Hack/Slash Finale

It has been almost a decade since Tim Seeley (Witchblade writer) released his independent slasher comic Hack/Slash. Now, the series is unfortunately coming to a close. I have such fond memories of the series… killer animals that would make PETA mad… a guy with a Jack O’ Lantern head… and of course, the two entertaining protagonists and monster hunters Vlad and Cassie. I haven’t been reading the series in a while so the series feels even shorter for me than it actually is. Hack/Slash began as a group of one-shots written by Seeley and drawn by Stegano Caselli (whose written such works as Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble). The one-shots did so well that Hack/Slash was picked up by the publisher Devil’s Due and turned into an ongoing series. Then in 2010 the series moved from Devil’s Due to it’s current publisher, Image Comics. At one point it was supposed to become a movie, but that never came to fruition (despite my suggestions for a cast). In an interview with CBR, Seeley was asked why he decided to end Hack/Slash with #25. He answered: “The main reason is that the story I was working on kind of came to a perfect end there and I had set up that ending when I set up the first ongoing series back at Devil's Due, so I had that intended. Looking back on what I had said before and what I was planning when I started, I had an 80-issue run planned. Not counting all the crossover stuff, this goes up to 78, so it's sort of perfect and worked out that the story I had in mind ended there.” CBR later asked if Seeley had any future plans for Cassie and Vlad and the other characters of Hack/Slash after the series ends. Seeley, I was happy to hear, commented: “Definitely. Part of it is just recognizing that these characters have a story that they've started with. Having a resolution to their story doesn't mean the whole rules that we've created for slashers in "Hack/Slash," that that's all over with. The world is definitely still ripe for stuff to do if I can come up with something that won't disappoint people who are big fans of Cassie and Vlad. There's potential that I could also continue their story. Plus, it's horror movies, so remakes and reboots are sort of par for the course. If I wanted to do that, it's also a possibility, but it's not my first choice.” The last arc of Hack/Slash, called “Final,” began in November with Hack/Slash #20 and will end with Hack/Slash #25. This will be the very last issue of Hack/Slash.