When I was a kid, spending the summer with the family at a campground, the late-night movie double-bill at the campground rec hall was Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. What I was doing watching those gore fests is beyond me, but I saw them (sort of... from behind clenched-tight eyelips, most of the time). Those movies freaked me out, and years later, when friends would clamor about how great Army of Darkness was, I flat out refused to be subjected to the third in the series, the emotional childhood scars from the first two serving as a major deterrent.
I was finally coerced into watching Army, and while I wasn't the least bit frightened, I wasn't all that impressed either. I'd heard about all the "good" bits beforehand, I guess. Friends had built the cult hit up into such a sensation that the only thing that could happen when I finally caved in and watched it was a letdown. My interest in Ash is minimal, so clearly, I'm not the target audience for this comic book. Bear in mind while reading this review that your mileage may vary.
Thanks to a potion given to him by a wizard in the past, Ash finds himsef returned to the present... almost. It turns out he didn't speak the accompanying incantation perfectly, and as a result, he finds himself back before he left... and before he ever found the Necromicon in the cabin in the woods. With the wizard tagging along, Ash rushes to save his girlfriend from a grisly fate and to prevent disaster and death before it can ever occur. But the Necromicon senses his interference and sends some undead minions to deal with the time-displaced hero.
Bradshaw's line art demonstrates a clear animation influence. He captures the ego and personality of the Ash character quite well, and his cartoony style emphasizes the comedic side of the property, as opposed to the ghoulish grossout factor from the earlier two films. The colors are vibrant while never intruding on the darker aspects of the story. The problem with the art, though, is that the later scenes, featuring most of the action in the forest, are hard to follow. The panels are so dense, crammed with detail, that it's difficult to make out the important details.
I'll give Andy Hartnell, the onetime scripter behind Danger Girl, credit -- he offers up a surprisingly accessible read here. He sums up the basics of the Evil Dead trilogy rather succinctly, allowing even those new to the property to follow along. I question whether or not there's any interest, though, among those who aren't fans of the films.
An inherent problem with the story is that there's no suspense. The reader knows that the story is a never-ending one; there's no sense that Ash or anyone else of consequence is in any real danger. The undead baddies are as ridiculous as the Looney Tunes-esque hero. It doesn't feel as though anything is at stake here. Mind you, given my limited interest in the characters and the property as a whole, it comes as little surprise that I didn't get involved in the plot.
