The Samurai Slasher

There’s just 3 days left to go on Mike Garley’s Kickstarter campaign so I’m taking a look at The Samurai Slasher Anthology and what we can expect from the release in Mike’s Preview.

The Samurai Slasher brings an 80’s slasher movie that never was to the comic book pages as Mike tells four tales of blood, gore & samurai swords…..sounds good to me!  The four stories cover the origin, day-to-day slashing & possibly the final days of the Samurai Slasher himself.

The Samurai Slasher

A group of high school students take their camper van out to a cabin and even though there’s heavy warnings from a local nutjob……they spend the night and get dead…..well mostly dead.  It’s pretty straight-forward slasher fodder but I can’t think of a better way to see our Samurai Slasher in action and I love the old school feel to Andy W.Clift’s artwork in this one which sets the scene well.  I’m not going camping any time soon as a precaution though 🙂

The Secret Origins of the Samurai Slasher

Mike is joined by Gavin Mitchell on art as a man on his deathbed tells all about the Samurai Slasher and his origin.  A flashback to feudal Japan sees a local village being defended by the Slasher himself in what soon becomes a fight for love as much as a thirst for blood. Great twist on this one adds weight to a new character by building a tangible history and although slightly cliched…..it’s in tune with what we’d expect from a slasher movie homage.

The Exhibition of the Samurai Slasher

The history of the Slasher is on display for everyone to see as he makes up part of the latest Japanese exhibition following his discovery near a familiar lake near a cabin in the woods.  Cue the glitz & glamour of opening night and this one spills over into more thrills & kills at the hands of our main villain.

The Decimation of the Samurai Slasher

Another short one that sees our friendly neighbourhood Samurai Slasher return to that lake and face off against the army.  Great visuals in this one from Wynn Ryder on art & Nathan Ashworth on colours that sees all guns pointed at our serial killing Samurai and all-out war erupts as their casualties on both sides……a satisfying “The End?” throws open the possibility of more down the road which I’m sure we’ll see after the success of the Kickstarter.

All in all a great collection of stories from Mike who brings us a new villain that we love to hate.  The art team he has pulled together have worked wonders giving each story a unique style with the same central character and an interesting aspect of the Kickstarter is the inclusion of a soundtrack…..something that will be included in some of the rewards and having heard 3 of them…..they capture that 80’s horror vibe perfectly.  Electro-pop that helps build the tension and ultimate fight back against the bad guy & adds another dimension to the release leaving you wondering if you remember seeing the film.  Mind-games from beyond the edges of the comic book panels…..well played Mike…..well played.

Go check out the Kickstarter here

8/10

G-Man