Posted in: Comics | Tagged: age of darkness, Comics, dynamite, elliott serrano

Army Of Darkness #2 – A Writer's Commentary With Elliot Serrano

Elliot Serrano writes;

Hello everybody! (Imagine Dr. Nick of "The Simpsons" saying that.) Welcome back for another round of writer's commentary for the latest issue of Army of Darkness from Dynamite Entertainment. As the writer of AoD, I was anxious to see what kind of feedback I'd get, and everything I've received so far on last issue has been  really positive. I've also been told that readers really enjoy these 'behind-the-scenes' features, so I'll just keep writing them as long as you folks keep reading 'em!

So…here we go!

PAGE ONE:

We pick up after last issue, watching as Ashley – the new "Lady Ash" of the series – tumbles through the time stream. While our hero Ash would simply scream his lungs out as he falls through the vortex, Ashley waxes philosophical.

I considered not including Ashley in this issue so that I could get back to the "regular" Ash more quickly, but thought that I'd address where she was right off the bat so as not to leave readers wondering.

And that last panel is a nod to all my geek gal friends who get tired of guys staring at their boobs…

PAGE TWO:

As Ashley – quite literally – fades into the background, she drops a bit of exposition about being a "Chosen One." She also knows – quite instinctively – that her fate is entwined with that of the "original" Chosen One, Ash. As I mentioned in the commentary for AoD #1, she's made it her mission to seek him out.

PAGE THREE:

As we return to the main AoD Universe, we now see what our own Ashley J. Williams has been up to. The bikers are a nod to fellow Chicagoan Matt Kubinski and his "Bikers vs. Zombies" indie comic book "Marauders." (Available at finer comic shops and print on demand! Gotta plug a local guy, so sue me.)

The license plate to the Delta-88 is a play on words – gee, that sure does sound like another comic don't it?  -and what I've called my series of comic shop signings promoting the Army of Darkness series.

PAGE FOUR:

BIG MOMENT! And here is the Ash we've known and loved for so long, right in the middle of fighting deadites.

In the script I asked Marat Mychaels to draw the Delta-88 to look as if it had "steel jaws" on the front bumper. One of the things I loved about the original movie was how Ash modified his car into a "Death Mobile." Unfortunately, he drives it for all of five minutes before wrecking it, so I just had to bring it back.

FYI, the Death Mobile will factor into the series overall…

PAGE FIVE:

So this is where we get caught up with what Ash was up to while we were following his female alternate in another dimension.

And I bring back an element from my very first Army of Darkness gig, namely Xena/Army of Darkness 2: What Again? Credit for "Baby boom" go to my Xena/AoD 2 co-writer Brandon Jerwa, though.
PAGE SIX:

Here's where I introduce yet another new element to the series, Ash's detachable hand. Now, when you read this sequence, Ash refers to "hanging out with a fella who was good at inventing things." For folks who've been reading the series throughout each volume, you could assume he was referring to his ally from the League of Light in the previous series. If you'd never read those books, you could presume that it was the blacksmith from the original Army of Darkness film. You know, the guy who helped him build the metal hand in the first place? It works either way.

PAGE SEVEN:

We now see how Ash has added new weapons to his arsenal. The mini Gatling Gun was a weapon that Ash used in one of the Army of Darkness video games. I loved the idea so much, I decided to bring it into the comic.

PAGE EIGHT:

As I wrote this sequence, I tried to fashion the dialogue so that it gave you all you needed to know about the back story without having it sound too much like expository dialogue. I must have re-written these scenes a dozen times.

PAGE NINE:

Now we're getting to the big showdown between Ash and our Big Bad of the issue,"The Sheriff." Another script note I sent to Marat was that The Sheriff should look like a deadite version of "Buford T. Justice," Jackie Gleason's character from "Smokey and the Bandit." I'm pretty sure that's a reference I think only old-school movie geeks like myself are gonna get.

It's funny, I was told to drop the David Bowie reference in the last issue, but got to keep Jackie Gleason in this one. I guess Joe Rybandt is a fan. Now how do I get "The Honeymooners" in here….? Hmmmmmm….

