Crossovers can often become an embarrassment of riches but the “Nailbiter – Hack/Slash’ One Shot offers nuance to both worlds and manages to create a fun albeit throwaway adventure for both worlds. Each creative team appears to be having fun playing in each other’s sandboxes giving an engaging read to satiate the thirst for the beginning of “Nailbiter” volume three.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson & Tim Seeley
ART BY: Mike Henderson & Emilio Lasso
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASE: March 5, 2015
The one shot is divided into two separate but equal halves. Although given the same amount of space each of these stories don’t carry the same amount of impact. The Nailbiter team of Williamson and Henderson kick things off to a great start.
Their story centers on Cassie Hack looking for a serial killer with the assistance of a helpful bystander, Edward Charles Warren. Here, we get some insight into Warren before he was the titular killer, and although its mostly stuff we already know, it’s a total treat to see Warren before he was outed as a killer. He’s still the same coy bastard we know and love, but against Cassie Hack he truly shines. The adventure is short and sweet and rather light on the exposition. Plus it features a fantastic villain that Henderson has modeled to look exactly like the most famous boy wizard that ever was. So it’s worth reading just to see that, and his glorious takedown via Cassie’s bat. My only huge gripe comes with a distinct lack of Vlad.
Tim Seeley and Emilio Lasso take over the back half of the one shot in an adventure that sees Cassie trying to take revenge on Warren. Here things feel more than a little forced. The trip to Buckaroo doesn’t really feel organic for the story and most of the narrative is spent spouting exposition. It’s a shame since Seeley is the creator of Hack/Slash I was hoping to see something a little more sinister. But since moving on from the world this chapter just felt a little too forced for my liking.
It’s strange because it begins to undercut exactly what Williamson’s half did so well, otherwise leaving the total package with a bland feel. I wish it was more enjoyable, but sadly the one shot crossover may feel like little more than filler once the main story of Nailbiter kicks back into high gear next month.
If nothing else, make sure to head to your LCS and pick up volume 2 of Nailbiter. And only drop the cash on this one if you’re a die-hard fan of either series, otherwise I’d say wait for it to be collected in a trade.
