Welcome to Butcher’s Block, our “Hack/Slash” annotation. With the Kickstarter-funded hardcover compilation of most of the crossovers between “Hack/Slash” and other franchises, noted as “Hack/Slash Vol. X: The Crossovers,” in print, alongside another fourth volume of the main deluxe hardcovers, there are two additions to the overarching narrative that deserves some attention, and the various installments of the Image Comics 30th anniversary collection, “Image!” have a small story of a similar makeup.
For sake of clarity: “Hack/Slash” is a mature comic book series. As such, many images may not be suitable for younger audiences, and quotations and/or panels may include liberal curses and mature content such as profanity, violence, or sexual imagery.
New Concepts
Lovebunny and Mister Hell
The world of Lovebunny and Mister Hell (created by Tim Seeley as well, alongside Brendan Hay) is one of highly irreverent, comical superheroes. Headlined by former sidekick Beth Bowers, the eponymous Lovebunny, it… isn’t even remotely mature, nor does it try to be. Instead, the quasi-buddy comedy is a parody of superheroes. Or, to quote Mary Shelley Lovecraft when she was first thrown there upon her initial death in ‘Entry Wound,’ “Punny names. Colorful costumes. Bad jokes. Oh god. I’ve been reborn into a superhero comedy comic.” By her reckoning in her appearance for the story listed below, she further expounds upon it by other descriptions, being a world “[of] satire [and] titillation” that she hates. One saving grace (from her perspective, anyway) is that the heroes of said world seem to be more focused on their public image than actually doing the right thing, a difference Lovecraft blames on lazy writers. By the end of the newer story, she does have one more positive, but even then it takes changing her own aesthetic and adopting a supervillain name to fit in and not be as bothered.
Granted, it is hard to be serious when your protagonist runs around dressed like a Playboy Bunny and focuses on her appearance even in combat, even when accompanied by a horrific demon partner she calls “Mister Hell.”
The duo predate “Hack/Slash” by several years, but occasionally show up as one-page backup stories, primarily to contrast the scarier or sadder plots in the main books. Most notably for our purposes, their world is the most common place Mary Shelley Lovecraft is sent upon her numerous defeats, which she seems to be taking increasingly in stride. Humorously, Cassie appears to read the books, even though in real life they are largely out of print save for an omnibus collection bringing together Lovebunny and Mister Hell’s various misadventures, including their crossover with Savage Dragon. Perhaps that explains her self-deprecative crack about possibly having the series’ only subscription.
Public Domain Characters
The public domain, those characters or settings, et cetera, that anyone can use, has become more prominent in recent years with the likes of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and the release of the original, Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse to the same. In general, the rules about it are that it has to be either 95 years after initial publication or 70 years after the death of the author. Such rights generally extend only to specific entities therein, such as specific characters from the Hundred-Acre Wood (explaining which characters are allowed in each installment of the aforementioned Winnie-the-Pooh horror films) or a specific version of a character (i.e., just the version of Mickey Mouse found within the Steamboat Willie silent cartoon). Rights can get ever more complicated with the adaptation of versions of a character who is in public domain, such as being disallowed from including elements brought in by publishers of related works (like Winnie-the-Pooh’s outfit or voice in various media). With several DC Comics characters approaching that age soon, we may see more discussion of it coming in the next few years.
On top of creating heroes and villains of his own, Tim Seeley makes use of superheroes in the public domain, ones that are so far into the past, so obscure to modern audiences, that one might be forgiven for thinking he came up with them after all if they were not otherwise told. Here we will go into the absolute basics of these heroes (and a few villains), along with their role in “Hack/Slash” itself. Most of them appeared either primarily or solely in the story arc ‘Super Sidekick Sleepover Slaughter’ that closed out the first ongoing series by Devil’s Due Publishing, but a few are a fair bit more important.
Continued belowFantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle
Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle, isn’t technically a superhero, but fits in as a figure from comics. Her powers are numerous and seemingly virtually limitless as long as she has the source of her power intact, but mainly consist of horrific punishments, often through transmutation or other means, for those who would harm the jungle that seemingly gives her powers. Examples of her power in “Hack/Slash” itself include instantly flaying a man alive, forcing a swarm of rats to appear inside and force their way out of someone, twisting a person’s body in a way that makes them appear composed of licorice or something of similar consistency instead of a human, summoning demonic entities to disembowel a man, flight, sending people into outer space in an instant, and turning people into trees. Judging from the powers afforded by the Godbox (see below), there is definitely more beyond these bounds.
