The Army of Darkness Forever #9 // Review
Deadites have blown-up Big Ben. Ash might have gotten there a bit too late, but he vasn't exactly in charge of the portal that spat him out into London, so it wasn't exactly his ault. He's still dealing with multiple Necronomicons and an undead version of himself so...y’know...things are more than a little bit complicated for him in The Army of Darkness Forever #9. Writer Tony Fleecs and artist Pop Mhan continue the series that opened in a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Sam Raimy’s classic film with another exploration into comic horror fantasy. There’s not a whole lot of depth, but there doesn’t need to be: it’s fun action delivered to the page quite well.
Ash is commanding a group of robots. Leading them to combat against the undead. One might expect that it would be a bit easier than it is for him given his superior tech, but things ARE very complicated. If the Necronomicons touch, things get...even more complicated. Ash has to make certain that the robots keep those books apart. On top of it all there’s the looming threat of a chainsaw-vs.-chainsaw showdown with his undead self.It won’t matter how many Deadites he dismembers if he can’t defeat a version of himself from beyond the grave.
Fleecs continues to play well with the foundation that had been laid over three decades ago by Sam and Ivan Raimi. The weird, fast-paced energy of the horror fantasy comedy dances lightly across the page hitting a few notable cinematic beats on its way to the next big plot points. Ash doesn’t quite come across with the kind of charm that he’s managed in various incarnations over the decades, but the story that he’s a part of here is actually quite fun and continues to be satisfying.
Mhan’s artwork is highly kinetic. The action shoots across the page with impressive force. It’s also remarkably well-framed. Not every beat in the battle between Ashes necessarily feels as powerful as it needs to be and the scale of combat between Ash and an army of undead doesn’t quite have the impact that it needs, but there are more than enough moments of clever action which hit the page from carious angles that all feel quite satisfying in their own way.
The ninth issue in the series might nor quite be living up to its potential, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun. Fleecs and Mhan have a very firm grasp of Rami’s sense of visual movement and continue to do a really good job of bringing it to the page. It’s a very clean and smartly-delivered action package. The series is nine issues in and there’s still so much that could be done with the premise. Fleecs and company have found some interesting elements to add into the mix. The robot, the baby demon and the multiple Necronomicons alll feel like a very natural progression from the early 1990s action feature.
