Writer: Tony Fleecs
Artist: Justin Greenwood
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Cover Artists: Francesco Mattina, Arthur Suydam, Tony Fleecs & Chris Burnham
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 20, 2024
In 2093, Ash’s quest to reassemble the Necronomicon Ex Mortis has taken him from devastated England to the ruins of the American heartland. He’s battled Skeleton Deadites, Droidites, and even an Evil Shark. (Sadly, the latter occurred between issues). The Hologram Wiseman sent Ash back to the cabin where Ash lost his girlfriend, and the infectious evil forced him to hack off his hand. Can Ash find the final page so the wizard can send him home to work at S-Mart? What's going on in 1993 in Ash’s absence? And how about Lady Shiela? How is she faring in 1300 A.D.? Let's grab our shotguns and chainsaws, leap into Army Of Darkness Forever #6, and find out!
Story
In 1300 A.D., Ash killed his evil twin and eradicated the Deadite army. Then Lord Arthur’s wiseman gave him a potion. Ash slept in a cave, hoping to awaken in 1993. In Ash's absence, his evil twin returns. This time, without the people's champion to lead them, Evil Ash converts everyone in Lady Shiela’s life. How do you react when you lose everything and everyone you care about? In Army Of Darkness Forever #6, Lady Shiela vows to go down fighting.
As in Sam Raimi’s movie, Ash returned to S-Mart in 1993. Yet he's not quite himself. Ash thinks murderous thoughts. When he looks into a mirror, he sees Evil Ash from 1300. Lookalike Ash kills a customer who wants a chili dog and devotes his attention to learning about computers and the internet. He repeats history when he breaks a mirror, allowing a horde of miniature evil twins to cause havoc. The police bring Ash down to the precinct for questioning, but they don’t reckon with his little friends.
In 2093, Ash returns from the basement of the destroyed cabin with the final page of the Necronomicon. Ash flubbed the incantations before, but he’s memorized the words now. Ash grabs all the pages and thrusts them up before the wizard. But in his haste to escape the ruined future, Ash doesn’t wait for the wizard to reassemble the Necronomicon before he utters the incantation.
In Army Of Darkness Forever #6, Lady Shiela follows Ash’s example. In 1993, evil Lookalike Ash uses his diminutive doubles to perpetrate his plan. In 2093, the Real American Hero Ash discovers that, once again, he’s flubbed up. Tony Fleecs’ story channels the manic wackiness of Sam Raimi’s movie to interlink stories in three time periods. Will Lady Shiela prove as effective as Ash? Has Lookalike Ash completed or just begun his mission in 1993? The results of Ash's mistake in 2093 especially intrigue.
Still, things could be worse. Ash could be a street vendor of pizza balls who can't stop slapping his face on an alternate Earth!
Art
Insect droids peer down the stairs in 2093, awaiting their master’s return. Ash emerges from the basement—all that survived of the cabin—splattered with blood. Overwhelmed with reminders of Yesterday, Ash can't face the wizard as he thrusts out the final page. Yet when Ash braves a look, Lord Arthur's wizard has turned away.
Lady Shiela confronts Deadite Lord Arthur in 1300. Spying the hovering Necronomicon, she grabs it and leaps out of the upper story room. Deadites fill the castle yard. She backs away from the people she loves, who now resemble corpses. Grabbing a horse’s reins, her words to the horse reflect her desperation. The horse looks at her, snarles, and speaks.
Ash’s Evil Lookalike leans back in his chair in the interview room. One detective places gruesome Polaroids of corpses found in S-Mart on the table. Lookalike Ash looks bored, casually turns to the two-way mirror, and sees his 1300 undead version staring back at him. Nearby, the Miniature Ashes smile as they turn up the heat in Army Of Darkness Forever #6.
Brad Simpson applies a limited color scheme to Justin Greenwood’s quirky, edgy, and yet endearing 2093 art that heavily favors blues, reds, and browns. Interview scenes focus on gray and beige with hints of green, while the Miniatures' mischief turns everything yellow, orange, and red. Simpson's palette for the 1300 A.D. scenes offers the most color options, with scenes ranging from between night and day, inside buildings, caves, and tents, and beneath the sun and the stars.
Troy Peteri casts large black uppercase letters into white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Army Of Darkness Forever #6. Words grow bold for inflection and enlarge or shrink to convey volume. Sound effects help us hear Ash's exhaustion and the Miniature Minions’ mayhem and feel Ash’s distaste for his most personal battle yet.
Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
While Lady Shield fights to reclaim her kingdom in 1300 A.D. and Lookalike Ash hatches his evil plan in 1993, Ash’s impatience in 2093 could doom our world for all time in Army Of Darkness Forever #6.
Rating 9.4/10
To see another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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