She is notable as one of the first superheroines in comic books, predating even the famous Wonder Woman by more than a year, with her first issue coming out in February of 1940 as opposed to Wonder Woman’s first appearance being in October of 1941. Fantomah was created by Fletcher Hanks, who was also known for the (equally bizarre and at times horrifying) hero Stardust the Super-Wizard. She appeared in “Jungle Comics” #2 to #51, between 1940 and 1944, published by Fiction House.
Seemingly ever since her last public domain appearance (in 1944), or perhaps a few years later, she was trapped in the “Godbox” by a team of supervillains known as the Crime Cabal, consisting of Doctor Mortal (“Weird Comics”), Doctor Dracula (“Silver Streak Comics #17), Bull Jackson (“Crash Comics Adventures” #4), the Great Question (“Amazing Man Comics”), and the Puzzler (“America’s Best Comics” #30). This box, which appeared akin to a wooden casket, granted various superpowers to select individuals, most notably the supervillain Lynn Jagodinski. Successors to the mantles of Doctor Mortal (Kurt Lombardi, father of Lynn) and Doctor Dracula (Mister Ratcliffe) are part of the group that are around by the time of her escape, though the others remain unknown.
Upon her return, she learns that her jungle has long since been bulldozed, depriving her of most of her abilities except some small illusions, and sets her against Cassie. She wishes to die, but Cassie, even when briefly granted the same divine power Fantomah once held, does not grant this wish, leaving the former god to “learn what it is like to have dirt beneath her feet”.
She serves as a viewpoint character of sorts for the new short piece in the fourth numbered deluxe hardcover edition of “Hack/Slash.”
Superheroes and Supervillains
Several heroes are mentioned by Ronnie Carpenter in his introduction to the ‘Super Sidekick Sleepover Slaughter’, with the indication that, much like in the “Watchmen” comics, many of the Golden Age heroes were inspired by the likes of Batman, Superman, and non-superhero pulp characters like the Shadow. However, Ronnie mentions that eventually the “fad” of superheroics went out of fashion, either due to the heroes being arrested for vigilantism, just moving on once the fad stopped, or, in the case of the tragic tale of Nightmare (Bob White) and Sleepy (Terry Wake), dying in the line of duty (each in two separate incidents, but both to the same killer). There is a fair bit more to the story of those last two, but until it comes up overtly in more recent work, we will not touch on it directly.
Even outside of public domain, there is some influence of superheroes in the setting, albeit not nearly as much as the horror elements. Sure, Nightmare, Sleepy, and Fantomah are important to varying degrees, but then there are others, such as Sister Sacrilege (Anjelica Castellini, a retired “Catwoman”-like character to the second Nightmare who has since become Cassie’s main link to superhero business), and then Sister Nightmare (Daisy Black, who becomes akin to a “Batwoman” character as a non-powered, highly jaded superhero, and is the adopted daughter of Anjelica and the third Nightmare).
Sister Sacrilege in particular has continued to be important. Aside from being one of the few to survive relatively constant contact with Cassie Hack and Vlad, the retired supervillain, since then a sex club madame, is the main connection to the superhero community. Sure, Sister Nightmare is likely active as a costumed non-powered superhero after her adopted mother and late adopted father’s example, but it is Anjelica (as the story usually calls her) who has the most history, apparently including other Image Comics heroes according to the ‘Kill Your Idols’ story.
Continued belowImage Comics Heroes
Even beyond those he created or were public domain, there are some heroes that, as with other crossovers, Seeley borrowed the rights to for the purpose of a crossover story, particularly from Image Comics. As an interesting note, Tim Seeley did write a short run on “Bloodstrike” in 2012, but the team used in ‘Kill Your Idols’ (seen below) is different from the original one from 1993 that is used in the Image crossover, consisting of leader Cabbot Stone and four agents, the first incarnations of Deadlock (John Locke), Fourplay, Shogun, and Tag.
