Posted in: Comics, Halloween | Tagged: army of darkness, Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Fabiano Neves, jim kuhoric

Jim Kuhoric Prepares For Halloween With Army Of Darkness

Published Tue, 27 Oct 2015 14:44:00 -0500

Last updated Tue, 27 Oct 2015 14:44:02 -0500

Jim Kuhoric writes for Bleeding Cool:

Army of Darkness may be the perfect movie, at least in my humble somewhat twisted horror-centric brain. It is the culmination of all the little things that came together to make the work of Sam Rami and Bruce Campbell so iconic over the course of the Evil Dead trilogy. And much like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Alien, it's one of those movies that you never click past when you stumble over it showing on television. My fascination with the film goes back to 1993 when I saw the movie at the local theater. There is nothing quite like seeing Ash fighting Deadites on a two story tall movie screen. It leaves an impression as big as his chin on you for life.

Consequently there has never been a television series premiere that I've looked forward to as much as Ash vs. Evil Dead coming up on Starz this Halloween. To be fair, there really hasn't been a show like this before at all, one which revisits a thirty year old iconic horror property in that unique R-rated cable approach that's so popular today. The trilogy has been long coveted as one of Sam Rami's most unique visions and hardcore fans have wished for this moment for a very long time. Of course, I approached it with a healthy level of skepticism, expecting that I'd be let down by it just as other movies that have attempted to resurrect the past (can you say "Star Wars Prequels") have utterly failed in both execution and imagination. But almost from day one, that first teaser of Bruce Campbell seamlessly slipping back into character, and the subsequent sneak peeks of the show have all but whipped me into a foaming at the mouth lather in anticipation of the premiere.

Now with Halloween only a scant four days away, I've begun my personal preparation for the holiday. A lot of fans like me enjoy watching the classics leading up to All Hallows' Eve and Army of Darkness has always been in that queue. But this year I'm also revisiting the robust AOD library of comics that have come out over the past decade in my all-things Ash immersion leading up to the forthcoming celebration of grueling horror and black comedy. For several years I had the honor of contributing stories to that universe and telling some of the untold tales of Ashley J. Williams in the pages of Dynamite's flagship dark humor / horror series. Now I want to read them in order from the Army of Darkness adaptation by the brilliant John Bolton to the ultimate "Ash out of water" story of AOD in space by Cullen Bunn and Larry Watts. There are so many great creators contributing to these comics – J. Scott Campbell, Andy Hartnel, Steve Niles, Jae Lee, Francesco Francavilla, Ben Templesmith, Marc Silvestri, Mike Raicht, Elliott Serrano, Tim Seeley…the list goes on and on. I don't actually have all of the issues, though, truth be told I don't even have copies of all the ones I've written. Luckily this week there's a sale on ComiXology that allows me to download all the digital issues to date in one fell swoop. Now I just need my tablet, a room lit by candle light, and a bloody chainsaw to get completely in the Halloween spirit and enjoy the comic book misadventures of the reluctant somewhat incompetent chosen one with a chin of steel. Groovy.

Check out Jim's work and the other Army of Darkness series from Dynamite at your local comic shops or digitally at the Army of Darkness sale going on now at comiXology. Cover art by Fabiano Neves.

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