Horror films are filled with examples of the “Final Girl” trope and for a good reason. It’s fascinating to watch seemingly average woman weather the rampage of an unstoppable killer, and then rise up and take down the homicidal maniac. Unfortunately though, with rare exceptions, horror films often leave out one of the most compelling aspects of the Final Girl’s journey; what happens *after* they’ve taken down the killer? Where do they go next? And what kind of life can they have after confronting unspeakable death and horrors?
It takes a more serialized medium to address those questions, and for the past 14 years creator Tim Seeley has been making the most of the four color world of comics to chronicle the exploits of Cassandra “Cassie” Hack; a Final Girl who travels the country putting an end to undead serial killers known as Slashers. The series is a love letter to both great Slasher films like the original Halloween and awesomely bad ones. So it blends both humor and horror together into an incredibly fun story cocktail.
Cassie’s journey began in 2004’s Hack/Slash: Euthanized, a one-shot from Devil’s Due publishing by writer Seeley and artist Stefano Caselli where readers were introduced to Cassie and her best friend and partner in Slasher slaying, Vlad. Vlad is kind of like Jason Voorhees if he was found and raised by a kind person. So he’s quite fearsome to his enemies, but to his friends, he’s a gentle giant.
More one-shots followed Cassie and Vlad’s debut. They then moved to a mini-series, and eventually their own ongoing one. They’ve mostly battled original killers but over the years they’ve crossed paths with a number of famous and fan favorite faces from horror films like Chucky, Victor Crowley from the Hatchet series, Ash from Evil Dead and Herbert West of Re-Animator fame. Cassie and Vlad’s four-color adventures have also led to crossovers with a number of horror comic icons like Evil Ernie and Vampirella.
So there are a multitude of Hack/Slash adventures awaiting new and curious fans as well as lapsed ones who may have fallen out of touch with the title character. That may seem intimidating to readers wondering where to start, but don’t worry we’re here to help! I’m going to give you a number of entry points that will get you up to speed pretty quickly.
Perhaps the easiest entry point is to head to your local comic store because a new series Hack/Slash Resurrection was recently launched by Image Comics. For this new volume, Seeley plays the role of editor/executive producer overseeing his handpicked creative team of writer Tini Howard and artist Celor. The first volume of the new series is available in collected graphic novel form and is perfect for new readers. Seeley and Howard have also designed the series next arc, which kicks off June 27th in Hack/Slash Resurrection #8, as a great jumping on point for new readers. It reteams Cassie and Vlad with Vampirella.
So if you want to jump in and start reading Cassie’s adventures feel free. Howard, Seeley, and Celor are crafting brand new adventures that showcase everything that make Cassie and Vlad great as well as expertly blending horror and humor. You can get caught up on their past adventures whenever you like.
For those looking to start at the beginning, Image Comics has the perfect solution. Cassie’s original adventures are collected in five Hack/Slash Omnibus collections. These collections contain all the Hack/Slash one-shots, mini-series, and all of Cassie’s previous ongoing series from Devil’s Due Publishing and Image Comics, as well as the various special issues that crossed over with other comic and horror movie characters.
In 2014, following the end of Cassie’s original Image Comics series, Seeley’s brother Steve teamed with co-writer Michael Moreci and artist Emilio Laiso for a mini-series titled Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain. It’s set after the original series and finds Cassie battling a new horror while teaming with a brand new partner. It has a decidedly different feel to it since it involves subterranean monsters. It works though because Cassie is almost a modern day pulp horror style hero in the series. It’s also available in collected graphic novel form.
All of the issues and graphic novels I’ve talked about are available digitally from places like Comixology.com or your local comic shop. I personally recommend the comic store. It allows you to feel good supporting a local business and the store’s staff may be able to introduce you to some other horror stories that you’d like. Plus, most reputable stores offer pull-list services where they’ll set aside the comics you want and you can come pick them up at your own convenience.
So now you have a number of ways to enjoy the past and present-day exploits of one of horror comics most enduring icons and a great example of what can be done with the Final Girl trope in a serialized medium. I’ve been a fan of Cassie Hack and Vlad since the beginning and I predict that no matter where you start with their adventures, you will be as well.
