Review: Army of Darkness – Furious Road #6
“That’s mighty big talk coming from a guy that used to be a wart on my shoulder.” – Ash
Ash meets the Universal horror monsters in this meeting of the monsters. fans of Sam Raimi and George Miller will enjoy this series considerably as our anti-heroes have to stop the Deadites or Detroit will be destroyed. This issue begins with our anti-heroes at a Buddhist monastery and Dracula angry with a demon for killing one of his brides. The demon reprimands Dracula and tells him that if he had been a better provider she might not have turned against him. After that brief conflict it is decided that Eva is the one best fitted to do the ritual. Ava enters the Buddhist temple and after a brief discussion about the reasoning for Jianjun allowing Eva to perform in the temple, even though they represent different faiths. Then the anti-heroes find themselves under attack.
The Creative Team
Nancy A. Collins pulls out all the stops and brings a monster on monster on mortal supreme battle for all the goods in this issue as the evil monsters try to prevent the good monsters (!) from conducting the ritual to end the threat of the Deadites. Dracula finally proves his integrity to his daughter and their comrades as he does everything in his power to see that she is able to complete the ritual. There’s not as much humor in this issue as in previous issues but there is a sense of urgency. If this were a movie it would be the point in the film where we would be on the edge of our seats in anticipation. A great long awaited finale to a great series.
Kewber Baal is, as always fantastic. What more can I say about him that hasn’t already been said in my reviews on this series? The way he helps to being this story to a rousing conclusion is incredible. And the final father daughter resolution between Dracula and Ava is a very poignant moment well handled by his artistic ability. His battle scenes keep the story moving smoothly from panel to panel. I hope the team of Collins and Baal do more Ash stories. Great stuff.
The cover
It’s all hell for Ash as the head demon has him attached to an automobile, which he’s pulling along. Ash looks downright P.O.’d while the demon has one hand on the windshield while the other is pointing in the air, straight forward, guiding Ash and showing him where to go. A trail of dust is behind the car with an aqua sky line. It should do the trick in guiding the reader to this title.
In Conclusion
It’s a race against time as our antiheroes have to stop the party crashers from preventing Ava from completing the ritual to save Detroit, and mankind, from the Deadites. This is one of the best adaptations of Army of Darkness in this medium. Will Father (Dracula) and daughter (Ava) reconcile? Will Michael convince Ava that she is the one true love of his life? Will Ava be able to complete the ritual before the party crashers stop her? All the questions are answered here. and I love the way Collins ends this issue. It’s a clean break and yet still leaves the reader wondering if their might be something more. Not your traditional comic book ending.
Army of Darkness – Furious Road #6
Writer: Nancy A. Collins
Art Kewber Baal
Color: Schimery’s Baal
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover: Gabriel Hardman
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication date: 08/10/2016