Archie x Army of Darkness #!

I haven't had so much fun reading a comic book in a very long time. For some reason, with my health issues, reading a single comic book wears me out. Yet when I finished this opening issue, I was so ready for more. I actually gave a yell of despair on par with Ash at the end of Evil Dead 2 when he realized that he was stuck in medieval times, when I discovered that for some reason, I didn't have issue #2.

Thankfully, the guys at Atomic Empire in Durham were able to assist in what was a fairly quick search. I so hate a cliffhanger. Especially when I don't have the next issue in front of me. But a 4 day wait wasn't so bad. 

The story begins at Reggie's new lake house. A distant relative left it to him and though Reggie can't legally own it until he's 21, Mr. and Mrs. Mantle have given their son permission to throw a massive party. While taking Archie, Betty and Veronica on a tour of the new place, they discover a secret passage. The teens wind up in a personal library that seems devoted to the arcane. Among it's contents is a copy of the Necronomicon. Or perhaps it's the real thing. Anyway, Archie for some reason, is compelled to read aloud from it and by doing so, it unleashes a horde of Deadites. 

You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned Ash Williams. Is this one of those opening chapters of a crossover where the main parties only meet on the cliffhanger page? Thankfully it's not. Archie and Ash meet and interact for about a third of the book. Instead, its a flashback of a few days prior with Archie becoming the newest employee of the Riverdale S-Mart. His trainer: one Ashley J. Williams!

If you are a regular reader of my reviews, you might be wondering why I read this Evil Dead spin-off if I am not a fan of demons and witchcraft in my horror reads. Well, you can blame my dad. I grew up watching the Evil Dead movies with him. While The Amityville Horror II: The Possession scared the crap outta me, for some reason the Evil Dead movies made me laugh. Maybe it's because zombies coming to life from a macabre spell is less realistic than humans becoming possessed by demons. I think the wonder that is Bruce Campbell has a lot to do with it as well. 

(There better be a national day of mourning when that American icon meets his eternal reward.)

Anyways, I was disappointed that it ended and was left hanging. But I don't really blame Archie Comics or Dynamite Entertainment for this. It's been a real struggle for comic shops to keep up with orders with there not being a central distribution center in the absence of Diamond. Other than not, I really had no viable complaints about this opening salvo. Thank goodness I have issue #2 now!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.