Army of Darkness Forever

Last month, when I began reading Red Sonja vs. Army of Darkness, I found myself wanting more Ash in my life. I tend to read comics before bed most nights, so I went looking for some more Army of Darkness comics to fill that void. The most logical place to start was the most recent Army of Darkness series titled Army of Darkness Forever, which was originally scheduled for a six issue ran that expanded to thirteen issues.

Army of Darkness Forever is definitely not easy to read for beginners. This series picks up after the deleted scene from Army of Darkness, that fans who owned the DVDs and blu ray, probably know about, but it’s not something a new fan may know much about. It’s interesting that they felt so confident taking this obscure part of the franchise and building a story around it, but then again, they are probably assuming the only people reading this comic are huge fans of the Evil Dead franchise who will have seen the director’s cut/alternate ending.

The story is told from three time periods: 1300s, 1993, and 2093.

We see Sheila in the 1300s, mourning the loss of Ash, since no one else seems courageous enough to finish off the Army of the Dead who still remain in the woods after retreating.

In 1993, we see Ash, from the original ending of Army of Darkness, working in the S-Mart and harboring a terrible secret, Evil Ash is within him.

In 2093, we see prime Ash, who has woken up later than expected due to taking too many drops of potion. He finds a world that has been destroyed, inhabited by robots, and a hologram of the Wise Man.

The first six issues are solid enough. We find Sheila struggling with her mourning for both Ash and her brother, and the ineptitude of the King and the Wise Man limiting her ability to prevent the pending doom she encounters in the woods. It seems the Army of the Dead are working on resurrecting Evil Ash, and no one believes her.

In 1993, we discover Ash’s psyche is slowly breaking as Evil Ash is pulling strings to get our “Fake Ash” to spread the word of the Necronomicon over the internet, so he can raise a much larger army and truly conquer the world.

And in 2093, Prime Ash is attempting to reassemble the Necronomicon so that he can return to his reality in 1993. Little does he know, there is more at play, and even holograms of old friends can’t be trusted.

Sadly, the story already stretched a bit thin by issue six struggles to move forward.

The problem with this series (if you couldn’t already tell) is there is just too much going on. One of the best things about comic books is how budget doesn’t limit the storytelling, but sometimes this is a detriment when the story just goes too far, as in this case. It’s hard to keep up with all the different forms of Ash, especially once they begin time traveling. Sure, the art is there to help keep the reader engaged, but I’m not kidding when I say each of the Ash transforms between haircuts, damage, and restoration. By the last few issues, I really had no idea which Ash was which, outside of Good Ash.

Sheila’s character is a bit unbelievable as she’s turned into this hard charging badass, who also flips back and forth between damsel in distress if Ash is around. It’s very uneven and a bit confusing at times, in terms of where the story wants to go and what it’s trying to say. There are a few fun moments, like when Ash accidentally manifests a baby demon from the Necronomicon, but for the most part the second half of this series is a slog to get through.

Then there is the final issue, which is completed by a different artist, and feels completely unnecessary. At first, I thought it was an epilogue, but then once I finished, I think they were trying to maybe start a new arc. Either way, it’s not clear, and the book ends on this unsettled note, which just further adds to the disappointment.

When I started Army of Darkness Forever, I began shopping for a physical copy because I thought I’d want to keep this story and re-visit it. However, once I reached issue eight, I was just ready for it to be over. There was some potential with the story, but I think the author bit off a bit more than he could chew and despite some great covers and solid artwork, it just didn’t come together like I had hoped it would.