Other superheroes mentioned in the crossover jump boundaries to all corners of Image Comics itself. Cyberforce (a group of superhero cyborgs), SuperPatriot (John Quincy Armstrong), the Youngblood team, and ShadowHawk (Eddie Collins) are all distinct with DarkLord as a villain fighting at least some of them in the past. There is also mention of “a looker of an NYPD detective who specializes in magic stuff,” which seems to point far afield to Sara Pezzini of “Witchblade” fame.
As with the use of Nightmare and Sleepy, Seeley is not adverse to adding new elements to existing legacies. There is a team called “Force Storm” in a relatively bit part including “Allblade” and “Bloodspray,” and another from the 1960s called the Six Sons of Sam including newcomers like Blue Coat (a.k.a. “Al”), Sybil the Sun Sorceress, and the extremely plot-important Damn It Jane.
Sentient Hyper Concepts
“You’re a sentient hyper-concept from the… y’know what, fuck it. You’re a living story. I’ve met your type before.” – Cassie Hack to Jane.
The “sentient hyper concepts” (also known as “hyperconcepts” or “hyper-concepts” rather interchangeably) are a type of entity that is, as Cassie so eloquently puts it (see above), a “living story”. They are essentially an archetype of a type of character, or perhaps a genre, what have you, that is repeated again and again in fiction, concentrated into a single person. As Mary Shelley Lovecraft, the most famous of them puts it another way, she is one of “the Nth level that is given consciousness and desire by the pure relevance and power of [her] source materials.” By her admission in an internal monologue, Mary (as she can be known to shorten things) is an incarnation of tales ranging from gothic horror to speculative fiction, a vast domain indeed. Her role is exemplified by even her name, which derives from Mary Shelley (of Frankenstein fame) and H.P. Lovecraft (original author of the Cthulhu Mythos). She may be impossible to kill permanently (merely shunting her into another story temporarily), but she is still capable of being hurt.
In the case of Jane, a.k.a. “Damn It Jane,” “Nurse Jane,” “Secretary Jane,” or “Assistant Jane,” the concept is that of the final girl, the very same one that Cassie herself embodies in other ways. Unlike the more powerful Mary Shelley Lovecraft, Jane seems entirely mortal, her powers capable of being siphoned to create undead monstrosities out of superheroes in her wake. With her captive, the universe itself seems to compensate by making Cassie, who incidentally shares her face and an approximation of her hairstyle and color, take up the role instead. Does this mean actual powers, like her temporary healing factor some time ago? Time will tell.
New Issues
As with previous Kickstarter omnibuses, the additions to the mythos are not, technically speaking, “issues,” with exception of one (that was retroactively turned into a one-shot comic). However, they are nonetheless effective.
Fantomah: Down in Georgia
Still lacking power since her escape from the Godbox, Fantomah finds her way to Tampa, Florida, where Margaret “Georgia Peaches” Crump is working at a club. She tells the basics of her story, and eventually saves Georgia from what appears to be a mundane serial killer by using both her nightmarish face and his own knife to mercilessly kill him.
Interestingly, despite saying she only knows illusions, Fantomah shows some level of telepathy, much like how she knew about Cassie’s connections with the Black Lamp society. Using this power, she calls Georgia by her real name, which the latter rarely tells anyone.
Continued belowAlso on a more humorous note, Fantomah seems to have become more accustomed to humanity, as she is now wearing black heels instead of walking around barefoot. Apparently “the dirt beneath her feet” was uncomfortable.
I Will Defeat You All
This new story brings together multiple crossovers. It is written by Tim Seeley, illustrated by Daniel Leister, colored by Carlos Moreno, and lettered by Chris “Crank!” Crank. The tale came in the “Hack/Slash Vol. X: The Crossovers” hardcover omnibus collection, and was reprinted in the “Hack/Slash: Hot Shorts” one-shot issue by Image Comics shortly thereafter.
Crossovers are far from uncommon for “Hack/Slash,” which is a series that mentions, either explicitly or obliquely, various other horror franchises, even outside of direct crossovers. But the most prevalent source of said crossovers is definitely Mary Shelley Lovecraft, who serves as the antagonist for this particular take.
