The Evil Dead Possible Timelines

Morsoth

Loud Mouth Braggart
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
Gatineau (Quebec) Canada
Hi guys!

I finally decided to jump into the Army of Darkness/Evil Dead 2 comic books! I'm a huge comic book/manga collector (Marvel's Doctor Strange, Hellboy/BPRD, Berserk, Junji Ito, anything related to witchcraft or H.P. Lovecraft...) and the only ones I had for the Evil Dead franchise was the Bolton's AOD and ED comic books adaptations and the first trade paperback of Dynamite's AOD series (Ashes 2 Ashes). So, it's time to fix that!

My god, they really milked the franchises!!! To not go totally broke, I decided to do some research to know what buy first and what I should avoid. I bought the 3 omnibus from Dynamite (series 1-2) of the AOD comics and I pre-ordered the Evil Dead 2 Omnibus (but this one might get cancelled based on what I learned about Space Goat).

I decided to stay away from the many weird crossovers (most TPB are out-of-print anyway and they aren't part of the main continuity). The only one that I wanted was the AOD/ Reanimator crossover which in part of the first omnibus anyway (but I still need the new one-shot "Army of Darkness vs Reanimator").

Anyway, long story short, during my research, I built a timeline to understand how the comics worked, and I added the games to complete it.

Here's the result (for now -- I'll update it over time)

Hi Res version is here: https://www.deviantart.com/morsoth/art/The-Evil-Dead-Timeline-v1-0-800921554

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Let me know what you think!
 
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MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
I love this SO much! Great work!
 

Morsoth

Loud Mouth Braggart
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
Gatineau (Quebec) Canada
I have a love/hate feeling with the Bolton's adaptation of Evil Dead. The 1992 Army of Darkness adaptation was gorgeous! The paintings are amazing and are truly pieces of art. For this one, I have the single issues, the trade paperback, and they are also in the first Omnibus of the AOD comics. Now, for the Evil Dead adaptation, it looks like Bolton only used screen captures of the movies and added some filters in Photoshop. Also, all the other characters (Cheryl, Scott, Linda, Shelly) are based on other person (probably based of photography too). I liked the addition to the story (what's happen in the basement and when Scott leaves to the wood alone), but the ending (that tries to imitate the beginning of Evil Dead 2) is not good at all IMO. Also, strangely enough, Cheryl is now the friend's of Linda, not Ash's sister.

Anyway, I'm happy to have it. Be quick if you want it, the trade paperback is out-of-print and the prices are rising.
 
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Sutter Cane

Spinach Chin
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
I have a love/hate feeling with the Bolton's adaptation of Evil Dead. The 1992 Army of Darkness adaptation was gorgeous! The paintings are amazing and are truly pieces of art. For this one, I have the single issues, the trade paperback, and they are also in the first Omnibus of the AOD comics. Now, for the Evil Dead adaptation, it looks like Bolton only used screen captures of the movies and added some filters in Photoshop. Also, all the other characters (Cheryl, Scott, Linda, Shelley) are based on other person (probably based of photography too). I liked the addition to the story (what's happen in the basement and when Scott leaves to the wood alone), but the ending (that tries to imitate the beginning of Evil Dead 2) is not good at all IMO. Also, strangely enough, Cheryl is now the friend's of Linda, not Ash's sister.

Anyway, I'm happy to have it. Be quick if you want it, the trade paperback is out-of-print and the prices are rising.

Thanks for let me know. It seems to be available from 3rd party sellers on amazon.ca...I'll check this out.
 

DyD

Spinach Chin
Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Location
Votuporanga, Brazil
Great work! I really can't think of a more complete and easier to understand way to explain all the concurrent timelines visually. The chart itself is also very clean, well designed and easy on the eyes, and that makes it even better.

Concerning the comics, what to buy and what to avoid, I'm gonna be rather blunt... I'd get both of Bolton's movie adaptations (it's true that your mileage might vary on the approach to the Evil Dead adaptation, but it's still a quality product), the first two story arcs from Dynamite ("Ashes 2 Ashes" and "Shop Till You Drop Dead") and the Ash and the Army of Darkness reboot. And that's it. Everything else is utter trash. You really won't be missing anything if you decide to pass on them. The Space Goat series has a few interesting ideas in it and half decent art, but the writing and execution is just as bad as most of the Dynamite stuff after Nick Bradshaw left.
 
