Dynamite’s Death to The Army of Darkness #2 continues to show how Team Ash may be one of the best teams out there, as they kick deadites’ asses this March 11th at your LCS.
If you’ve been buried in a grave and need a refresher of Death to The Army of Darkness #1, then check out our review of the chainsaw revving first issue.
MULTIPLE SHADES OF ASH
Ryan Parrott starts Death to The Army of Darkness #2 with a scene that fans of the Evil Dead series will recognize: Ash getting his ass handed to him on a platter. Who doesn’t love seeing Ash get knocked down to get right back up? Yet, this time Parrott has Team Ash backing him up against deadites. Nonetheless, the age-old question stands, “is multiple versions of Ash better then one full Ash?” Okay, that may not be the exact quote but the question remains, how is Team Ash?
In Parrott’s hands, Team Ash may be one of the Evil Dead’s best plot points. Death to The Army of Darkness #2 proves this with non-stop fun, humor, action, and Ash’s usual attitude towards things. Parrott absolutely nails every aspect of Ash with respect to the original, while building upon it. Within Death to The Army of Darkness #2, there are moments where you can see Bruce Campbell acting out to great effect. But, that’s not limited to Ash, as this is a team-up comic.
We learn that Team Ash was formed by the mistranslation of a singular word in the Necronomicon. Of course, this is something that would happen to Ash; nothing out of the usual. Yet, Team Ash is one of the best aspects of the series so far, especially with issue two where they are truly introduced. Each character takes a single characteristic from Ash. Intelligence, femininity, aggression, fear, and impulsivity. All of these combine to make one of the best teams out there
THE TEAM THAT SLAYS TOGETHER, LOOKS GOOD TOGETHER
In Death to The Army of Darkness #2, Jacob Edgar is able to flex more of his action-heavy muscles. And damn do those muscles look gorgeous. The first six pages continue the fight seen in the previous issue with each member taking on deadites in their own way. Edgar keeps the violence crisp, fast, clear, violent and comedic in the way it’s handled. Each panel during the fight is a blast to read, as he keeps the realism of his art intact, yet continues to make it cartoonish. That’s not all in that aspect though.
Ash’s Chainsaw takes the aggression aspect of Ash, and although it doesn’t speak much, Edgar makes it visual anytime it does. Instead of having the Chainsaw be static when it talks, Edgar adds a bend in its blade. Just because it can speak doesn’t mean it stops cutting people in two. Call that a transition to Kike J. Díaz’ fantastic color palette.
During the deadite-splitting-in-two panel, Díaz uses a singular yellow/orange background to help emphasize the moment. Seen in the foreground is Ash & Chainsaw behind the deadite splitting him in two with blood spraying everywhere. The background helps the blood’s red hit harder, making the scene have a more gore feeling. This mixing of color continues throughout in a few bloodier moments, keeping the above statement. These aren’t the only moments Díaz’ colors stand out, as they are captivating throughout, especially the fire scenes.
THE LETTERS THAT GO VROOOOM
Another great moment in the chainsaw panel is Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s sound effect. Instead of simply having the VROOOOM effect linger on the top, Otsmane-Elhaou portrays it in a V movement the reads from left to right. This isn’t the only example of great lettering, as throughout Death to The Army of Darkness #2, Otsmane-Elhaou includes eye-popping sound effects. Otsmane-Elhaou also keeps the trend of making key words large and bold to help make the word bubble pop.
DEATH TO THE ARMY OF DARKNESS CONCLUSION
Everything about Death to The Army of Darkness #2 oozes love and appreciation that the team has for the film/TV series. If you’re hesitant to read it as it’s based on a franchise, don’t be. So far the series has been new reader friendly, while containing callbacks and other great moments that long time fans will love. Issue #2 proves that the first wasn’t just luck, but that the team knows exactly what they’re doing.
Cover Story: Having a wearable mask of Ash on the cover that (it seems) you can cut off is awesome! Now you need to buy two so you can cut one off.
Memorable Quote: “Please tell me you’re not trying to make a move on yourself.” – Ashley Williams.
This moment had me laughing like crazy because I need it was only a matter of time before Ash tried this. Plus it nails his character perfectly. Ash and Team Ash had so many great banter moments.