On more than one occasion, Mary (mentioned above) has been stuck in another story, that of “Lovebunny and Mr. Hell.” She first was sent there after her temporary death in her very first appearance in the “Hack/Slash: Entry Wound” one-shot comic between the two ongoing series, and appears to have returned after each death (those deaths being in the aforementioned issue, in “Hack/Slash: The Series” #28, and in “Hack/Slash/Eva: Monster’s Ball” #4). Of course, such assumptions are primarily speculative, but it may explain why she is back there once more.
Of particular note, Mary was last seen in the ‘Your Darlings Kill You’ one-shot story taking place in a version of Seeley’s real life, where he claimed he would be making her into the hero of his next stories, so either a) that did not work out or b) she preferred villainy. Regardless, with the fall of the Black Lamp Society, there is a relative dearth of resurrecting enemies for Cassie to fight regularly, so Mary is useful for that purpose anyway.
In any case, it is a little unclear what exactly Mary hopes to achieve in this story beyond escaping the world she found herself trapped in. She does escape after letting Lovebunny (a former sidekick turned freelance superhero dressed up like a Playboy bunny) know she wanted to just leave, but her escape to the world of what can be assumed as that of Eva, Daughter of the Dragon (that is to say Dracula) was immediately caught by the combined efforts of four different horror-based female characters.
Outside of the probably obvious Cassie Hack who is shown last (making use of a shotgun rather than her signature “Kiss It” bat), the other three are rather notable. Eva (last seen in “Hack/Slash / Eva: Monsters’ Ball”) is perhaps the best fit to Mary, as the latter herself notes with how they both are (theoretically) of a similar serious gothic bent. Recurring crossover ally Vampirella of Drakulon (seen in “Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella” and the ‘Return to Haverhill’ arc of “Hack/Slash: Resurrection”) is harder, being a fusion of dark fantasy vampires, science fiction aliens, and, admittedly, “teen boy fantasy,” but still somewhat fits the bill as a creature with some bases in gothic elements. Purgatori, a.k.a. Sakkara of Alexandria, is the most surprising. Yes, she is of horror elements, combining vampires and half-demons, but in her only experiences with Cassie (in “Hack/Slash vs. Chaos!”) she was definitely a villainess rather than a heroine, antagonizing her rather than helping. Perhaps it is as the red-skinned woman says: she did not like any competition as a cosmic threat.
Humorously, after Cassie kills Mary again, Vampirella suggests the group team up regularly as “some kind of avenging force,” only to be denied by Cassie. So no, with exception of deluxe editions, we are unlikely to have the Horror Avengers of crossover fiction, especially outside of Marvel where none of these characters have been published.
Speaking of Mary, she seems to be relatively at ease with her situation as she returns to the “Lovebunny and Mr. Hell” world. Yes, she hates it, but it is still predictable unlike the crossovers, so she seems to be more or less settling in as a new official foe of the eponymous duo known as “Ms. Mollusk.” To that end, she has traded her gothic dress for a revealing bikini, and starting her new career with the comedic, rather ridiculous attack on the “Boobers” restaurant (a parody of Hooters) for serving a dish called the “blooming calamari ball.”
Continued belowKill Your Idols
This one-shot first was released in the “Image!” 30th anniversary anthology several pages at a time, and subsequently released as a single story, albeit still split into parts according to some of the lettering. The scripts and layouts came from Tim Seeley, the illustrations from Stefano Caselli and Dan Leister, the colors from Kurt Michael Russell, and the lettering by Chris “Crank!” Crank.
In Maine, Cassie and Vlad take out a slasher known as the “Pocket Beach Penetrator,” but he somehow comes back from being fatally hit with the former’s bat. Confused, as the bloodline of slashers started by Akakios’s Black Lamp Society has been eradicated for years, Cassie calls their friend Anjelica Castellini, one of their few living contacts, and their main connection to the superhero community.
To her shock, they mention that the still-speaking head of the aforementioned Penetrator was speaking the name of one “Johnny Armstrong,” which leads her to breathlessly direct them to the man’s home several states over in Vlad’s hometown of Chicago. Given Anjelica’s history as an ex-supervillain, they are not surprised that their target is a former superhero and veteran of World War II known as “Superpatriot.” However, they are somewhat more shocked to learn he is still active and armed when he answers the door, and that he is a killer cyborg.
