Hack/Slash: Back to School #3 Review: The Most Fun This Series Has Ever Been

Hack/Slash: Back to School continues the story started by Zoe Thorogood, a prequel to the long-running horror comic that tells the tale of Cassie Hack in her early days. Not only does the series take its slasher movie monster and final girl DNA to heart, but wraps it all around the patina of a boarding school. Setting the stage for the hundreds of comics that would follow it chronologically, Hack/Slash: Back to School is a welcome read for long time readers, newcomers, but also people that have perhaps never really clicked with the series in a meaningful way before.

I've previously noted that the allusions to the work of Junji Ito that Thorogood was playing with were clear from the first issue of Hack/Slash: Back to School, issue #3 takes the ball and runs with it, managing to build on the influence and then branch into its own vision. Though the reference to Ito is clear when you see the use of spiral shapes in some key gross out moments, the full reveal of the issue's big monster confirms that while Thorogood's influence is clear she's not afraid to fully embrace the nastiness that would come with such a beast and the gore that follows in its wake.

An element of Thorogood's storytelling that may go unnoticed at times, but which shines in Hack/Slash: Back to School #3, is the lettering. In addition to the regular lettering used across dialogue balloons, Thorogood delivers a variety of styles that push the narrative and even light up the imagination of the reader with the clues they offer. Sound effects take on the exact characteristics that would define them in an aural context, elevating their use in a way that proves gigantic onomatopoeia aren't always necessary. There's also a specific moment where the coloring of a text balloon is inverted to highlight the specific word being said, a fun trick that cements this key sequence as one of the coolest in the entire issue. 

Naturally, Hack/Slash as a franchise is defined to some degree by sex appeal and its scantily clad hero. Thorogood doesn't shy away from this and embraces it, going out of her way to highlight cleavage, thighbrows, and every other alluring angle present in the lead characters. Though not too different on the surface from what you might see in other Hack/Slash comics, the titillating non-nudity at least comes packaged with distinct character work that defines their choices in what they decide to wear, or rather, not wear.

To make this even more integral to the overall issue, Thorogood takes it a step further in Hack/Slash: Back to School #3, centralizing the entire plot around a villain that is only after women for their specific parts. It's a great example of the transgressive storytelling that has so far been key to Thorogood's comic work. She's delivered a comic that not only has no shame in letting its characters be sexy in front of the reader but has the central antagonist of the work be someone that is only after the aesthetic appeal of their bodies.

Hack/Slash: Back to School is both gorgeous and disgusting, something that can be found in longer expository sequences and explosive action beats. But it's also sensual and personal, taking the series' sexy aesthetics and making sure to dig into the personalities of these woman who find themselves becoming weapons at a school that tries to strip them of their humanity. Zoe Thorogood was already a comics creator to keep your eye on, but her work in Hack/Slash: Back to School confirms that she's fully capable of maintaining her identity as a writer and artist even when taking over someone else's world and characters. 

Published by Image Comics

On February 28, 2024

Written by Zoe Thorogood

Art by Zoe Thorogood

Colors by Zoe Thorogood and Sarah Mitrache

Letters by Zoe Thorogood

Cover by Zoe Thorogood