Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comics Discussion Thread!

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
With the permission of all mods, I'm opening a new thread for discussing the ongoing Dynamite Comics  run!

Here's the cover of the next issue of the Hail to the Queen arc:

AOD13CovLeisterRevised.jpg


I'm currently two issues behind, so I'll just give my thoughts on the arc really quickly, then open the floor to debate: Spoilers for issues 1-8 under here:

I was really, really excited for this arc, and the first three issues kept me going: who wouldn't want to watch Ash kill Deadite Nazis in Brazil with his female counterpart from another world.  I loved the execution and idea behind Ashley K Williams and what they did with her.

Buuut the last three or so issues have lost their way a bit, starting with a confusing split in which Ashley K. kills an alternate version of Ash in an alternate version of Kandarian hell.  This is apparently the version of Ash who resides in the Regeneration video game, judging from the existence of Sam the Deadite as his sidekick.  That sends us into what I think's been the best part of the storyline thus far: a trip into Ash's adolescence, where we find out he and Linda were junior high school sweethearts and he had no idea how to ask her out on a date.

Apparently, the "Ash Prime" of the storyline's the one who was tossed into 70's Japan, then back home again, after taking a side-trip to the Prohibition era.  I liked this little fill-in on Ash and Cheryl's grandpa here: they're descended from a G-Man, and Ash is, in a way, named after him (the J stands for James).  I'm looking forward to seeing how they're gonna wrap this up, and I hope they can recover from their missteps.

Also upcoming: Army of Darkness vs Hack/Slash, where Ash teams up with Cassie Hack to kill demons.  Whoever did the variant covers has a fondness for comic art:

TNAODHS01CovSubscription.jpg


TNAODHS02CovSubscriptionHaese.jpg


AODHS03CovHaeser.jpg
 

Elise41

Spinach Chin
Staff member
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Jun 3, 2009
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Oh my god the last one. Haha!
 

Swofty

Hero from the Sky
Staff member
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Jan 20, 2008
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I prefer the first Charlie Brown one!  :) .. it took me a few seconds to get the reference  :bigsmile .. thank you.

(there's four mods here btw  :wink)
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I'm going to ask my local comics guru specifically for those covers, mostly because they made me chuckle fairly hard.

(And gah, sorry guys  *EDITS*)
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Updates!  Updates everywhere!

* So my comic guy still doesn't have issue 11.  Which means I'm stuck with issue twelve but no issue eleven.  Thus I can't finish the HTTQ arc until he straights stuff out or I pay Dynamite's exorbitant shipping fees :p.

* The last issue of that arc, as well as the first issue of AOD vs Hack/Slash are streeting this week!  Dynamite has the first few pages available for preview, and here is a review from bloody-disgusting.

And here's the variant cover for issue 4!:

AODHS04CovSubscription.jpg



* We are getting a reboot!  Written by Steve Niles and with line art by Dennis Calero.  Cover art:

ash-army-of-darkness.jpg


tumblr_mq15jgPPw31rk6hp0o1_500.jpg


...I'm cautiously hopeful?  But I really don't think we need yet another continuity reboot, especially from that canon point.  Ashes 2 Ashes is still the best storyline they've done thus far on the Dynamite side of things (And Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash kicks the butt of the rest of its arc), so I'm not exactly looking forward to revisiting things from that point of view.  Not to mention that this is the third storyline reboot they've done in four years (League of Light and Hail to the Queen are the other two).

* We're also getting a one-shot Re-Animator crossover!  Yes, again, but this time it's book Herbert fighting Ash.  Cover art:

AODReAnimator1ShotCovValien.jpg
 

Swofty

Hero from the Sky
Staff member
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Jan 20, 2008
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I'm not sure I like that second cover. Ash looks a bit Twiliglight/goth'esque ...

edit: where'd the Charlie Brown cover go ? ..
 

Elise41

Spinach Chin
Staff member
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Wow insane news on the Re-Animator crossover. A second one? I say sign me up.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
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Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

@Jake - The retelling is in the first comic omnibus :)

@Swofty - seems to be the lighting; the interior art looks great but I have some quibbles about the storyline (see below)

Took down the first variant 'cause it was apparently preliminary art - that's the final :)

@Elise - I'm looking forward to that one the most so far, plus parts of the reboot canon.

NEWS:

Final Art is up for: AOD VS Hack/Slash 1 2 3 4

And Five:

AODHS05CovCaselli.jpg


AODHS05CovSeeley.jpg


AODHS05CovTemplesmithNotFin.jpg


Variant:
AODHS05CovSubscription.jpg


(Best one yet!)

