Eisner Award-nominated writer Tim Seeley’s original Hack/Slash series is set to mashup with the late Jason Pearson’s Body Bags characters. The four-issue crossover miniseries will arrive this October from Image Comics.

Hack/Slash: Body Bags will feature beloved characters from Pearson’s series as they find themselves in the world of Seeley’s Hack/Slash Universe. The story sees slasher hunters Cassie and Vlad head to Terminus, Georgia in search of a killer, while Mack “Clownface” Delgado teaches his daughter Panda the ways of Bodybagging. The solicit for the series teases “big knives, short skirts, and swear words will fly.” Image Comics has revealed cover art and preview pages from the first issue, which will hit comic stores on Oct. 23.

HACK/SLASH: BODY BAGS #1

Written by TIM SEELEY Art by STEFANO CASELLI Cover A by STEFANO CASELLI Cover B by DARICK ROBERTSON Cover C (1:25) by TIM SEELEY Cover C Blank Sketch Variant On sale Oct. 23

Kevin Gardner, friend and former publisher for the late Pearson, spoke about how the crossover came to be. “To be honest, before talking with Tim, my initial reaction was, ‘probably not.’ […] After I spoke with Tim it was immediately clear that he was a huge fan of Body Bags, that Jason’s work had been a strong influence on him, and that this was something he and Stefano really wanted to do. We talked about possible ideas, and I could see how this could be something special.”

Hack/Slash Artists Reveal Their Love of Pearson’s Body Bags Series

Jason Pearson’s Body Bags originally began as a 4-issue mini-series published by Dark Horse in 1996. In Image’s press release for the new crossover, the Hack/Slash creative team described the inspiration Pearson’s work had on their own comics. “Body Bags was my favorite comic of the late 90s, and its influence on Hack/Slash is probably pretty evident,” said Seeley. “We’re so proud to bring Jason’s characters back, and re-introduce them to old and new fans.”

Caselli added, “Jason’s Body Bags is one of the biggest reasons I’m a comic book artist today.” Their devotion to Pearson’s work was a driving factor for Gardner to greenlight the crossover. “As Stefano talked about why he wanted to do this and his friendship with Jason, it really got to me emotionally,” he said. “All the concerns I had about doing this without Jason just went away; I knew Mack and Panda were in good hands. Plus, Tim’s idea for the story was so good — it’s set over one night in Terminus, right after the initial Body Bags story from 1996, Father’s Day, ends.”

Hack/Slash: Body Bags #1 will be available in comic book shops on Oct. 23 from Image Comics.

Source: Image