Review: Army of Darkness 1979 #2

Story Thus far:

In the last tie-in issue of the Central Park gangs called the Warlocks have gained control of the Necronomicon. Meanwhile Ash and THE Half-dead gang had become engaged in a clash with miniature members of the Police Force.

In the current issue, the leader of the gang now vested with the power of Necronomicon , has turned his attention to ruling the world starting with New York. In a bid to find the Necronomicon, Ash becomes the leader of his own gang the Half-dead gang. Now Ash and the Half-dead are on the hunt for the Warlocks and the Necronomicon. But the other gangs of New York are standing in their way.

Script:

This is basically Army of Darkness meets the Warriors and Quantum Leap. I can only imagine the Movie pitch for this script. So, this old guy with a chainsaw for a hand, travels to the future, to save the world from an evil book that can change people into zombies or give someone evil magical powers.

Honestly, by itself it is a solid issue, but the dialogue fails under the older fans who are expecting this to be a spark that reignite Army of the Darkness popularity. But alas it does some things nicely. It closes open the chapter of another group loyal to Ash and new relationship.

Art:

If you are looking for the Army of Darkness trademarked bloodiness, look elsewhere. The panels displayed capture the vibe of craziness meant in the script. But Fans of AOD will feel like something is missing.

I understand the need for the Warrior crossover designs, but a little more attention to the design of the female lead could have been better. Lastly, I feel it was kind of a tease to have Ash strap on his chainsaw and not actually use it.

Speculation:

In 1992, Dark Horse published a three-issue miniseries adaptation of the film.

Covers:

This is where my beef starts, covers just for the sake of covers. ARMY OF DARKNESS 1979 #2 will have 9 covers: CVR A MATTINA; B SUYDAM; D SAYGER; E 10 COPY INCV SUYDAM; F 15 COPY INCV SAYGER;G 20 COPY INCV YOON; H 25 COPY INCV; I 30 COPY INCV SUYDAM; M FOC BONUS FLEECS &FORESTNER; N 7 COPY FOC Mattina ; CVR O 11 COPY FOC Fleecs; CVR P 21 COPY FOC INCV Yoon. When will Madness end ? There is nothing in this issue that warrants that many covers! Technically there’s just 4 with different variations.

Writers: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Tom Garcia
Color Artist: Dinei Ribero
Letterer & Design: Troy Petero
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, Mature
Publisher: D.E