Review: Army of Darkness: Furious Road #4

“There’s to many of them.” – Werewolf.

Nancy A. Collins pulls out all the stops as the Deadites are unleashed full force while our hero’s are trying to reach the church with the Necromonicon. The level of action and violence is relentless in this race against time. More lives lost and sacrifices than in all previous issues combined. Our heroes couldn’t turn back now if they wanted to. It’s do or die time as they try to cast the spell which will turn things back to normal, or whatever passes for normal in this universe, that is. Living in Detroit may be rough, but just try leaving it.

Kewber Baal brings us the action like a great cinematographer. His angles and panels show a kinetic energy most Hollywood directors would die to get right on film. His varied layouts move this issue along at super speed, even faster than the previous three. It’s a thrill ride that both fans of Sam Raimi and George Miller should enjoy. The way Baal shades his stories really help to highlight the words from Collins. the light and dark contrasts bring out the characters in a way perfectly suited to the story. We feel the danger on every page. A visual feast for hungry eyes.

Gabriel Hardman’s cover seems like a parody of Gulliver’s Travels. We are witness to a horde of small soldiers attacking Michael as they slowly mess up his innards. We see the fear on his face as these little monsters attack him without mercy. A dull green, grey and yellow background shows that the character is in dire straits and Michael’s hand is raised in a futile attempt to block the attack. It’s sobering to think of how this creation could probably snap a villains back like a twig but is helpless against these tiny terrorists. They are the storm that fell the mighty oak.

In conclusion: The end of this issue really threw me for a loop as our heroes had a hard time getting the Necromonicon to the church on time. Or did they? Characters are behaving mysteriously as confusion reigns. We all thought a certain character was acting villainous when actually he was acting in the best interests of our heroes. The good guys and the bad guys aren’t so clear. Our first impressions may have been wrong. The decisions that were made that seemed like the wrong ones actually turned out to be right. Clever writing and a brilliant twist lead us to hungrily wait for the next concluding issue.

Writer: Nancy A. Collins
Art: Kewber Baal
Colors: Schimery’s Baal
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover: Gabriel Hardman, Jordon Boyd
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication date: June, 2016

Tags: army of darkness, Kewber Baal, Nancy A. Collins

About the Author

Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.