I'm cash-poor, so I haven't swung by my local comic book guy's to pick up the first issue and the end of HTTQ yet.  I am, however, amused by the way Dynamite is selling this series

As a "will-they-or-won't-they-have-sex?" spectacle.

Almost secondary to "will they murder monsters or not?!"

Dynamite is giving a HUGE push to Ash and the Army of Darkness; Elise pointed this interview out and
here is an interview with Steve Niles that gives an overview of the title.  There are also three preview pages at the source, which I won't link because they're fairly spoilery.

Frankly?  I'm a little disappointed.  Spoilers under the cut:

disappointed that Ash will continue to look down his nose at Arthur and Henry's people.  After everything he went through and the character development AOD gave him, it's pretty blatantly OOC of them to have him be disdainful of them. 

Also, please do not tell me Sheila's gone Deadite again and is the high muckety-muck of evilness here.

And that's it for this week.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

And the release date for AvTAOD has been bumped to late October to better cash in on our Halloween dollars!

Another Steve Niles interview where he mentions

That the comic will have a 'hardcore horror edge'.  Fitting for the trilogy, but for an AOD-centered comic?  IDK.

Also, Dynamite has a full ten page preview up...apparently uploaded out of order but up nonetheless.  None of the pages have dialogue excerpts, so we'll be forced to wait for those.

LE cover ahoy:
ASHandAOD01CovSuydam.jpg
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I'm going to be stopping by later with a review of the first half of AOD vs Hack/Slash; let's just use interweb vernacular and say I am Dissapoint so far.

In the meantime, cover art for Ash and the AOD #2 (Which I'm spoilercutting because it has a fairly important one for issue #1:

ASHandAOD02CovTemplesmith.jpg


ASHandAOD02CovCalero.jpg
 

Elise41

Spinach Chin
Staff member
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Jun 3, 2009
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Just going to drop by and say that the Re-Animator one-shot crossover comes out the 23rd! :D
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Thank you, Elise!  AND the first issue of Ash vs the AOD has streeted as of yesterday!

Back again, because I've not only scored the end of the Hail to the Queen arc, I now own Ash and the AOD Issue #1 and the Re-Animator one-shot! I'll be coming back with reviews/thoughts on Saturday; in brief: HTTQ arc = inspired beginning, horribly muddled middle and ending, one or two essential issues either way, AOD Vs R-A = fun but slightly derivative, good Ash voice, Ash and the AOD = good art, good dialogue, but contains plot twists that make no sense, AOD vs Hack/Slash = got me into Hack/Slash but the Ash characterization is fairly awful.

In the meantime, here's cover art for Ash and the AOD #3!!

ASHandAOD03CovSuydam.jpg
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

BACK at last with more covers and my long-promised thoughts on the last three Dynamite-related AOD releases!

First, some quick thoughts on the end of the Hail to the Queen arc:

And it remains a muddy affair right to the last page.  Everything about this chunk of the series screams up from the page that they had no clue how to tie together the various disjointed moments in the series, so they said 'eh - wormhole!'  I still don't know what they were shooting for with Lady Ash and her meaning and presence in the universe; sadly, an arc that started out beautifully took a left turn into wth-is-going-on-land.

That said, this series is still pretty essential for fans - the Ash/Linda childhood flashback is still worth the price of admission, and we get a brief two issue arc in which Ash is dumped in the roaring 20's during Prohibition. So ultimately I found it frustratingly uneven, and a tad hollow at the core.

Next up is AOD vs Hack/Slash:  Here's the cover art for the final issue:

AODHS06.jpg


And the variant:

TNAODHS06CovHaeser.jpg


And my feelings on the series...

...Are again largely mixed.  The best thing I can say for it is that it introduced me to Cassie Hack, who is awesome and tough and funny and interesting to follow.  It's nice to have a bisexual female character be so positively portrayed in a horror comic, and I'm rather attached to Margaret and little Sandra.

There are two big problems with the series so far.  One's the writing for Ash, which takes his goofiness and goes over the top with it.  Ever wanted to see Ash shave his chest with a razor attachment in a car?  This is your issue.  Ever wanted to see him throw a childish temper tantrum because a wild west town is out of order?  Again: this is your comic.  There's a very fine line between  writing Ash as gruff and foolish and single-minded and, well, writing him like THIS, and portraying him as such a horny moron that when a girl flashes a little thigh he stands there with his tongue hanging out, stuttering.  Literally. 

