IDW Publishing 2019
Written & Layouts by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Jim Terry
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
Angeles Cero won't stop killing on her quest for revenge, and the bodies are piling up. Now, slasher hunter Cassie Hack and her monstrous partner Vlad are on the trail of the Crow Killer, assuming her to be one of the masked murderers they've hunted for years. But they aren't the only force trying to make the universe right again.
I hate to admit this but I am not all that familiar with The Crow. In certain circles I could be disowned for this but hey it’s the truth. I am however familiar with Hack/Slash, Cassie and Vlad happen to be some of those characters who still bring me a lot joy. The opening here is interesting and kind of ambiguous in that we see what we see but there are no answers and there are no real clues as to what this is all about. So what Tim does here is capture the readers’ interest and imprints the desire to figure out just what the opening means and where it fits into all this. It is a great example why I love reading Tim’s stories because he’s able to capture my attention so very quickly.
As we start to get into the story alongside Cassie and Vlad, who have their own guide who is among the areas homeless, and this is where we find things that make this stand out from the crowd. Also that Jim can work so seamlessly in this world and bring us something like this to really be in sync with Tim well dayum people. The story & plot development here is crazy good and with the way the pacing has been done make this not just exciting and interesting but one of those that sweeps you up into it before you know it’s happened.
The characterisation is flawless and I can’t help but notice that they, Cassie & Vlad, are immediately recognisable. Meeting the new characters is perfectly done and we get a really sensational idea of who they are and how they fit into the scenes that they are in. then the female villain we meet who almost looks like she could be from Cheron, or at least inspired by Frank Gorshin’s character, is a hoot and I can’t wait to see more of her!
Speaking of visages I love the interior artwork here as well. There is so much emotion and feelings that come through the faces and facial expressions that we see here and it is one of those things I look at to gauge someone’s talent. I am very appreciative in how we see the composition in the panels. Backgrounds get utilised extremely well so I want them to see them utilised more often. They expand the moments and bring a nice size and scope to the book. We see some very nice attention to detail here as well and I absolutely adore how Vlad is brought to life with or without his mask. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective show a great eye for storytelling. The colour work is nice to see as well. There is some nice use of colour blocking for shading though the bricks or buildings could’ve used more attention. Overall it really does set the mood, tone and feel of the story in a great way.
I like the story so far and the last page is one hell of a teaser I must say. I am drawn to the way we see things unfold and learning more about this woman who claims equilibrium with the void. Tim is so good when it comes to utilising his talents and skills when it comes to writing as he unleashes his creativity and imagination in some of the most splendid of ways. There’s a reason Cassie and Vlad have become so beloved and this issue demonstrates why beautifully.