Ash and the Army of Darkness #5 Review

Will Ash get the Book of the Dead and stop Wiseman? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Everything comes to a head as Ash and Sheila fight their way out of the Dark Wood. The Deadites, under the leadership of the possessed Wiseman, have grown an army twice the size they had before and this time they are determined to destroy Arthur’s castle and retrieve the Book of the Dead once and for all.

The last issue of Ash and the Army of Darkness was shocking and not in a good way. Honestly I felt slightly robbed as the issue took less than five minutes to finish. Moving on to this issue I can say that last issue appears to be a one off. It does a terrific job of concluding the first story arc and though the pace is still a little too quick it is much more enjoyable.

Steve Niles is one of the best horror writers in comics and that is what made me so surprised about the massive drop in quality in the last issue. Niles does bounce back pretty well though, giving us some entertaining events. I especially enjoyed how he managed to flow between the two main sequences allowing the dialogue to make it ever more dynamic. It was also nice to see the usual Ash charm as well as a giant version of Ash. Niles also does a terrific job of conceding the issue as despite it being ever so slightly sudden with the twist being predictable it was still enjoyable.

Dennis Calero yet again amazes me with his wonderful artwork. The thing that has astonished me the most about his art is how he’s managed to capture the likeness of Bruce Campbell and how style is the perfect fit for this world. Calero is also a big contributor to the dynamic tone of the issue with his layouts and action oozing with excitement. If this wasn’t enough the artist proves that having full control of your art can give a much better finish with both his inks and colours being outstanding.

Ash and the Army of Darkness‘ first story ends on a high with this issue being a vast improvement over the last. Recommended.