The Army of Darkness 1979 #02

The Army of Darkness 1979 #02

Dynamite Entertainment 2021

Written by Rodney Barnes

Illustrated by Tom Garcia

Coloured by Dinei Ribero

Lettered by Troy Peteri

Ashley Joanna Williams finds himself this time in late 70s New York City. In a less cleaned up era, that means gangs tussle for every block in the South Bronx. And these particular gangs model themselves after zombies and vampires. Things only get even more out of control when they find the one and only Necronomicon!

I will say that Rodney manages to find that balance between the absurdly silly and some serious horror. The opening shows just what the Necronomicon is capable of and it’s really kind of intriguingly horrific and makes you realise just how much willpower it takes to overcome its influence that gives Ash a lot more respect than I would have previously given him. I’m really rather impressed with the way that we see this being told. How it manages to engage the reader and take them off page, such as my newfound respect for Ash’s willpower, and into realms, thoughts or ideas that are the result of cause and effect is rather exceptional to see.

I really like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is exceptionally well rendered. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does an absolutely marvellous job in bringing their personalities to the forefront. It is kind of weird and I like the way we see Ash kind of falls into situations and when you read this you’ll understand what I mean but it’s great to see him portrayed this way. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more I want to see and know.

I like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. How we see the layers open up new avenues to be explored, the various gangs for example, and the whole idea of magic being real to see this kind of depth, dimension and complexity added to the story is wonderfully handled. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is expertly achieved.

There are some really dynamic interiors going on here. The linework is exceptional and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level of detail within the work that we see is extraordinary. I will say I wish we’d see more backgrounds being utilised because they really do enhance and expand the moments. However, that being said, the way we see the composition within the panels brings out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is extremely well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colour being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works.

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This is so much fun. Ash is inherently one of the more interesting and funny men in horror and he certainly lives up to the reputation that he's built over the years, though there are times whether it’s hard to tell if this is Ash or if it's Bruce as the two have become so interchangeable over the years. What remains true is that he’s a staple in comics, film and television and regardless of the medium he always manages to save the day, kick some Deadite butt and make us laugh while doing so. The writing is exceptional and the characterisation is flawlessly rendered while these interiors bring this to life incredibly well and only serves to reinforce my opinion of the franchise.