Army Of Darkness Forever #13 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artists: Eamon Winkle, Kewber Baal & Pop Mhan

Colorist: Jorge Sutil

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Joe Rybandt & Marshall Hoyt

Cover Artists: Arthur Suydam, Bjorn Barends, Chris Burnham & Tony Fleecs

Publisher: Dynamite Comics

Price: $5.99

Release Date: October 23, 2024

 

The Necronomicon Ex Mortis gave Ash a demon baby and a chainsaw-swinging new lifestyle. Still, it cost Ash his hand, car, home, and girlfriend. Still, at least it didn’t give him a light beer! What chaos will the evil book force Ash to confront in this final issue? Let's snap on our mechanical hands, leap into Army Of Darkness Forever #13, and find out!

 

First Story

When Ash assembled the scattered pages of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis in 2093, the hologram wiseman disappeared, and the evil book became a baby. After the droids reconstructed the Wiseman from data packets, Ash found a second Necronomicon in a witch-filled cemetery. Now he has arrived in London, England. Ash descended into the sewers for the third copy. But first, he must battle Droidites. In this first story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13, Ash and his droids wage a battle against droids possessed by evil spirits. Tony Fleecs’ story fills in the fight he skipped over in issue #8, reminding us of Ash’s fierce determination. Nikto, the demon baby, backs Ash up. Ash wields Bitey like a weapon. The third book, Sucky, also makes decisions in its best interests while Ash slaughters Droidites.

 

Second Story

Sucky transports Ash to 1993. He arrives in London as Evil Ash leads an Army Of Darkness through the cobbled streets. Bombs explode, and soldiers fire rifles as Ash gets a rematch with the evil twin that grew out of him in 1300 AD. As Ash battles the evil warlord, the ground collapses, and he falls back into the historic sewers. Despite his worries over getting Pink Eye from Deadite fingers, Ash battles squads of military-grade Deadite soldiers. When a Deadite tangles his entrails in Ash’s chainsaw, Ash drops the weapon and beats the evil dead with his left fist and his right stump. This interlude from issue #9 stresses his teamwork with baby Nikto. Ash maintains his optimism by detaching himself from overwhelming circumstances. Sadly, Sucky returns Ash to his time after Evil Ash destroyed civilization. After all his adventures in 2093, the Wiseman's promise may be ashes in Ash’s mouth. Still, Ash battles on.

 

Third Story

After crawling out of the hole, Ash battled his evil twin again. Evil Ash accuses Ash of not using his power wisely, yet the villain makes a mistake that transports them to 1300 AD. While Evil Ash lands elsewhere, Ash returns to Lord Arthur's castle. The Wiseman's copy of the Necronomicon defiled his king and everyone in the castle, forcing Lady Shiela to flee and forge a truce with her brother's killer. Now Ash and Nikto battle the soldiers who once rallied under his banner to battle the Deadites they have become. Tony Fleecs’ third story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13 reminds us that poor decisions can corrupt us, there are always ways to succeed, and we should never lose hope.

 

Art

Eamon Winkle’s three-dimensional art shows the toll fighting the evil dead has taken on Ash. The Droidites resemble the ultimate killing machines, and Ash’s good droids have never looked like better fighters. Bitey evokes Harry Potter’s Monster Book Of Monsters, baby Nikto looks cute yet sinister, and a final frame evokes Skynet’s indomitable creations. Kewber Baal brings cinematic appeal to the second story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13. The photorealistic imagery evokes cinema posters and key art, while inset panels cluster around the edges of double-page spreads as Ash kills hundreds amid a cast of thousands. Pop Mhan delivers a seamless transition to his art in issue #10. Ash grabs whatever comes to hand as he charges, fights, falls, picks himself up, and resumes the battle. After fighting across horizontal strips of panels that stretch diagonally across pages, blood-splattered Nikto hovers beside Ash, evoking Grogu and the Mandalorian and reminding us that size matters less than spirit. 

 

Jorge Sutil lavishes bold greens, blues, reds, browns, and maroons on Ash's underground fight in 2093. Ash's blue shirt and brown slacks lighten amid the sepia background beneath a yellow sky. Yellow fire burns amid orange air in 1993. Ash battles gray skeletal soldiers beneath a purple, moonlit sky in 1300 AD. His skin tones shine while yellow and orange fires burn before nuanced purple and green castle backgrounds.

