get the job done.

Leister’s art really allows this story to hit its stride. He handles Bruce Campbell’s magnificent chin in all its glory. In the basement the art really takes an intimate approach to tearing a demon to pieces. Leister seems to enjoy the moments of intense gore, and pulls it off with such great detail. The panel of Ash pulling a skin from a face was damn near perfect. Only to be topped a page later with Ash holding his handless attacker as Cassie beheads the demon.

This team up book doesn’t feel undercooked. In fact it feels like a natural extension of both franchises. Both protagonists jump off the page. They are wonderfully bullheaded and similar, and the last panel reminds us of this.

Seeley shows from the get go that while this match may be made in heaven, these are people that thrive in hell. Ash and Cassie have agreed to team up, but as two lone wolves. I can’t wait to see where next month takes our heroes. This book provides nothing but gore soaked fun.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ

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‘The Toxic Avenger’ Returns with Cover Artwork for First Issue of New Comic Book Series [Exclusive]

Published

5 days ago

on

May 13, 2024

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With a remake on the way and a new 4K restoration of the original classic now streaming, it’s a good time to be a fan of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. Additionally, Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson) are collaborating on an all-new 5-issue comic book series starring the satirical superhero of the Troma Films cult classic films!

TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024.

While you wait, you can exclusively check out the issue #1 cover art from Fred Harper below, along with a set of emojis designed by Harper for the extremely online teens of Tromaville.

“The Toxic Avenger delivers what Troma fans want,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The series has violent action, gross mutations, bursting pustules, eye-popping visuals, and trenchant humor.” 

“If there was ever a superhuman hero for these toxic, miserable times, Toxie is the one!” said Lloyd Kaufman. “Only AHOY Comics and Bors & Harper could pull this off…er…mop this up! Toxie and the Troma Team can’t wait ‘til you read -no, experience – the art and stories that the Toxic Avenger Comic Book will explode in your brain, your soul, and your heart. Above all, remember – Toxie loves you and so do I.”

“This series will combine elements of the original films with the Toxic Crusaders cartoon and characters in familiar ways, updated to tell a story of environmental devastation, corporate control, and social media mutation,” said Bors. “The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control. The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

In The Toxic Avenger, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!

Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville.

Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?

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