Publisher:  Dynamite Comics
Writer:  Steve Niles
Artist:  Nacho Tenorio
Release Date: 16th July 2014

Although still viewed as an outsider, the recently knighted Ash is steadily beginning to feel at home. Sure, the place smells like poop and the folks have poor personal hygiene, but Deadite activity has decreased, the land has become fertile once more, and love is very definitely in the air. But life is very rarely that simple for Ash. Before he can wed his intended he has a few more pressing matters to attend to; namely a freshly captured Deadite, oh, and a terrifying, rancorous entity he unwittingly unleashed upon the world. An enemy so formidable, even the Deadites are running scared. Promising to rectify the situation, Ash rides out to find him, and, y’know….punch him and stuff.

I’d always wondered whose skin adorned the cover of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, and now I know. The appropriately named, ‘Faceless Man’, was, by all accounts, the first to unleash the evil curse on the world, a revelation that creates an intriguing and exciting extension to the cinematic universe. My fear was that after such a fantastic build-up the unspeakable one’s reveal would be underwhelming. Fortunately, the creative team are on point, from the character’s design, to how his opening gambit is handled. His framing within the brilliantly executed, gore soaked battle scenes really highlights the enormity of the character. I mean, this dude is bad-ass, from his gruesome dead skin mask, to his complete lack of clothing in a battle situation!

The one minor criticism I have of the story, is that there is perhaps one too many plates for Ash to balance at this early stage. Without entering into spoiler territory, another pretty hefty bombshell is dropped on him just before the issue’s close, and it’s one which might have had a more dramatic effect later in the run. Here’s hoping the series doesn’t buckle under the weight of a bloated narrative.

A great opening issue, and definitely one for fans of the film franchise. Hail to the king, baby!

Rating: 4/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Martin Doyle
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