Review by C.J. Bunce
Ash Williams–our favorite cyborg horror hero is back, this time in a comic book series with the laughs and tone of the great Ash vs. Evil Dead television series starring Bruce Campbell. Get ready for Death to the Army of Darkness, written by Ryan Parrott (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Batman: Gates of Gotham) and artist Jacob Edgar (Savage Tales: Red Sonja), with colorist Kike J. Díaz (Sherlock Frankenstein, Ether) and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Red Sonja, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt). These creators take us to Ash six months after the events of Army of Darkness–the sequel to the Evil Dead movies. Ash just wants left alone, but deadite-possessed people keep pulling him back in.
Enter magic, the kind of magic that will make you wish this story was the next to hit the small or big screen. A bad reading of the Necronomicon book of the dead and Ash is splintered into multiple differing clones, each packing the same over-the-top personality to become Team Ash: familiar Bruce Campbell Ash, his feminine side Ashley, a tiny Ash demon, a cynical skeleton, a dog Ash aka Dash, and his now-sentient chainsaw, Chainy. Each issue reads like a half-hour episode of Ash vs Evil Dead. In the first issue you catch up with Ash, and it gets even better in the second issue as all of Ash’s better halves get to know each other, and some time travel to ancient Egypt is in store.
So many great covers are available for this series, you may lose track, but we’re previewing covers for the first four issues below (including a cut-out mask cover, and some incentive covers without logos), plus the first pages of the first issue, and an artist design sheet for Team Ash. Artists Ben Oliver, Arthur Suydam, Mirka Andolfo, Sebastian Piriz, Sergio Davila, and J. Scott Campbell all created variant covers for this unique series.
Take a look:
According to writer Ryan Parrott in a press brief, “Ash is just such a unique character to get to write, a self-serving braggart who always stumbles backward into being a hero. And I’m really excited about the story we’re telling. This series is wacky fun and really digs into Deadite mythology. It’s full of blood, sweat and boomsticks… so I really hope fans come along for the ride.”
Artist Jacob Edgar added, “Army of Darkness has pretty much everything you’d want to draw in a comic book, and Ryan is playing to ALL of that with his scripts. Ash is a ton of fun as a character, trying to translate his expressiveness and… unique brand of heroism to the page. There’s quite a legacy for us to live up to on a property like this, with all the films/TV/comics that have come before, but I think we’re bringing something fresh and really special!”
The first issue of Death to the Army of Darkness is in comic stores now, with the second issue arriving March 11, 2020. It’s a fun story, great artwork, and faithful to the series and Bruce Campbell’s voice and swagger. For teens and up, it’s a must-read for Ash Williams fans. Add this to your comic shop pull list now.
