Broken Frontier

In May 2011 Cassie and Vlad from HACK/SLASH fame will go undercover in a Washington State high school to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several students. Hilarity and mayhem ensue as Cassie joins the cheerleading squad and Vlad gets recruited for the football team! If you read the title of the comic, you might be able to figure out what is going on at this particular high school, but is it really so crystal clear? To try and clear things up, Broken Frontier went to this school of zombies and talked with writer Steven L. Frank.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Steven, it is not unknown for a title like Hack/Slash to do a crossover, but it is, however, carefully considered by Tim Seeley. How did this particular opportunity come forward?

STEVEN L. FRANK: Our company, 5FINITY, produced the officially licensed trading cards, Hack/Slash Sketch Card Series, early last year. We also produce the ZvC comic book, published through Moonstone, that stem from the ZvC sketch card releases. Tim was pleased with how we handled his great characters and saw that this wacky crossover could be a ton of fun.

BF: Are you yourself a Hack/Slash fan?

FRANK: Definitely.

BF: So, in Hack/Slash, we have Cassie and Vlad battling undead-slashing celebrities, and in Zombies/Cheerleaders, you have the undead masses attacking school playgrounds. How are you going to be combining these two universes?

FRANK: Cassie and Vlad investigate a high school in Washington State where several students have turned up missing. What appears to be a standard slasher case for them turns out to be so much more (hint: zombies are involved). Our two heroes go undercover as students at the school. Hilarity and mayhem ensue.

BF: I can hardly wait! I have been reading up on Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders and the blatant T&A combined with gore and zombie folks are met with a back story even. One that lets the reader know that ever since the early 1900s there has been a battle going on between "natural enemies," much like vampires are natural enemies to werewolves, and vice versa. Can you elaborate on this phenomena?

FRANK: Well, our series is an anthology and the one story you are referring to is a story written by Brandon Jerwa. He plays on the entire "this versus that" fad emanating our pop culture, which ZvC kind of winks at, and has fun with. This can eventually lead to other stories our creators can play with. Mermaids versus dinosaurs, anyone?

BF: Sounds like fun! During some of Cassie's adventures, she met her share of cheerleaders. Is Cassie going to be joining a team and might Vlad be the new quarterback?

FRANK: Vlad becomes a star football player and Cassie winds up on the cheerleading squad. Really.

BF: Are you planning more adventures of Zombies and Cheerleaders over at Moonstone after this adventurous crossover?

FRANK: After Hack/Slash Meets Zombies vs Cheerleaders, we are releasing the first trade, featuring the first five issues. There will be new ZvC tales to be told after that, yes.

BF: What are you planning for yourself during 2011 and is there any place online where fans can meet up with you?

STEVEN L. FRANK: Sure, we have a blog dedicated to ZvC over at www.zombiesvscheerleaders.wordpress.com. Fans can also keep up with all things 5FINITY at www.5finity.com, www.5finity.blogspot.com and www.5finity.deviantart.com. I've heard of this thing called Facebook; we should probably check that out, too. Do you know if there are people on there much?

HACK/SLASH MEETS ZOMBIES VS CHEERLEADERS #1 can be pre-ordered for May 2011, via your local comic dealer; 32 pages, color, $3.99