What's unfortunate about the whole thing is that when they get it right with him the issue sings beautifully.  When it doesn't, it joins the awkward tone of the rest of the piece.

The other problem is the disquieting way they're pushing the potential of an Ash/Cassie sexual hookup on us.  Even the marketing keeps snickering about it, and frankly it detracts from the story.  We know that Cassie loves her canonical girlfriend, and worse yet, Ash knows it, too.  If they DO hook up, it will make them both look like slimebags...which is the last thing you want for your heroic characters.

Otherwise, this is a fun title.  The gore is bright and inventive, and the one-liners that aren't cringeworthy make you chuckle.  But it'll be a mixed bag, and Hack/Slash fans who're invested in the Cassie/Margaret relationship will probably be rankled.

AOD Vs Re-Animator:

Surprisingly twisty and enjoyable.  Ash and Herbert make an amusing odd couple, and watching Ash grapple with being stuck in the 20's added to the fun.  A nice, slick effort.


Ash vs the Army of Darkness: Variant and cover art  for #4 and#5

TNASHandAOD04CovSuydam.jpg


ASHandAOD04CovSubscription.jpg


TNASHandAOD05CovParrilloLight.jpg


ASHandAOD05CovSubscription.jpg


And my thoughts:

I'm HIGHLY impressed with this run so far; not just with the art but with the writing.  Though I've got a few small quibbles with it (it's not as slapsticky or goofy as an AOD-based comic should be; they killed off Tony/Ted Raimi's character way too early) it all hangs together magnificently.  Plus, I admit I'm just a tad biased and I'm really digging Knight!Sheila cutting her way through the Deadite hordes!

The biggest news of all is that, for the first time since Dynamite started publishing AOD-related comics, we're getting an annual!

TNASHandAODAnn2014CovCalero.jpg


Stranded in the 1300's, Ash Williams leads a war against evil as he searches for a way home to the present day. Ash's search is complicated when his soul is stolen by three witches and the only way for him to go home is to follow them from time period to time period and recover the parts of his missing soul. Ash must once again rise up against the forces of evil and their army of darkness if he is to have any hope of ever returning to the modern world he left behind.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Here're the covers for issues #6 and #7 for Ash And the AOD!

#6:
ASHandAOD06CovERICKSON.jpg


(My favorite AOD comic cover art of all time!)

Variant:
ASHandAOD06CovSubscriptionC.jpg


#7
ASHandAOD07CovErickson.jpg


Variant:
ASHandAOD07CovSubscription.jpg


RE: The ending of AOD vs Hack/Slash....you don't want to ask me my opinion on it :p

Ash Vs the AOD issues #2-4 opinions:
I'm really loving the combination of character interaction and action going on here; Henry and Arthur's discussion in issue #4 was a lot of fun.  I also love that they're keeping in stride with the sort of Harryhausian monsters Sam might have conjured up.

My only other real complaint is that they went the easy route and let Ash grab the book again without saying the words.  Again.  It's just too easy of a conclusion to come to.
 

Elise41

Spinach Chin
Staff member
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I am drooling over the second to last cover, hoooooooooly shit.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

@Elise: you can see them going for a retro sort of Prince Valiant feel on it!  I like it.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

Covers for #8!:

ASHandAOD08CovErikson.jpg


Variant:
ASHandAOD08CovSubscriptionC.jpg


And the big news coming out of Wonder Con is:

The next arc will feature Ash and Sheila's marriage!  Press Release is here.

"It was a dream come true for me to create the sequel we never got and I hope fans enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now we head into the next chapter, the marriage of Ash and Sheila. This is pretty huge for the AoD universe because it means Ash is going to stay in the Dark Ages and be a father and husband. It's going to be a very strange and fun trip."

And there are the covers:

AshHitched01CovBradshaw.jpg
(By Nick Bradshaw)

AshHitched01CovFrancavilla.jpg
(By Francesco Francavilla)

AshHitched01CovLee.jpg
(By Jae Lee)

AshHitched01CovParrillo.jpg
(by Lucio Parrillo)

AshHitched01CovSubscriptBuscema.jpg
(by Stephanie Buscema)

AshHitched01CovSuydam.jpg
(by Arthur Suydam)
 

Elise41

Spinach Chin
Staff member
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Re: Army of Darkness/Evil Dead Comic Discussion Thread!

I'm loving the new covers!
 
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