Broken Frontier

A new Ash leads the fight against the Army of Darkness, but the fun is all the same, you screwheads!

Ash, the hero of the universe, and savior of humanity from the evil forces of the Army of Darkness, has returned in a brand new series. With his iconic chainsaw hand, he'll slay the forces of the Deadites and wisecrack the whole time. Well, he would, if he was the star of this book. While there may be an Ash in the lead, and she might have a very dangerous hand at her disposal, this is not the character we know and love. Still, our new Ashley might have a few tricks up her sleeve.

Thankfully, while the story initially appears to be set with a gender-swapped Ash (complete with S-Mart job), it doesn't ignore that there's already a well-established Ash fighting Deadites and the titular Army of Darkness. It's only referenced near the end, and the story will obviously pursue comparing these slightly different Ashes, so for all those who thought the title might just be throwing the Bruce Campbell-defined character out the window for a hot, new lead (and given that the new movie script also features a female Ash, it's not unwarranted), fear not.

Visually, the book is entertaining, getting the Evil Dead vibe across well, although Ash seems to have only one or two facial expressions and is prone to eye-candy poses; the latter is almost acceptable, given the franchise's general horror B-movie vibe. The unnamed ally on the adventure, an alien, fits perfectly with the story; while Army of Darkness and such never ventured to alien planets, the character is readily making Saturday Night Live quips and being as human as you can be for being a horrifying bug man.

It would have been all too easy for her to have a chainsaw/mechanical hand, and the twist they've come up with (a malleable hand that can form objects) is one that sets Female Ash apart from Male Ash enough that her story won't just be a retread of his; it already starts in a different setting (and has a cohort, something the movie hero hasn't really had), so changes are established, but the sheer fact she has a "weapon hand" of any sort makes you wonder if an Evil Female Ash is in the works.

The first issue has a good balance, devoting equal time to the lead origins alongside their current predicament, and ends with enough cliffhanger/teases to keep the reader interested for more. It's a drastic change from the character we're used to, but it's a welcome change that keeps the franchise strong without throwing everything out.