Shawn Reviews Dynamite’s Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3

I’ve been anticipating buying Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 for over a month. The plot twist on the issue of #2 had me counting down the days to issue #3. And when I got to the library this Wednesday, the first thing I did when I logged on was go right to the Dynamite Website to pick up my digital copy.

And that issue DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella finally gives us the big fight between Cassie Hack and Vampirella. Well, a Cassie Hack possessed by the Blood Red queen of Hearts. The battle of the Bats is fast and furious leading up to a climax where Vampirella takes a bite out of Cassie to take the fight out of her.

However, while the battle between Cassie and Vampirella is short and sweet, it’s full of feels. After the battle of the bats Writer Shawn Aldridge does an AMAZING job of taking us into Cassie Hack’s past in a delirium sequence. While the Blood Red Queen tries to mindfuck Cassie, this sequence seamlessly brings new readers up to speed with the Hack/Slash continuity and shows us why Cassie Hack is the killer of killers. Everything in this mini could easily be used as the foundation for a new Hack/Slash ongoing series. Make it happen Dynamite! I’ll buy the hell out of it!

After Vampi takes a bite out of Cassie, (She doesn’t become a vampire because Drakulons don’t roll like that.) the ladies and Vlad regroup. With her out of Cassie’s body, they’re wondering where the Blood Red Queen is. She shows up in the most surprising way at the last panel. The way she brings down Vampirella has me counting down the days to find out what happens in the next issue!

Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 read a lot FASTER than issues 1 and 2. The action was so fast paced in this comic I read through this one in less than 10 minutes! The writing and art sequences on this one were really well done. The first couple of pages of Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella#3 reminded me of some chapters in my book Isis: Bride of Dracula. Vlad’s concern for Cassie mirrored that of John Haynes’ concern for Isis after Dracula hypnotized her to make her his bride. I really enjoyed seeing Shawn Aldridge bringing in Cassie Hack’s past into the story and explaining how Drakulonian Vampires are different than regular vampires. Those little touches made this story feel less like a crossover and more like a great stand alone story between two characters in a shared universe.

With this series Dynamite has shown that they have a great handle on Cassie Hack and Vlad. And with Tim Seely currently working at Dynamite, A new Hack/Slash series would be a great fit with Dynamite’s other franchise characters like Vampirella, Red Sonja, and Deja Thoris. Please make it happen Dynamite! PLEASE!

So far Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella has been a GREAT miniseries. Lots of fast paced action and lots of AWESOME twists and turns in the story. I’m looking forward to picking up issue #4 in 30 days. 2018 can’t come fast enough!