Comics
Final Issue Review: ‘Hack/Slash’ #25
There is no turning back now as Hack/Slash #25 hits its readers with this last issue. The slasher slayers make their last stand towards a somber and perfectly fitting conclusion. Longtime fans of the “Hack/Slash” series should be prepared for their favorite characters to meet some misery.
WRITTEN BY: Tim Seeley
ART BY: Elena Casagrande
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: March 27th, 2013
At a rock concert, a poisonous black liquid has been injected into a shipment of soda refreshments. After taking a sip of the poison, the concert-goers are suddenly turning into psychotic killers. With the clock ticking, Vlad and Cassie have to stop the Black Lamp Society from reaching their final goal. As the last song plays, innocent lives will be sacrificed and the entire world will be at its end. The slasher slayers are the only ones who can stop this terrible nightmare from coming true. Will Vlad and Cassie triumph in the end? Or, will they die a tragic hero’s death?
Because this is the last issue, writer Tim Seeley wants to do the best for his protagonists and give them an ending they deserve. I’m sure there are fans who will be upset, but Seeley has provided a great conclusion to the series. Cassie and Vlad are given a truly epic battle, where sacrifices are made at the last minute and characters reach the end of their arcs. Seeley throws his protagonists into deadly scenarios, which keep getting worse and worse, but never hints that they will walk away towards a happy ending.
One of my favorite characters in the series is Cat Curio, the intrepid detective. Seeley gives Cat the best lines as she faces the Murder Messiah at the rock concert. Used mostly as the comic relief, Cat is the last person you would think to turn things around. True to her character, Cat comes up with something incredibly smart, while delivering some witty one-liners.
Artist Elena Casagrande hooks readers with the best illustrations of Vlad and Cassie. In a tender moment between the two, Cassie and Vlad just look at each other. For this quiet scene, there is no dialogue between the characters, nor are there any thought captions. Readers just know what the two are thinking based on their facial expressions. Casagrande paints a lot of emotion into the close-ups before the panels break into a wide shot.
Casagrande escalates the gore and mayhem as Cassie takes down the psychotic killers roaming the concert. In a big panel, Cassie takes down a swarm of killers with her baseball bat. Full of rage, Cassie keeps fighting, even though her leg has just been stabbed. Nothing is going to stop Cassie as she slashes her way towards the Murder Messiah.
After so many bloody and twisted adventures, Cassie and Vlad reach their final destination in “Hack/Slash” #25. This is exactly the type of ending I wanted these characters to have. Having been a fan from the get go, I am definitely sad this series is ending, but the conclusion is very satisfying.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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