REVIEW: ‘Hack/Slash vs. Chaos!’

Publisher Dynamite Comics‘ Hack/Slash vs Chaos! is written by Tim Seeley with art by Rapha Lobosco, coloring by Dee Cunniffe, letters by CRANK! and edited by Kevin Ketner. The comic itself can be summed up in a few words; a roller coaster. The story focuses on the main protagonists, Vlad, Cassie Hack, and Evil Ernie who are Hunters. They encounter some dangerous monsters along the way, as well as some potential allies. It ends with them being sent on a mission with the cliched “Only you can do this” moniker attached to it. The story does have some “holes” in it but is explained that they can be filled via other comics by Dynamite and Image Comics.

I mentioned there being some “holes” because of how the characters are introduced. There isn’t much of a background story in Hack/Slash vs Chaos! aside from the quick introduction given within the first couple of panels. I would have enjoyed a little more fleshing out, that way it doesn’t feel like I’m missing something because honestly aside from name and them killing monsters, I don’t know much else about the main cast. You can, however, read this series without needing to know that information. Personally, having more of a backstory would’ve given a new reader the ability to understand the crew’s interactions with each other, especially being that there’s mentioning of former encounters and past events. I did enjoy Seeley’s writing though because even with those gripes the story is still engaging and even compelled me to finish reading and not truly focus on the “holes.”

Lobosco’s art style feels very rich and Cunniffe’s deep colors are very well saturated. The action scenes in Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! are detailed amazingly, as are the more violent scenes. I would’ve loved to see a bit more gore, but what’s shown does satisfy mature rating given. The lettering is amazing, as the main characters each have their own unique font when they speak. This adds more character to the team as it’s easy to follow who is speaking. CRANK! did an amazing job on the differentiated font choices. Plus the way the fonts are picked it makes it feel like Vlad speaks with a strong and harsh bass filled voice, Cassie speaks in a normal tone, and Evil Ernie has like a strained wispy like voice.

At first glance of the introduction, I wondered if this was going to be boring, but I was sorely mistaken. Overall, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! is a fun ride and a good read. So if you’re looking for something with a lot of paranormal entities, good action, and some gore, then I would highly suggest picking this up. This story is only going to get better, especially with how the ending is set up. I am looking forward to the next issue because I want to see how their mission will progress.