“You should not dis internet boobies, yes?” – Vlad
Cassie Hack and the Suicide Girls go together like mud and naked women wrestling. It’s a perfect fit. Tim Seely’s quasi-Gothic angst ridden monster hunter has finally come across the group of Suicide Girls, alternative, punk rock web models who are absolutely beautiful and popular among enthusiasts of tasteful erotica. This cross promotional stint has been rather entertaining and “Murder Suicide” is no exception. At thirty seven pages, “Murder Suicide” is the right balance of comedy, horror, and memorable innovation that has made me a big fan of this franchise since it started.
Suicide Girl Nixon is involved romantically with the self-important artist savant Ian, a writer planning to take the internet by storm with his manifesto about humanity, and he’s killed to get where he wants to be. After Nixon puts a stop to his plans with the police, Ian goes after the Suicide Girls blaming them for putting the kibosh on his scheme. Cue Cassie. And a bunch of gorgeous Suicide Girls. There’s Missy, and Salome, and the one and only Fractal! She looks just as good on page as she does in the flesh. But Ian has returned as slasher in the form of an electric being and his possession has triggered a series of suicides that peaks the Hack/Slash crew’s interests.
Thankfully, Cassie is no longer the Clint Eastwood wannabe we saw in her series, as she is now the unsure young monster hunter still struggling with her sexuality. The purpose behind the Suicide Girls is perfectly realized as their website is being used as a hunting ground for Slasher Ian possessing the women, and Cassie becomes the bait thanks to Chris, who sets her up with them while begging to know if there are naked women walking around the HQ. It’s a hilarious instance that perfectly reflects almost any red blooded man’s fascination with the website. Chris is a great supporting character and his part in the story is some very funny stuff to read. Most of the issue revolves around the same series of adventures that make the relationship of Vlad and Cassie.
They’re caught in the mystery of this supernatural killer and use their ingenuity to put a stop to him, but may have to kill some of the Girls to stop his reign of terror. While the premise of an internet killer is a bit cliche, the issue salvages it with some great conflict between Cassie and the Girls, while the ultimate reveal of the Ian and Fractal hybrid makes for the best splash pages. “Murder Suicide” is a fun book with some excellent art work that only proves that when it comes to online erotica, “The Suicide Girls” are the tops. The climax is one of the most touching I’ve seen in the mythos, and is a great consolation to the past two issues of the series where Cassie has become a bad eighties action hero churning one liners like it’s going out of style. I hope all the crossovers are this fun.
You also have to love the double entendre title, don’t you?