The Evil Dead was a four issue limited series published by Dark Horse Comics beginning in January, 2008, until April, 2008. It was written by Mark Verheiden and featured art by John Bolton (who had previously done the artwork for the 1992 Army of Darkness comic for Dark Horse). It is the first comic to be based on the 1981 film The Evil Dead.
Plot Synopsis[]
Five friends from suburban Michigan travel to the backwoods of Tennessee for a weekend trip to a secluded cabin in the woods. Upon their arrival, the group discover the belongings of the cabin's previous renter (who, according to local legend, went crazy and killed his wife before mysteriously disappearing), one of which being a strange old book. After listening to a recording left behind by the last inhabitant, ancient demonic spirits are awakened, consuming the souls of the group until only one man remains.
Differences From The Film[]
Much like the 1992 Army of Darkness adaptation, The Evil Dead closely follows the film on which it is based almost word-for-word, although there are several new scenes and minor differences.
- Issue one's first page is a fantasy sequence depicting the severed head of a Deadite impaled on a tree branch, and the Oldsmobile (with a skeletal corpse sitting in the driver's seat) crashed in a murky swamp.
- Issue one features a scene before the group's arrival to the cabin, where Ash picks up his friends in the suburbs.
- Unlike the film, Cheryl is just a friend of Ash's, not his younger sister.
- Flashback scenes throughout the first issue depict what happened to Raymond Knowby before, during, and after his wife's possession.
- Castle Kandar is referred to as "the ruins of Kan-Daar".
- Naturom Demonto is spelled "Nacheron De'manto".
- A flashback scene in issue two depicts the group in a park, where Shelly kills a wounded bird.
- In issue three, a new scene follows Scotty trying to leave the cabin after burying Shelly, where he encounters a doppelganger of himself and is attacked by the trees.
- During Ash's attempt at dismembering Linda in the workshed in issue three, a flashback shows the couple making out in Linda's collage dorm room.
- Issue four opens with a flashback of Ash and Linda having sex in the backseat of the Oldsmobile.
- Issue four reveals that the events at the cabin was nothing more than a nightmare by Ash, and Scotty, Shelly, and Cheryl were made-up. Ash wakes up in the back seat of the Oldsmobile, where Linda informs him that they finally arrived to the cabin.
Gallery[]
Main Covers[]
Virgin Covers[]
Other[]
Trivia[]
- Production on the series began in 2005, but due to commitments to other projects from both Mark Verheiden and John Bolton, it was delayed and completed in mid-2007.
- The comic was produced in collaboration with the Ghost House Pictures film production company, which was created by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert. This is because Raimi himself owns the rights of the original 1981 Evil Dead film.
- The appearance of all the characters (with the exception of Ash Williams) were changed due to likeness rights.
- Because Henrietta Knowby was not directly named or seen in the original Evil Dead film, the character could not be used in this series. She was replaced with an original character named Beth Marie Knowby.