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Morsoth

Loud Mouth Braggart
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
Gatineau (Quebec) Canada
Thanks DyD! I already bought all of the main series (I already had Bolton's adaptation). I'm almost finished reading "Shop Till You Drop Dead" from the Omnibus 1. I guess I'll lower my expectations for the rest!

I already read the most recent reboot "Ash vs the Army of Darkness" (2017) trade paperback, and it wasn't bad at all. It even as some references to the Ash vs Evil Dead TV Series (like the license plate on the Delta). However, it seems that the series is already finished. They only released an Halloween special on October 2018 (which is not really connected to the series), and that's it.

I might bite for some "Army of Darkness vs" titles, but I'm not sure which ones are the best. I'm not a big fan of crossovers. The only future title on my wish list from Dynamite is the upcoming Vampirella vs Reanimator trade paperback, and only because I collect pretty much everything dealing with H.P. Lovecraft.

Anyway, I'll let you know on what I think about the comics once I read them, but I'll probably post it into the comic book thread. This one was more about the timeline.
 

MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
I have a love/hate feeling with the Bolton's adaptation of Evil Dead. The 1992 Army of Darkness adaptation was gorgeous! The paintings are amazing and are truly pieces of art. For this one, I have the single issues, the trade paperback, and they are also in the first Omnibus of the AOD comics. Now, for the Evil Dead adaptation, it looks like Bolton only used screen captures of the movies and added some filters in Photoshop. Also, all the other characters (Cheryl, Scott, Linda, Shelly) are based on other person (probably based of photography too). I liked the addition to the story (what's happen in the basement and when Scott leaves to the wood alone), but the ending (that tries to imitate the beginning of Evil Dead 2) is not good at all IMO. Also, strangely enough, Cheryl is now the friend's of Linda, not Ash's sister.

Anyway, I'm happy to have it. Be quick if you want it, the trade paperback is out-of-print and the prices are rising.

I'm with you on that, and I'll add that the character motivations generally feel all off as well. And I hated the way they ended the issue.

Also DYD's recs are the way to go; Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash gets Hitched is probably the best duology of the whole series, as well as DyD's estimation of the Space Goat series.

The AOD license seems to be in limbo since AOD/Bubba Ho Tep finished this month; nothing new from Dynamite has been announced all the way up through August in solicits. I smell yet another reboot coming in October.
 

Sutter Cane

Spinach Chin
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
I'm with you on that, and I'll add that the character motivations generally feel all off as well. And I hated the way they ended the issue.

Also DYD's recs are the way to go; Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash gets Hitched is probably the best duology of the whole series, as well as DyD's estimation of the Space Goat series.

The AOD license seems to be in limbo since AOD/Bubba Ho Tep finished this month; nothing new from Dynamite has been announced all the way up through August in solicits. I smell yet another reboot coming in October.


Let hope they will stop that crossover crap and start a NEW ORIGINAL story with the AoD franchise. I think they need to bring something new on the table...They should stop rebooting it as well and recycling old one liner jokes from the movie.
 

Morsoth

Loud Mouth Braggart
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
Gatineau (Quebec) Canada
Let hope they will stop that crossover crap and start a NEW ORIGINAL story with the AoD franchise. I think they need to bring something new on the table...They should stop rebooting it as well and recycling old one liner jokes from the movie.

Yeah, I'm staying far from the crossovers. I've read them... online... but that's it. I don't feel the need to own them. Now I have all the Dynamite's main series and the one-shot specials. And yes, I hope they either continue Ash vs the Army of Darkness (which wasn't bad in my opinion) or reboot it yet ahain.

I'm currently reading the 3rd omnibus. The second omni was... yeah... not that great, but some elements were interesting. I can't wait to read the Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash Gets Hitched series.
 
