Hack/Slash vs Vampirella #3

Writer: Shawn Aldridge

Artist: Rapha Lobosco

Colors: Chris O’Halloran

Published by: Dynamite

After the exciting events of last issue where we finally got to learn more about the Blood Queen, only for her to, in a last page reveal, possess Cassie, what will happen Vlad and Vampirella do? Full on fist fight, that’s what?

After a few issues of set-up, we are finally treated to a knock-out brawl between our titular heroines as the Blood Queen possessed Cassie is now hell-bent on destroying not only Vampirella, but Vlad as well. For Vampirella, this fight is a no-brainer, and she treats it as such. However, for Vlad, Cassie is like a kid sister, so he is reluctant to hurt her, even though the Blood Queen is making her try and kill him.

The fight itself lasts for almost half the issue and during it, we get another perspective - the narrator this time around is the Blood Queen herself. This is an interesting choice by Aldridge, as it allows us, the reader, to be privy to Blood Queen’s motivations for what she does: why does she kill innocents? Why does she take the hears? And so on. It is always a good idea to try and give some motivation to the antagonist, as gruesome as that motivation can be.  

However, since these are comics, and this is a mini-series, Vampirella and Vlad do devise a plan to free Cassie, but it will take Vlad to go against his nature when dealing Cassie, as well as put a lot of the onus on Cassie herself to break free.

An excellent third issue to this mini-series.