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Review: “Hack/Slash Son of Samhain”

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In “Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain” issue #1, Cassie has abandoned her slasher huntress life for that a different sort – scumbag bounties. It’s not until she’s met by Delroy, a grizzly, old badass-type, who convinces her, rather easily, to reclaim her title as a staunch enemy of the forces of darkness. 

hackslashsos

WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci & Steve Seeley

ART BY: Emilio Lasio

PUBLISHER: Image Comics

PRICE: $2.99

RELEASE: July 2, 2014

Reviewed by Nick Brehmer

 

 

First, let me say that I’m a newcomer to the “Hack/Slash” universe. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ll be staying for very long. For those of you like me, here’s a little backstory: The “Hack/Slash” series began back in 2007 after a string of one-shot comics dating back to 2004. Cassie, the horror-victim anti-heroine of the series, is (or was, according to this new “Son of Samhain” series) a hunter of “slashers”, a collective of undead monsters and those who rally with them. 

There’s a prologue that introduces us to a primordial evil known as Attan-Soolu who was vanquished by early humans eons ago. But, as Delroy explains, the slashers intend to bring him back. Much like hack and slash genre videogame play through, I expect that there will be a lot of underlings or “level bosses” before we inevitably see Cassie make some tough choices in order to vanquish Attan-Soolu.

Maybe fans of the “Hack/Slash” story will disagree with me, but even I can say a lot of what seems to be happening in the “Son of Samhain” series is pretty standard, if not recycled. We have a haunted, take-no-prisoners protagonist who is joined by a wise mentor and what may turn out to be a kid sidekick as they battle it out with some baddies to try and save the world. The writing even seems to hint at it’s own cliché’d nature (at one point, Cassie refers to Attan-Soolu sounding like a Star Wars character). Yeah, there are some decent internal monologues from Cassie and some quick banter between her and Delory, but it doesn’t stick.

The artwork is nice enough and it’s well paced but, again, the word that fits here is “standard.” Based solely off my own ignorance of the “Hack/Slash” plot so far, the one aspect of note is Cassie’s past; the idea of a former female lover who, although not a ghost, follows her as she begrudgingly moves through her life. No doubt, this will be explored in the upcoming issues but my opinion of issue #1 has not inspired me to stick around to find out.

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[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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