 

Troy Peteri conjures large uppercase letters into white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Army Of Darkness Forever #13. Words grow bold for inflection, enlarge and change color to convey volume, and rarely shrink. Sound effects help us hear gun and blaster fire, chainsaw aggression, Bitey’s chomping, Sucky’s storms, and baby Nikto’s burning barf. Red numbers update a kill counter that lends a consistency of carnage to Ash's adventures through time. Thanks to Dynamite Comics & MGM for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Army Of Darkness Forever #13’s series of linked deleted scenes portray baby Nikto as a stalwart friend and remind us that our circumstances don't define us. Ash may have little in common with Damien Thorn. Still, his adventures in 2093, 1993, and 1300 AD suggest that the one-handed chainsaw fighter and retail store hero embodies the ultimate man.

 

Rating: 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

James Bond 007 #2 Review

 

Writer: Garth Ennis

Artist: Rapha Lobosco

Colorist: Jorge Sutil

Letterer: Rob Steen

Cover Artist: Dave Johnson

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 21, 2024

 

James Bond dispatched the Costanza cartel before they could kill him. He blew up the kill team in Bournemouth before they got off a shot. But Stalvoda—the weapons project stolen from the Ministry Of Defense laboratory in Porton Downs—is still missing. Can Bond recover it before the thieves deploy a weapon so secret that not even the last three Prime Ministers knew about it? Let’s grab our Walther PPKs (not your Berettas, please), leap into James Bond 007 #2, and find out!

 

Story

Thanks to a rail strike, James Bond has become a man of the people. He takes a bus back to London with noisy, uncouth fellow passengers. Moneypenny laughs at his irritation. Yet he’s all business. Bond tells her that former 00 agent Archibald Tryon resigned because of Stalvoda. He stole the weaponized water project from Russian scientists. Tryon’s triumph redeemed M.I.6 after years of government officials spilling secrets and defecting to Russia. Still, Tryon hated that Britain pursued a project begun in Hitler's concentration camps.

 

After sorting through the bodies on the beach and the long bus ride home, Bond wants a bath. He tells Moneypenny he’ll freshen up and return to the office. As Bond walks home from the bus depot, Felix Leiter calls. As with Tryon, the Americans are glad that M.I.6 assigned a capable agent to capture Stalvoda. Yet Bond’s not as unaware of his surroundings as he appears. Bond tells his C.I.A. friend he’s putting him on speaker. Let those tracking him follow Felix’s voice. Forced to blow up his car and take a bus home, Bond's ready for a rematch.

 

In James Bond 007 #2, our favorite M.I.6 agent dances with death. Moneypenny and Q view him as immature. M believes Bond causes as many problems as he solves. Had Bond dispatched Sebastian Constanza more carefully, the family wouldn't have targeted him for death. Now Bond's riding public transportation instead of renting a car. Why not just paint a target on your back and be done with it?

 

James Bond doesn’t know who attacked him in Bournemouth. Their bodies and weapons—or at least what remained—told no tales. Garth Ennis' story suggests that the Russian S.V.R. ordered the beach hit. But Tryon couldn’t tell Bond who stole Stalvoda from M.I.6 labs. And if the thieves wanted to scrub Tryon, shouldn't M.I.6 put the retired 00 agent in protective custody instead of letting him return home to live with his sister? Did Pablo Constanza, the head of the Constanza drug empire, hire an organization to assassinate Bond should he and his family fail? Or am I  flaunting logic like Bond flaunts danger in James Bond 007 #2?

 

Art

Rapha Lobosco interposes Bond on the bus with Moneypenny in her office. The rain dissipates, and he walks alongside the columned porticos fronting London's historic homes. Lobosco shows a Christmas tree air freshener dangling in silhouette from a rear-view mirror as someone watches Bond walk.

 

Scaffolding rises inside the lobby of an abandoned hotel. Tilted camera angles show masked soldiers fanning out and taking defensive positions. Bond grabs an assassin and uses his opponent’s body as a shield. A dance with death plays out across the floors of this multistory building. James Bond 007 #2 becomes as choreographed as a Hollywood musical and as violent as Douglas Quaid's efforts to reclaim his memory in Paul Verhoeven's movie Total Recall.

