Hack/Slash: Son of Samhain #5

Writer – Michael Moreci, Steve Seeley
Artist – Emilio Laiso
Colours – K. Michael Russell

Cassie and Ocky have a chance to hit the road and leave everything behind them including Morinto and his army of monsters.  But after talking it over, there never really was an option other than going back, taking the big bad out and saving the world from his evil.  Moreci and Seeley send Cassie out in style with this issue, doing what she does best which is slaying monsters and making the world just a bit safer for one and all.  There is some drama and reflection by our hero and quite a bit of action as Cassie and Ocky go up against a very large group of monsters and Emilio Laiso brings all of it to life with his very fantastic pencils.  There are those who might draw comparisons between Cassie and Buffy, and they are warranted as they are two characters that essentially do the same thing, but that is where it stops as they have different origins and go about doing it in very different ways.  Cassie has had a very hard life, fighting monsters and losing her mother and best friend and while she might be overshadowed by the aforementioned character, Cassie is just as interesting, even possibly more so.  Of course, the adventures of Cassie Hack cannot really end here and so the book is left on a bit of a cliff-hanger, ready to welcome Cassie back should Image and our creators ever deem to do so.  Hopefully they do.

4 out of 5

Grayson #4

Writer – Tim Seeley
Artist – Mikel Janin
Colours – Jeremy Cox

Dick goes on another mission for Spyral, comes home, sends info to Batman and all the while trying to put what happened last issue behind him.  At the same time, some girls from St. Hadrian`s have decided to go on a hunt for the super-hunk they spied with their cameras who just so happens to be the one and only, Dick Grayson.  What follows is a game of cat and mouse as Grayson leads them all over the school with the girls not really standing a chance of ever catching up to him.  Here was a nice change of pace from Tim Seeley on this book, a simple, yet straightforward story that was lighthearted and fun.  It was great to see Dick just cut loose and do what he loves to do, which is essentially fly through the air with all of the skills he mastered in both the circus and from the time spent with his mentor, Batman.  Though the usual spy stuff that is featured in the book is done extremely well and usually packed with tension and suspense, it is nice to see that Seeley can put something out that is the complete opposite yet still manages to engage the reader and compel your attention.  Mikel Janin`s art is still amazing to behold and while it is a little sad that he is off of Justice League Dark, his pencils on this book are absolutely beautiful to behold.  This was a nice interlude to the usual goings-on, but it will be good to get back to the regularly scheduled program.

4 out of 5