More than 30 years after Sam Raimi’s horror/comedy classic hit theaters, Army of Darkness is getting the sequel it sorely deserves…in comic book form! The folks at Dynamite have announced that they are releasing a new series titled Army of Darkness Forever beginning in October. While we’ve had Army of Darkness comics in the past, this series will make use of Raimi’s original ending for the film, which sees Ash Williams waking up in the distant future, providing fans with a look at what could have been.
The series comes from writer Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs) and artist Justin Greenwood (Stumptown). We’ve also got a handful of covers for the book for you to check out below, as well as a small collection of preview art from the first issues. Fleecs, in a press release, spoke of finally getting to work with Greenwood on the book, saying the following:
“Justin’s one of my best friends in comics. We always wanted to find a thing to work on together and this came along at the perfect time. He’s a great storyteller, that’s obvious to anyone who’s read Stumptown or Crone or any of his books. But the thing that he does that really works for this book in particular is, he’s great at attitude. He’s one of the funniest guys in person. A real raconteur. And that comes through in the way he draws Ash. They both feel like blue-collar guys with interesting jobs to do.”
In the ending, as many fans know it, Ash wakes up in Michigan in the ‘90s. In the original ending, however, he sleeps too long and wakes up 100 years later in 2093. It was deemed too dark and the studio shut it down, but many fans have since embraced this as the superior ending. That’s where this new comic comes in. Army of Darkness Forever #1 picks up immediately after the events of the 1992 film, jumping between three timelines: the futuristic Army of Darkness of 2093, the S-Mart aisles of 1993, and the Middle Ages chaos of Castle Kandar.
To go along with the new series, Dynamite is also releasing an Army of Darkness Movie Adaptation 30th Anniversary Edition and Army of Darkness 30th Anniversary Trading Cards (check out a little preview above). The movie adaptation was originally released in 1992, written by Sam and Ivan Raimi, with artwork by John Bolton (X-Men). It also features a special interview with Bruce Campbell conducted by comics legend Kurt Busiek. The trading cards set showcases a collection of Army of Darkness comic book art and photos, across an 18-card base set, chase cards including 6 signed cards, 9 movie photo cards, 9 line art cards, a 9-card puzzle set, and a special box-topper pack of 3 special cards. Hundreds of exclusive, hand-drawn, one-of-a-kind sketch cards are also included across packs, from a roster of various artists.
Army of Darkness Forever #1 hits shelves in October.
