An American Chosen One in London
Ash is off to the Land of Fish and Chips in hopes of finding a fellow Chosen One, but ends up finding something else altogether. While the Evil Dead made it look like Ashley stumbled upon the Necronomicon, the connection between Chosen One and Book of Evil goes back much further than that, to a time when a band of heroes fought side by side to bring down the forces of evil. Sounds exciting doesn’t it?
Ash is hoping to find his G.B. counterpart, but upon arriving, discovers there is a menace stalking the streets. Being the do-gooder, Ash sets out to track down the beast. He does find a beast, but it turns out to be an ally in the form of a werewolf from America taking up residence in The Square Mile. Yes, Army of Darkness is having a crossover event with An American Werewolf in London (not THAT American Werewolf in London).
As it turns out, Brad (the werewolf’s name is Brad) knows more about the Chosen One than Ash does, as his great grandfather, and the previous Chosen One teamed up to fight the evil of the Necronomicon. Unfortunately, at the end of that adventure, Hell’s Prophet possessed the Chosen One and things didn’t end on an upbeat note. There’s a hint or two that the Evil Chosen One might have been Jack the Ripper, but that is a stretch until the next issue where the story will continue.
Readers who have been following recent Army of Darkness issues know Mike Raicht has been trying to keep the stories fairly self contained, while providing story points for future arcs. Think of it like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, events from one season end up resurfacing in another. In this issue, readers discover what happened when Ash was partially taken over by the Hell’s Prophet, as Evil Ash surfaces. It’s too bad it’s just not THAT Evil Ash, as that would be super awesome.
The playful use of the American Werewolf seemed like a groaner at first, but I’ll trust the writer to carry this new development forward, and hopefully begin to build an Army Against Darkness that could lead to a huge ensemble arc. Here’s hoping.
Art works once again, as Scott Cohn is able to whip up a convincing werewolf to human transformation, and then plays it up for laughs as certain elements in the scene conveniently cover up Brad’s nakedness.
The issue starts off a little shaky, but ends much stronger. We’ve now seen Ash in Mexico and now London, and I hope once his band of evil busters join up, the adventures can carry throughout the world. Here’s hoping… Of the new issues that arrived at my doorstep this week, this was the first one I read. I wasn’t disappointed, as Army of Darkness #20 is good enough to earn 3.5 out of 5 Stars.
