Take a look at that cover and try to tell me that isn’t one bad-ass bad guy looking over the heroes. Okay, so the cover captures the drama, but is it good?
Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain #3 (Image Comics)
If you’re just joining us, Hack has been on a quest with a new sidekick of sorts calling himself DelRoy. He’s informed her of a monster community that lives below the Earth’s crust, and it’s building. They worship a monster god that was taken out by humanity millennia ago, but it’s come back and it’s pissed. The series so far has had plenty of action and mythical storytelling to tell us about the monster culture. It’s been a wild ride.
The all you can eat buffet has gotten kind of gross.
Much like every issue of this series so far, writers Steve Seeley and Michael Moreci open the book with some new information on the monster culture. I can say enough how cool this little back story is and how compelling it makes this story. So often the villain is a bland cliche that romps around making trouble, but it’s obvious the writers have a much larger plan for the bad guys in this series. The mythological aspect introduced is not only interesting, but expands greatly on what these bad guys are fighting for. It helps give them a bit of purpose and in some light, even though they are monsters, a justifiable reason to fight. That makes them complex, which makes the read so much better.
Speaking of the read, I don’t think I’ve spent as long reading each issue of a series as I do with this. There’s a ton of dialogue, narration and story, yet it doesn’t feel slow. The pace is good and on top of that it’s interesting. Bar none, this is one of the best written series on the stands right now.
This issue is a bit of a transition issue, however. The heroes are gathering info, the bad guys are gathering an army and overall it’s getting us further along so the pieces add up later. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, but nothing much happens that couldn’t be recapped in a few sentences.
Somebody clean that baby already!
Artist Emilio Laiso continues to do a great job on this series, with a detailed approach that also takes chances when it needs to. I’m not sure if it’s his style or the mix of color, but a lot of the work reminds me of Locke and Key, which is decidedly a good thing when you consider the material. The monsters are effectively scary or epic; especially the god monster on page 16, which looks like an alien/dragon love child. Cool stuff.
I hope she has sunblock.
Is It Good?
This series continues to add layers to the bad guys as the heroes continue their quest, which only strengthens the dynamics of the story. Great writing and great art!
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