Army of Darkness #12 Review


Ash is back in his current timeline fighting demon possessed toys, sharing his home with an alien roommate and facing off with Deadnite’s, Colonel Zoch and Montezuma. But it is a good take on Ash and his ultimate fate?

Official description from DYNAMITE:

The end begins here! After finally returning to the present, Ashley J. Williams finds himself under attack by the armies of darkness like never before. It’s the blowout conclusion to the ‘Hail to the Queen!’

Comedy is a staple of the Army of Darkness along with outlandish circumstances and over-the-top demons of which this book has plenty. It takes it’s approach a bit too casually though causing Ash lose a little of his charm and his edge. The opening battle with the demon toys is as fun and as action packed as you would want and Ash’s internal monologue is fun recapping his recent travels through time and dimensions.

Writer Elliot Serrano uses the characters dialogue to explain a lot of what has come before. As a new reader to this series I find it very useful but I can’t imagine the same would be felt from readers of the first 11 issues. Even as a newbie I began itching for more forward progression and less exposition. This issue does have a major development in the end and sets the stage for the battle Ash has coming. Outside of the face-paced opening and the shocking ending the middle felt slow and heavy handed. I expected more levity throughout and didn’t feel the story balanced itself very well. The explanation of multiple Necronomicon’s seemed oddly light which warranted much more by comparison.

Randy Valiente’s art was good but I felt it needed the same balancing act I asked of the plot. His depiction of aliens, demon toys and Lady Ash’s dark trip through self-discovery felt more organic than some of the more pedestrian sequences. But in general felt it was very serviceable for the book.

While I had my issues with Army of Darkness the ending was strong enough to entice me to follow Ash into battle. If you can get through the mountain of set-up then you should too.

3/5

S#!T Talking Central