PAGE TEN:

More exposition that I hope doesn't sound like exposition. Ash advertises himself on the web? Hm. I wonder if he also has a Twitter account.

PAGE ELEVEN:

Here is where I try to get into what I feel makes Ash so successful as the "Chosen One." He's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Whether it's to lob off his own hand to keep himself from being possessed by the evil of the Necronomicon, or to strap an experimental rocket launcher on the stump.

PAGE TWELVE:

BIG MOMENT! (Yes, I put that in the script so that Marat knows to make that particular image the largest one on the page.) Here we see The Sheriff get his due, to never be seen again…

Or maybe he'll return….?

PAGE THIRTEEN:

Now we get to the resolution of this storyline and meet the 'cast' of the story for the first (and last) time. I'm playing with the idea that most comic book readers – and movie watchers for that matter – are familiar with all the clichés of the "town in peril." I even considered – oh so briefly – to make the town an anachronism of the town that Bruce Campbell visited in "My Name is Bruce." But I didn't wanna piss him off.

PAGE FOURTEEN:

And of course Ash has to have an encounter with a gorgeous gal, much like James Bond does in each of his adventures. Except this gal is also a single mom. I've never seen 007 hook up with a MILF.

PAGE FIFTEEN:

And just like that we're on to the next threat that Ash will face. I got the idea for this villain from yet another old-school thriller that I enjoyed as a kid. Can you guess the title?

The fact that these event are taking place in Brazil is a HUGE hint as to what the movie was.

Any guesses?

Anyone?

PAGE SIXTEEN:

What the crap? ANOTHER CHOSEN ONE? How many of them are there!?

Oh, on a storytelling note, the very last panel showing Joaquin with his father and grandfather is there for a symbolic purpose. I'll revisit that in a couple pages.

PAGE SEVENTEEN:

This is where we learn about Joaquin's deep attachment to his grandfather. I wanted to try and give the boy a believable motivation for doing the horrible things that he will be doing in the future. Very much like when Anakin Skywalker couldn't let go of those he loved and turned to the dark side, Joaquin is willing to deal with dark powers to hold onto his grandfather. And here we get a hint of what his grandfather did in his past life…

PAGE EIGHTEEN:

Nazis are all the rage again, huh? By the way, have you figured out the name of the movie that inspired this story yet? FYI, the movie was based on a book by the same name. And also dealt with Nazis.

On a personal note, I am very, very sensitive when it comes to depictions of animal cruelty in media, so it pained me very much to write this scene.

PAGE NINETEEN:

Okay, remember how I said that photo of Joaquin with his family was symbolic? Here we have Ash holding a very similar photo. This sequence illustrates that while Joaquin is unwilling to let go of his family, Ash is quite the opposite. Again, Ash is willing to do whatever it takes to fight evil, no matter the personal cost.

PAGE TWENTY:

And now poor Ashley arrives on the scene, a minute too late. She screams her frustration to the heavens, because yes, she's had this happen to her a couple times before. If I get the chance, we will revisit those times.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE:

Okay, we're about ready to wrap this sucker up and get to the big reveal of our next Big Bad. Have you figured out the name of the story that inspired this character?

You can go on IMDB and look up movie names with the word "Brazil" in them. And no, Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" would be incorrect.

Go ahead. Give it a look-see.

I'll wait.

:::whistles:::

Get it yet?

No?

PAGE TWENTY-TWO:

Well,for those who just need me to tell them, the movie was called…

THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL!

It's a pretty cool flick with a Nazi hunter trying to track down these boys who are clones of Adolf Hitler. At the end of the film, Josef Mengele – played by Gregory Peck  – gets mauled by a bunch of Doberman Pinschers. Pretty wicked stuff.

And no, this dude isn't Adolf Hitler. He's Colonel Zoch of Hitler's Occult Squad. And he's gonna bring some baaaaaaaaad stuff down on our boy Ash and Ashley. But that happens next issue.

So ya'll come back now, hear?

TO BE CONTINUED

FOLLOW ELLIOTT ON TWITTER (@GEEKTOME)

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