Home Sweet Hell is a four-issue storyline published in issues 9 through 12 in the second volume of Dynamite Entertainment's ongoing Army of Darkness series. It was written by James Kuhoric and Mike Raicht, and featured art by Fernando Blanco and Pere Perez. The third arc in the series, Home Sweet Hell immediately picks up where the previous storyline (The Long Road Home) ended.
Plot Synopsis[]
Having saved the world from the Four Horsemen and the new age of The Dark Ones, Ash Williams and his medieval girlfriend Sheila are back... to work at S-Mart. As the couple start an average day of stocking shelves and mopping up the spill in the fish tank aisle, Sheila finds that things are a little too normal. Co-workers long dead are alive once more (though thankfully not as Deadites), and her fearless savior Ash is now nothing more than a timid, pushed-around stockboy who gets nauseous at the thought of blood and gore, even in movies. It is then that Sheila realizes that in the final moments of the apocalypse, Ash had altered reality with the Necronomicon to alleviate himself of his Chosen One status.
Such a shake-up in the balance of good and evil has not gone unnoticed, and Ash has captured the attention of The Seven Deadly Sins, who are in the midst of seeking a new representative for Sloth. Also watching from the furthest edges of purgatory is Baba Yaga, a witch seeking the Necronomicon that has fallen out of The Chosen One's possession following this "reset".
After the couple is manipulated by these malevolent forces into traveling into the old cabin in the woods once more, Sheila tries convincing Ash of his past as The Chosen One, a discussion which is interrupted when the corpses of those Ash had slain previously begin to shamble in and attack. While Sheila holds her own against the Deadites, Ash panics and flees in terror, driving back to the safety of S-Mart where he seeks help from his co-workers. Upon his arrival, he finds a book signing by self-help guru and TV therapist Joseph Wiseman is getting ready taking place. Wiseman "unlocks" Ash's memories through hypnotism, but Ash himself continues to disavow such events from occurring. The therapist concludes that the only way to bring fourth Ash's true self once again is to find this "evil book" appearing in Ash's vision.
Meanwhile, Sheila has been picked up by paranormal investigation unit TARD (which included the once deceased Sugarbaby), who had come to the cabin after detecting supernatural activity occurring there. After hearing Sheila's story, the group tracks Ash, Wiseman, and his S-Mart co-workers to a Hell House, a place abound with supernatural energy where a copy of the Necronomicon is held.
Once inside, all hell breaks loose as The Seven Deadly Sins, Baba Yaga, TARD, and Ash and his crew all meet for a bloody showdown that results in Ash regaining his memory, three Sins and Baba Yaga dead, one destroyed mansion. Ash, realizing his mistake in giving up his Chosen One position, decides he's going to let the book decide his destiny as he and Sheila drive into a time-rift...
Cover Gallery[]
Main Covers[]
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Trivia[]
- The S-Mart Price Slasher (introduced in the Shop 'Till You Drop Dead series) can be seen on the bulletin board when Ash and Sheila leave the supply closet in issue 9.
- Dracula (based on his appearance in Ash Vs. The Classic Monsters) appears in the crowd of monsters behind Ash in Sheila's fantasy in issue 9.
- In issue 9, Sheila is seen stocking DVDs for Darkman, A Complicated Plan, and Fredrick vs. Jensen.
- While traveling to the cabin in issue 9, Sheila is seen reading A Farewell To Arms, a callback to the gag from the Evil Dead II film.
- The picture of Ash and Sheila between the stone pillars seen in Sugarbaby's book in issue 11 is based on the "Hero From The Sky" page of the Necronomicon seen in the Evil Dead II film.
- The female TARD agent who brings The Unwritten One the photographs of the Hell House on the first page of Sheila and Sugarbaby's fight in issue 11 is not colored in on the last panel.
- The Red Demon, the Dark One, and the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse appear in paintings in the Hell House in issue 11.
- Titles of books appearing on the bookshelf beside Wrath at the end of issue 11 include: Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, In Flames, Filthy Rich, Army of Darkness, Alf, Zapocalypse, Frankenstein, Braindead, A Farewell To Arms, Is Mike Raicht A Zombie?, Master of Puppets, Le Deux Epee, Star Wars First Draft, Pere Perez's Necronomicon, Osmotic, Savage Tales, David Macho's Biography, Black Kaiser, KUNG FU, The Blood of Valkyrs, Urban Warriors, Bubba Ho-Tep, Darkman, Elvish Kings, Watchmen, Manticore, Ninjas In The Benidorm, 666, Joe Rybandt's Portraits, Rebecca, The Frog, Dark Tranquility, Xena Poster Book, Nuclear Man, Mars Attacks, Barcelona, and Joso Yearbook.
Continuity Notes[]
- Shelia mentions the death of Buck, Iggy, Mr. Smart, and Mindy (Shop 'Till You Drop Dead)
- The events of From The Ashes and The Long Road Home are mentioned frequently.