‘Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep #1’ (review)

Written by Scott Duvall
Illustrated by Vincenzo Federici
Published by Dynamite Entertainment

It had to happen!

Two of Bruce Campbell’s iconic movie characters that he played were destined to meet, and in this series, they finally do.

If you turn off your mind, you can glean some enjoyment out of the whole thing. The artwork especially is a lot of fun and elevates the rather simple premise.

The book starts with Ash fighting a big scary monster. It’s a nice splash page that throws us right into the thick of things quickly.  All hell has broken loose and it’s up to Ash to stop it! This is a beautiful and crazy splash page that is a wonder to behold.

Then we cut back to six hours earlier.

Ash is driving along the country. He’s got a newspaper on his dashboard that says that Elvis is alive and well in Texas after fighting a mummy.

Ash follows his gut and it tells him that this is a real thing. He looks up to Elvis and even feels a bit of responsibility to go help his hero if he needs it.

Ash’s obligation to help the King makes sense and we are off and running right away! We get to see Ash be himself and try to piece together where this Elvis guy might be! Some of the scenes are funny leading up to them meeting. There are a few moments where I groaned ,but for the most part it’s just silly fun.

Ash eventually goes to the retirement home where Elvis was staying. Nobody seems to know anything or even has heard of the guy. Something strange is going on. But what? Ash tries to piece it all together but he is limited because he’s, well you know, Ash. It leads to some very amusing occurrences.

Eventually the two leads of the story meet. That is when this comic book becomes very exciting. Ash is facing a supernatural threat and all looks lost. Then it happens. Elvis shows up and I almost wanted to applaud. It’s a beautiful image of him and he just says, “Let’s Rumble.” It’s absolutely perfect.

The comic book ends on a cliffhanger, which is expected with a crossover like this; an enjoyable read overall. that’s  cool enough  to tune out to and just enjoy. And if you like these two characters, then it’s a must read.

RATING: B