Army of Darkness: Furious Road was a six-issue mini-series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning in March, 2016 and ending in August, 2016. Written by Nancy A. Collins and featured art by Kewber Baal, the story is a sequel Ash Vs. The Classic Monsters, a four-part storyline published in Dynamite's original Army of Darkness ongoing series in 2006.
The Story[]
It's been twenty years since The General and his seemingly-endless legion of Deadites have taken over the world. While most of humanity has joined the army of the undead, the small population that remains now takes residence in Lansing, Michigan (now simply known as "Alive"). This new world has also prompted the formation of unlikely alliances, as a team of humans and monsters (under the leadership of Eva St. George) now serve as the primary protectors of the uninfected populace.
After the dangerous journey from Lansing to Detroit, Eva and her team arrive at their destination: a seemingly derelict S-Mart on the outskirts of the city. Inside the store they find Ash Williams, now a man well into his 50s with a patchy grey beard and dressed in a tattered S-Mart uniform. Though he's initially irritated by the presence of these trespassers at his store, Eva and the others explain that they believe they've found a way to save the world, and rid it of Deadites once and for all, they just need the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis to do it. Ash agrees to give them the book under the condition that he go with them back to Lansing, as he is the book's "protector" and doesn't want it falling into the wrong hands. After a shave and a change of clothes, Ash hops into the Deathcoaster and hits the road.
They reach Alive, but find that the bridge leading into Alive is crawling with Deadites and The General himself: Evil Ash. Ash drives The Deathcoaster onto the bridge, and Evil Ash calls in reinforcements. As more Deadites arrive and almost overwhelm the group, Dracula and his wives swoop in from the sky and drive Evil Ash and what remains of his army off. Ash and the group head into what was Michigan State Capitol, where the group prepares for the reciting of the passage, but a Deadite has managed to sneak in and cuts Sister Ronnie, infecting her. Meanwhile, Doctor Talisha takes blood samples from uninfected humans to give to the vampires to keep them from biting the humans, and as one vampire leaves with a packet of blood, a shadowy figure comes up to Talisha and kills her. Ash and Eva hear her scream and run to help her, but they arrive too late. Dracula then comes into the room, and Eva quickly points her finger at him for killing Talisha, but Dracula says it could not be him since the doorway into the room is protected by a cross and he cannot step over a threshold without being invited. Sister Ronnie suggest that maybe it was one of Dracula's wives, but he takes offense to this and attacks Sister Ronnie, telling her that he can smell the evil inside her. Eva then takes a small cross and places it on Dracula's face, burning him. Dracula and his wives leave, telling Eva that he will leave and let them battle the Deadites alone.
As soon as Dracula leaves, Sister Ronnie attacks Eva, reveling she has been taken over by a Deadite, and fights Ash, but she loses against The Chosen One. The Reverend tells Ash if they don't head to a church to begin the ritual before sunrise, The General will go into hiding and they would need to track him down again. Ash says it's going to be a suicide mission, and they head out to the church. On the way to the church, the group is ambushed, and the pastor, the werewolf, and goblin are killed. This leaves Ash, Eva, Michael, and Heckuba as the only living members of the team left, but not for long. As they arrive at the steps of the church, Michael is attacked by a swarm of Mini-Ashes and his body is torn apart at the stitches. A Deadite hoard is closing in, and Ash tells Eva and Heckuba to head inside while he takes care of the hoard. Eva and Heckuba go inside to find that the inside of the church is covered with bodies. There they are met by The General, who tells them that when Sister Ronnie became a Deadite, she told him the plan to head to the church. Heckuba is bitten by a Deadite, and tells Eva to kill her before she turns into one of them. Eva complies and runs to the roof with the Necronomicon in hand. The General heads outside and begins to fight Ash while Dracula flies off with his daughter, taking her into the night sky.
The General knocks Ash out and races after Dracula in his car, leaving Ash. Ash gets up and wonders where Dracula is taking Eva, and the severed head of Michael tells him they're going to Plan B. As Michael explains Plan B, they find the body of the pastor. Ash cuts off the pastor's head and sews Michael head on the body. Eva and Dracula arrive at Plan B: The Grand Rapids Shaolin Monastery. The monks of the monastery welcome Eva and tell her that they knew someone was coming with the Necronomicon, but it was The Chosen One holding it, not her. Later, Ash and Michael arrive to the monastery, just in time to see The General and his Army of Darkness riding up in cars and motorcycles. The monks, Ash, Dracula, and Michael fight the Deadites as Eva begins to read from the book. The General heads into the monastery to kill Eva and Dracula follows, but since he can't stay on holy ground for long, his body begins to burn. The General delivers the final blow to Dracula, crushing his head into a pile of dust. Eva watches her father die and quickly finishes the spell, causing the evil to be sucked into a swirling vortex. Soon Evil Ash and the Necronomicon are pulled into the vortex, and Ash realizes that since it is his responsibility to protect the book, he has to go with it. Eva and Michael watch and wonder where Ash is going to end up as Ash and Evil Ash are still fighting as the vortex sends them somewhere in time and space...
Cover Gallery[]
Main Covers[]
Variant Covers[]
Notes[]
- After a two year hiatus, Furious Road picks up in the continuity started by Ashes 2 Ashes in 2004. The last comic to take place in this continuity (or Earth-818793) was Army of Darkness/Reanimator in 2013.
Trivia[]
- This story borrows elements from the first season of the Ash vs Evil Dead television series, such as an old Ash living in a trailer park.
- There are a few continuity issues within the series, some include:
- In issue five, Michael tells Ash about the first time he met Eva, and says he first saw her when he was with the monks of the Brotherhood of St. George. They actually first met when Eva was looking for the The Spike of The Crucifixion as seen in the one-shot Eva: Daughter of The Dragon, although it is entirely possible he didn't know who she was at the time.
- Also in issue five, Dracula mentions he has watched Eva fight evil across time, and shows images of her as a pirate and in Victorian-age clothing. Chronologically, it should have been impossible for Eva to be in these times, as Ash Williams brought her to the 21st Century from the year 1499. However, there are possibilities that could account for this, such as these events occurring later in Eva's personal timeline, or to alternate versions of Eva. Alternatively, it could be that at some point Eva was pulled through a hole in time and used her own resources to find a way back to her own time period, as happened to Ash in Army of Darkness.