The duo are forced to fight him off, but it turns out he was essentially sleepwalking, his enhancements having been fighting them on their own. They end up designating Vlad as “Cyberface,” the former Lieutenant mafioso of what the group known as the Vicious Circle. Luckily, before the battle can be too hectic, Johnny wakes up, and has fellow Image Comics superhero group Cyberforce teleport the three away from the point of the attack, and off to Washington, D.C.
As it turns out, most undead superheroes or supervillains (barring known slashers) come from one “Project: Born Again,” connected to the team Bloodstrike. The bayonet used by the Penetrator belonged to Superpatriot’s long-dead friend Blue Coat (the all-but-certain true identity of the Pocket Beach Penetrator), so the three are likely to run into the project’s leader, Cabbot Stone.
When they come to check, Bloodstrike attacks, albeit without success. The agents, are forced, after being severely injured in the assault, to fall back by their commander Cabbot, who reveals himself not to be seen too badly by Superpatriot all things considered. Apparently Cabbot had shot Blue Coat years ago when he tried to “save” Cabbot and take down Born Again, but he was unaware that the hero had not survived. To find out what happened, Cabbot suggests finding someone named Sybil the Sun Sorceress, along with others named Shadowhawk and Damn It Jane.
But most shocking if all is that Damn It Jane looks almost exactly like Cassie Hack herself!
In Upper Manhattan, Cassie runs into ShadowHawk, who mistakes her for his enemy Luke Hatfield, Jr. She nearly kills him before SuperPatriot manages to stop the fight and calm ShadowHawk down, then discern that the superheroes are being fed “a very dark image” of controlled superheroes by someone else.
Attacking the assembled undead heroes in the site of a crashed orbital superhero base, Cassie, Vlad, Cabbot, and SuperPatriot find themselves against the defunct team Force Storm, albeit a version that seems weaker than they should. The one responsible for the rise of the undead turns out to be Sybil the Sun Sorceress herself, wanting revenge for the death of her beloved Blue Coat. However, as she monologues to the men of the assembled protagonists, Cassie jumps at her from behind, bat in hand…. And bashes her head in with it so hard the wood snaps in half.
As the battle continues, Cassie finds a captive Jane, who tells her story. Apparently, much like Mary Shelley Lovecraft, Jane is a sentient hyper-concept, a living story. Jane’s case is best explained in her own words. “I’m a young woman. Victimized by monsters, I fight back, despite the expectations of the world around me. And I win. Again. And again. And again.”
Continued belowIf this sounds familiar, it should. Jane seems to be the living archetype of the final girl. Sybil used her proclivity to the type of story to make monsters of heroes, in defiance of Sybil’s nature in a world of “bright marvels.” By contrast, Jane, and by extension Cassie, comes from a world of screams and blood, with the role of hyper-concept apparently shifting to Cassie if Jane dies.
Still, only by killing Jane can the horror end and be prevented from expanding beyond the borders of superheroes, rather than keep returning as infinitum. Seeing no other choice, Cassie kills the other woman, but Jane’s last words seem to haunt her as she departs the scene: “But you should know… if we’re correct… if our lives and faces are more than simple coincidences… then my death ensures your life will continue on the path you once tread. Whatever victories you’ve had will be undone. The monsters will return, and even as you win, others will suffer. You’ll go back to the life of blood and screams. And you’ll be at home for the rest of your life.”
How literal are her words? Will the slashers spontaneously return? What of the Black Lamp Society? Of Akakios, the dark future of the latter portions of the original run? Is that all undone, or is it to mean new threats will emerge that are similar? How much is magic, and how much is science? How much did Jane actually hold back, if Cassie still was fighting similar threats anyway?
Perhaps we will see more in later installments.
It’s been a while, but hopefully this helped whet the appetite about these concepts. Next time, we will dive into the full “Hack/Slash: Back to School” miniseries! Want to know more about the pieces of the lore and particular material discussed, or other elements about the epic as a whole? Feel free to ask away in the comments below.
