The fourth collection of Hack/Slash stories -- and the second to feature reprints from Tim Seeley's monthly series from Devil's Due -- has a series of stories to tell. All, of course, feature Cassie Hack, the young girl who survived a slasher experience and now travels the country to put an end to the sort of hate-driven serial killers who make such good horror-flick fodder, and Vlad, her giant, misshapen sidekick.

In "Love Stories," former beauty queen, slasher and burn victim Emily Cristy is up to her old tricks after escaping from a group of scientists working to discover the root of the "hate" gene that makes slashers (a.k.a. "revenants") so hard to kill. Meanwhile, Chris and Lisa, a young couple previously rescued by Cassie, deal with a feral raccoon and Lisa's ex, while Cassie and Vlad -- remember them? The stars of this book? -- figure out how to pay for a motel room for the night.

"Double Date" is a somewhat silly stand-alone tale that's drawn in an old Archie Comics style and features a dilemma at the Big Dance and the return of Father Wrath.

The major chapter of this collection is "Tub Club," set among a secret group of lesbian students at a Massachusetts college who are attempting to preserve their youth based on old yarns about Elizabeth Bathory. (Oh, come on. You know the story, right? Sheesh, go look it up.) Of course, the ringleader turns out to be an evil force from Cassie's recent past. Kudos to artist Rebekah Isaacs, who turns in the best visuals of this collection.

The final chapter, "Little Children," may be the most disturbing to some readers, especially given its conclusion. Sure, these are horror stories, but ... well, the crux of the plot involves experiments that have been performed on feral children. I'll leave it at that.