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MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
I swear they never should've rebooted after Ash Gets Hitched. Just give us lots of Sheila and Ash kicking demonic butt while trying to raise a family in medieval England with a load of humor and a lacing of personal drama. Boom. License to print money.
 

Morsoth

Loud Mouth Braggart
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Location
Gatineau (Quebec) Canada
Yes, I hear you! I've read a lot this weekend, and finished that awesome Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash Gets Hitched duology. The ending was: "What? Why?!" and then I've read Ash in Space and I was: "Why have they done that?!!!". Worst of all, it ends on a cliffhanger that was never continued/finished.

The fact that "Furious Road" was a continuation of the Series 1-2, I hope that the new reboot is a quick wrap-up of the Ash in Space mess and then deals with Ash coming back in the Medieval Times and continue it's Ash Gets Hitched story line. I would love the idea of Ash having a family while fighting evil! I always loved Medieval Fantasy stories, and that's why Army of Darkness was my favorite of the series back in the 90's.
 

Sutter Cane

Spinach Chin
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
I'm with you on that, and I'll add that the character motivations generally feel all off as well. And I hated the way they ended the issue.

Also DYD's recs are the way to go; Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash gets Hitched is probably the best duology of the whole series, as well as DyD's estimation of the Space Goat series.

The AOD license seems to be in limbo since AOD/Bubba Ho Tep finished this month; nothing new from Dynamite has been announced all the way up through August in solicits. I smell yet another reboot coming in October.

I was so curious so I bought the Evil Dead comic from amazon.ca. I must agree with you all. The AoD adaptation is way better than the Evil Dead comic. It's not bad at all, but look like much cheaper than AoD. It look like a photoshop edit from movie (They even used Bruce Campbell face expressions from EDII and AoD Movie) with new pictures and different actors. I think they tried to give a modern flavor to this old classic. Some cool new elements but the ending kinda suck. I agree.

Still interesting for die hard fans but this comic is a hit and miss...If Bolton do an adapation of ED2 some day, just hope he will put more effort and soul into it...
 
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MaidOfKandar

I May Be Bad But I Feel...Good....
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Yes, I hear you! I've read a lot this weekend, and finished that awesome Ash and the Army of Darkness/Ash Gets Hitched duology. The ending was: "What? Why?!" and then I've read Ash in Space and I was: "Why have they done that?!!!". Worst of all, it ends on a cliffhanger that was never continued/finished.

The fact that "Furious Road" was a continuation of the Series 1-2, I hope that the new reboot is a quick wrap-up of the Ash in Space mess and then deals with Ash coming back in the Medieval Times and continue it's Ash Gets Hitched story line. I would love the idea of Ash having a family while fighting evil! I always loved Medieval Fantasy stories, and that's why Army of Darkness was my favorite of the series back in the 90's.

God, just everything. Every little bit of this.

They replaced the writer on the series (the phenomenal Steve Niles, who is best known for his Walking Dead stuff) with a guy who did a lot of Deadpool comics. you'd think writing for Ash and Deadpool would be similar feats of brainpower but well - ask the guys who wrote Duke Nukem and swiped Ash's one-liners.
 

Its_Auto

S-Mart Clerk
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Love the timeline chart! I think they missed a beat with AvED on how they could have made both Army of Darkness endings work - imagine a full time travel story, where Ash, Pablo and Kelly are leaping in and out of Ash's history, and in each time, Ash does something stupid to change events that isn't apparant until the trio time jump again (i.e, does something that puts young Ash's delta out of action, resulting in the 5 friends cancelling their vacation to the cabin, and an older Ash visiting the cabin with only Linda a year or two later (triggering ED2). But for Army of Darkness endings, picture the Ghost beaters watching out of sight, as Army of Darkness Ash is sealed in the cave.. Kelly asking if it'll hold/if he'll be OK, and Ash laughing as he slaps the side of the rock face, assuring her (knocking a boulder out of place with a bumbling expression as he does.. The very boulder that disturbs younger Ash inside the cave causing him to take an extra drop - boom, apocalypse ending triggered - that sort of thing.
 

BadAsh

S-Mart Clerk
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
All the evil dead films are their own timeline. Ruby mentions their are not infinite timelines.
 
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