 

Jorge Sutil shades Bond's face with purple in the bus, while textured blue suggests rain outside the darkened interior. Moneypenny's milk chocolate skin glows as she stares at her monitor. Bond remembers searching the broken bodies on the beach through a beige haze tinged with green. The same color pervades the hotel interior. As soldiers pursue Bond in their armor and green fatigues, yellow and orange erupt from guns, red plumes from injuries, and orange pervades panels. Yet the threat of Stalvoda, also called steel water or ice napalm, reveals victims frozen in cold, cold blue.

 

Rob Steen’s large, uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons are easy to read. Balloons sprout spikes as sharp as flash-frozen water to signal Moneypenny, M, and Felix’s voices. Words grow bold, enlarge, and threaten to escape their balloons as the action heightens in James Bond 007 #2. In this issue devoid of sound effects, the cries of soldiers riddled by gunfire inform Bond that they're still alive.

 

Don't worry. James Bond will rectify that.

 

Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Bond lures assassins into a trap, learns the history of Steel Water, and goes where few have gone before in James Bond 007 #2.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

James Bond 007 #1 Review

 

Writer: Garth Ennis

Artist: Rapha Lobosco

Colorist: Jorge Sutil

Letterer: Rob Steen

Cover Artist: Dave Johnson

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 17, 2024

 

Sebastian, the heir to the Costanza empire, lies in his grave. His family, infamous for their brutality, mourns his passing. Can anyone—even Britain's preeminent espionage agent--survive the Constanzas’ relentless hunt for vengeance? Let’s leap into James Bond 007 #1 and find out!

 

Story

Bond’s boss is unhappy. Bond should have avoided identification while dispatching Sebastian. Thanks to 007's negligence, the region will be in chaos as factions battle over the mighty narcotics empire.

 

But M has more weighty matters on his mind. Fifty years ago, 00 agent Archibald Tryon stole a secret project from the Russians. He destroyed everything that Soviet researchers could use to reconstruct their experiments. Ministry Of Defence scientists recently perfected the weapon at the Porton Down facilities. Within days, someone stole the project and all associated records.

 

Archibald lives in Bournemouth. Bond isn’t impressed that the 00 agent reached retirement age. Nor does he view Britain as a civilizing force in a chaotic world. James Bond protects his King and Country. Whether that means attacking a crime family or recovering a weapon that kills people without harming property or the environment, James Bond won’t stop until he secures his country’s safety.

 

In James Bond 007 #1, M wishes Bond were a scalpel, not a club. Moneypenny often sees Bond as coarse. Q views 007 as juvenile and wasteful. Writer Garth Ennis paints James Bond as a man who does his best and doesn't sweat others’ expectations. His story unreels quickly, ends explosively, and leaves you wanting more.

 

But then, can you ever get enough of James Bond?

 

Art

Sebastian’s family resides in a lavish mansion. Pablo Costanza stands on the terrace and gazes at the setting sun. His family gathers in the living room and listens to their patriarch's rage. Sebastian's brothers look as cool as Bond. His sisters pose like supermodels. Despite his grandmother's failing health, fire still burns in her eyes.

 

Jorge Sutil applies a loaded palette to Rapha Lobosco’s artwork. He bathes panels in browns in James Bond 007 #1, yet brings an unexpected sparkle to even mostly monotone panels. Jorge also shows a preference for blue. Such panels emphasize Bond's cold determination, MI-6's importance to the world, and Stalvoda’s clinical effectiveness. Jorge adds drama to the Costanza family through his choice of background colors. He helps us feel the loneliness of the offseason Bournemouth coast and the cold necessity that drives 00 agents.  

 

Large, uppercase black letters inhabit white dialogue balloons in James Bond 007 #1. Stressed words and shouts are bold and italicized. Rob Steen’s sedate lettering and lack of sound effects enhance the cinematic feeling of Garth Ennis' story and remind us of the dispassionate way Bond dispatches enemies. It's more Daniel Craig than Roger Moore. But then, this is 2024, not 1973.

 

Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Chimpanzees get flash-frozen, hit men pursue Bond, and a Weapon Of Mass Destruction goes missing in James Bond 007 #1.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.