Army of Darkness Volume 3 was a 13-issue comic series released by Dynamite Entertainment beginning in February, 2012 and ending in February, 2013. Written by Elliott R. Serrano, the series became infamous for having a rotating crew of six different artists of varying quality during its year-long run.
Unlike previous the previous two Army of Darkness series, this volume was not broken down into several smaller stories, but was one continuous story-line. Because of this, the story has no "official" title, but is sometimes referred to as "Hail To The Queen, Baby!" and "The King Is Dead, Long Live The Queen", the titles of the two trade paperback collections.
Synopsis[]
Realizing that the evil unleashed by the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis affects more than just his little portion of Detroit, Ash Williams has become a Deadite Hunter For Hire, traveling across the world to rid it of undead monstrosities. Getting a message from South America, Ash arrives at a small compound deep in the jungle where Deadite Nazis (under the leadership of Colonel Dieter Zoch) are running amuck. During the battle, a mysterious woman with a chainsaw hand appears, helping Ash quickly dispose of the Deadites.
This girl is Ashley K. Williams, a version of Ash from an alternate Earth. With superpowers "gifted" to her by The Dark Ones, she bounces from universe to universe, fighting the ancient beings and their legion of Deadites. Ash and Ashley are suddenly separated by a time rift, with Ash being sent to Japan circa 1979 while Ashley is sent to Hell. In Japan, Ash teams-up with Yuriko Matsuo and Ken Sato to deal with Deadite Ninjas unleashed on the streets of Tokyo. Meanwhile in Hell, Ashley meets another version of Ash and his half-Deadite midget sidekick Ted, the guardians of the gateway between Hell and Earth. This "Guardian Ash" explains that all versions of Ash from across the Multiverse are damned to protect this doorway until their replacement comes along.
After dealing with the Deadite Ninjas, Ash races off to Michigan to save his younger self (and a young Linda) from demons escaping through the passageway in Hell. With the demons stopped and his teenage counterpart safe, Ash and Ted are sent to Chicago, 1929 to get the Necronomicon out of the hands of the gangsters responsible for the murder of Ash's "Untouchable" grandfather.
Finally returning to his present time, Ash is reunited with an older Yuriko and meets a strange alien creature connected to the Deadites. Meanwhile, Montezuma is resurrected in Mexico and partners with Colonel Zoch to create a new army of Deadites to take over the world and get his revenge on Ash Williams. Out in the desert, in a cave bridging the gap between Hell and Earth, an epic final showdown between Ash, Ashley K. and the undead legion takes place.
Gallery[]
Virgin Covers[]
Paperback Covers[]
Trivia[]
- According to author Elliott R. Serrano, retired Nazi Dieter Zoch hiding in South America is a reference to the 1978 film The Boys From Brazil.
- The Deadite Sheriff in issue two is modeled after Buford T. Justice, Jackie Gleason's character in the Smokey And The Bandit film franchise.
- The Ash and Ted characters are references to the versions of Ash Williams and Sam from the video game Evil Dead Regeneration, sharing the similar origin of Ash being arrested and locked in an asylum after the events at the cabin.
- A poster for The Day The Earth Stood Still (where the phrase "Klaatu Barada Nikto" originates from) can be seen in the teenage Ash's bedroom in issue eight.
- In the 1979 S-Mart store, a sign for Dynamic Forces is hanging above the comic book rack. Dynamic Forces is Dynamite Entertainment's parent company, which specializes in limited edition memorabilia related to comic books.
- While looking at the comics in S-Mart, Ted tells Ash to "pick up the new Jungle Girl comic". Jungle Girl is a real comic series published by Dynamite Entertainment (which eventually had a brief crossover with Army of Darkness in the Prophecy series).
- The teenage Ash's bully, Ivan, is named after Ivan Raimi.
- Montezuma's "henchmen" (Julio and Emilio) are visually based on Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson's characters from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
Continuity Notes[]
- The Wise Man is seen living with Ash in the 21st Century (Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess)
- Ash's new S-Mart manager Marty and co-worker Darlene are featured (Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess)
- Ash mentions fighting Montezuma before (Montezuma's Revenge)
- The events of this series would later be alluded to in Army of Darkness vs. Hack/Slash.