ARMY OF DARKNESS #1 Review

In space no one can hear you scream! But can they hear you fire off your boomstick? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

As the Chosen One, Ash has seen some strange things and visited some strange times and places. But nothing has prepared him for this! Catapulted into the depths of space, Ash must confront the Deadites in a place where no one can hear his screams… or his chainsaw… or his boomstick! What do the forces of the evil dead want with the International Space Station? Whatever it is, Ash embarks on his most out-of-this-world adventure in order to stop them!

Deadites in space. Something I never thought I’d see. When it was first announced that Ash Williams and the Army of Darkness would be travelling outside our atmosphere, I was sceptical as to whether this was overreaching. Though this first issue doesn’t prove otherwise, it does set-up a fabulous premise, giving an intriguing new look into this crazy franchise.

This new series doesn’t just see a new destination for Ash, but also a new creative team. Taking over the writing duties is current Magneto, and acclaimed Night of the Living Deadpool writer Cullen Bunn, who quickly proves a familiarity with the franchise. Giving a wonderful narrative, that quickly brings new readers up to speed, Bunn manages to give a gripping premise to this series, with the events of this issue being exciting to say the least. Despite this, there were some areas that I felt could have been expanded on, feeling a little flat.

The art duties of this latest Army of Darkness series falls to Larry Watts, who does a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere of space. Despite some facial expressions feeling a little disjointed, he also manages to capture the humour of Ash brilliantly, with the character being as lively as ever. Additionally he also creates some exciting action sequences, with both the chainsaw and boomstick being on display. Colourist Aikau Oliva also does a fantastic job of giving tone, and texture, with the colour palette suiting the script perfectly.

The latest series of Army of Darkness may still have some ground to cover before we can judge it next to its predecessors, but it certainly gets off to a fabulous start. Giving a new playground for Ash and the deadites, and a exciting flow, it certainly leaves this fanboy eager for more. Recommended.