I first purchased this comic at ComicCon about a month ago but I didn’t want to read it until I’d read #24 which came out last week. Hack Slash is one of those comics I picked up on a lark a while back and I’m glad I did. This double-size issue follows up on Samhaim, the slasher with a heart and sheds some light on the new threat called the Black Lamp Society (I typed Black Lantern at first… hee!). This issue is heavy on action and touching character moments alike.

The art by Bryan Baugh may be a little off-putting at first. It all seems a bit slap-dash and too cartoony for the heavy violence. But once you get into the story the art flows with an edge and an untidiness that gives it a refreshing indy sensibility. I think that as the world becomes more steeped in supernatural and sci-fi mythology that the art becoming more stylized actually works thematically.

This was one of the best issue of Hack Slash I’ve read in a while. Tim Seeley has created a very interesting character in Cassandra and Vlad and has made a bloody seperation between her and Buffy. Don’t let the 5.50 price tag let you down this is a big issue with no ads to keep you from the action. It’s well worth it!