With The Evil Dead has been splashed across dozens of great comics.
The wise-cracking hero, Ash, has practically become a superhero in his many comic outings, and fans couldn't get enough of his antics. Whether he was saving presidents, or fighting some of the most evil villains from cinema history, Ash has slashed his way into many readers' hearts.
Army Of Darkness: Convention Invasion (2014)
One of the things that makes The Evil Dead franchise so great is that it has a sense of humor. Army of Darkness: Convention Invasion finds Ash spurred into action once again when a copy of the Necronomicon turns up for sale at a comic book convention. Determined to put a stop to it before things get out of hand, Ash quickly discovers that someone from is past is behind it all.
The one-off comic is great because it pokes fun at the reader in a gentle way. Its setting of a comic convention allows the writers to make Ash a fish-out-of-water amongst a lot of what he would call "nerds". By setting their one-off stories outside of the main continuity, Dynamite Comics was able to do whatever they wanted with their standalone books.
Army Of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep (2019)
Ash isn't the only iconic horror character that Bruce Campbell portrayed in his career, and Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep combined two of Campbell's best horror movies together. After hearing vague stories about a still living Elvis Presley fighting a mummy in Texas, Ash seeks out The King and the pair go on an inter-dimensional journey.
What the comic does best is capture the personalities of both characters, and their witty banter is comedy gold. While Ash has crossed over with dozens of other characters, seeing two Bruce Campbell staples together was a unique experience for horror movie fans. Ultimately though, the exciting story was enough to keep any kind of comic reader engaged.
Ash And The Army Of Darkness (2013-2014)
Dynamite Entertainment has produced most of the Evil Dead comics over the years, and their Army of Darkness line has been a great success for their imprint. Ash and the Army of Darkness was a total reboot of the former comic's continuity, and picks up right where the film left off. Ash is once again called back to the 1300s, but he finds that the deadites have taken over.
Coming like a direct sequel to Army of Darkness the comic had a somewhat darker tone, and a more streamlined story than the previous ongoing series. All of the comics have featured Ash, but Ash and the Army of Darkness brought back many of the other familiar characters from film as well.
Army Of Darkness Vs. Re-Animator (2005)
Of all of Re-Animator. In Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator, Ash is arrested after a battle with several deadites at S-Mart. Institutionalized at Arkham, Ash finds himself the patient of the evil doctor Herbert West.
West was the perfect foil for Ash, and seeing him hack his way through West's reanimated minions was action schlock fun. What makes the comic series so great is that the writers understood what made both franchises good, and stuffed the comic with the best of both worlds. It may not be high art, but the series is everything a horror hound could want.
Army Of Darkness: 1979 (2021)
Ash's adventures through time have brought him face to face with all sorts of notorious villains, but Army of Darkness: 1979 was one of his most unique challenges yet. Whisked away from his modern-day life, Ash is transported back in time to 1970s New York. Once there, he discovers that a street gang has begun using the Necronomicon to take over the city.
Sort of like a cross between Evil Dead and The Warriors, Ash traverses the trashed out streets of New York with a gang of his own. The location alone is enough to make things interesting, but the story's simplicity is a breath of fresh air for the Army of Darkness comic series.
The Evil Dead (2008)
Dark Horse only published a few Evil Dead related comics, but they made the most of their time with the intellectual property. The Evil Dead is a mix between movie adaptation and original story, and tells the events of the first film with a few added details and twists.
The limited series provides additional background information about the main characters which further contextualizes their actions in the story. Mixing in elements of Evil Dead II as well, the reader thinks they know the story, until they don't. Ratcheting up the terror, the comic gives the deadites a nasty facelift which makes them all the more haunting.
Darkman Vs. Army Of Darkness (2006-2007)
The Evil Dead isn't director Sam Raimi's only great creation, and one of his best films. Darkman vs. Army of Darkness united two of Raimi's legendary heroes in one book when Darkman's former girlfriend Julie accidentally summons deadites by reading from the Necronomicon.
Dr. Westlake is a prickly anti-hero and he is the perfect foil for Ash's wise-cracking demeanor. The book soars because it goes out of its way to please fans of both franchises by giving a fair amount of time to each character. Using the book of the dead to resurrect classic Darkman characters was also a nice touch for fans of the films.
Army Of Darkness: Shop Till You Drop Dead (2005)
Although his main job is as the ultimate slayer of deadites, Ash's actual profession is his dead-end retail job at S-Mart. The miniseries Army of Darkness: Shop Till You Drop Dead brought Ash's two worlds together when the Necronomicon ends up in the hands of his boss at S-Mart.
Continuing the story from the previous miniseries, Shop Till You Drop Dead was Evil Dead fun in a retail store. Despite its simple premise, the story also takes Ash to the future to further wage war against the undead menace. The series is so memorable because it casts Ash as the everyday hero who finally gets to stand up to his evil boss.
Marvel Zombies Vs. The Army of Darkness (2007)
In a crossover that no one saw coming, Ashley Williams gets a chance to rub shoulders with some of Marvel's greatest heroes and villains. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness dropped Ash right in the middle of the Marvel universe's darkest timeline. Chasing down the Necronomicon, Ash believes that the book of the dead has something to do with Marvel's zombie infestation problem.
The book soars because it matches the tones of both the Army of Darkness comics, as well as the Marvel Zombies. Ash sticks out like a sore thumb, but that is where the humor comes from, and it is hilarious to see him get on the nerves of powerful villains like Dr. Doom. Though the miniseries doesn't wrap anything up, it was a blast to see Ash through the Marvel Universe.
Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash (2007-2008)
Versus films were all the rage in the 2000s, and the comic book medium wasn't immune to the hysteria. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash finds Krueger trapped in Jason's mind after the events of Freddy vs. Jason. Using the Necronomicon, Freddy devises a plan to bring himself back into the real world. Trapped in the middle is Ash Williams who leads a ragtag group of S-Mart employees against the evil villains.
In one of the best comics based on horror movies, the trio of chilling icons is a recipe for comic book gold. Paying homage to all three franchises was a difficult task, but the series managed to give something for fans of all three properties. The action is exciting, and there is enough horror to chill the reader to the bone.
