Most people would agree the choices we have here in the U.S. for president are abysmal. You either hate one of them, or both but must choose between the two. It’s a lesser of two evils issue, but when kicking evil’s ass is your speciality why not bring in the big guns? I check out a zany premise for a zany character in this one-shot special, but is it good?
Army of Darkness: Ash For President (Dynamite Entertainment)
So what’s it about? The Dynamite summary reads:
He’s faced off against demons in Hell. He’s battled the dead in the future. He’s even combated the armies of darkness in space. But Ash Williams has never gone up against evil in an arena like this: the political arena! From Elliott Serrano, the writer who brought you “Ash Saves Obama,” comes the off-beat adventure that answers the question: “What if Ash Williams ran for President of the United States?” When the Necronomicon Ex Mortis gives him a cryptic message, Ash Williams enlists the help of a beautiful psychic to help him track down the agent of The Great Darkness, an evil so great that it threatens both humankind and the demon realm. But what happens when the search for truth takes Ash on a trail that he never expected… the campaign trail? “Army of Darkness: Ash for President” is the one-shot Election Special that America deserves, illustrated with star-spangled flair by artist Diego Galindo.
Why does this book matter?
Writer Elliot Serrano has written plenty of comics with Ash as the lead character (including one where he saves Obama) so he knows his way around the character. More importantly, he knows his way around this type of humor. And artist Diego Galindo knows how to make a punchline work.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
This dude needs to chill.
You get 40 pages of political goodness in this comic that’s quite good at nailing down the Ash character while introducing a crazy plot (that is sadly not too hard to believe). Serrano had the twisted idea to set Ash on a mission to stop an evil from becoming president. The idea is genius however, as that even the Necronomicon is fearful of what will happen if said entity is elected. Through events of typical Ash bad luck and buffoonery he’s set on a course to become president himself. Witness Ash speak at rallys, gain favor with the common man, and even appear on 24 hour news debates! On paper those things may sound boring, but Serrano makes each of these events a bit twisted as it pokes fun at the people, the political process, and Ash’s inability to get out of his own way.
Serrano also uses the Necronomicon as a character quite a bit, which creates a fun three way (heh) conversation between Ash, a psychic he meets early on and the book itself. As they travel attempting to get closer to the candidate (they aren’t sure which one is the super evil baddie), they also must get the people on his side. Serrano does well to poke fun at American culture and he also comes up with some clever campaign slogans. By the time Ash is nearing the debate cycle you’ll want to see him “Kick Ash” too!
The comic is pretty damn funny too. Jokes include politicians defacing famous band lyrics to pump themselves up and a recurring joke about murder just to name two are real winners. The best bit involves the ease at which Ash sways the average voter (with the help of the Necronomicon of course).
Galindo does a great job with layouts and you can tell a lot of time and effort went into the book. Cut aways to news anchors on TV are top notch and help bring a leveled amount of seriousness to the story. Democratic nominee Brock Anders (a dead ringer for Bernie Sanders) and republican nominee Valerie Sexton are well rendered and look very believable. Really every character in this issue looks great, which enhances the moments when heads get blown off or demons lurk.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Surprisingly, there isn’t a lot of action in the issue. By my count there’s only violence taking place in five pages of this 40 page comic. Given the amount of humor it’s not much of a detriment, but it’s a surprise nonetheless.
Is it Trump?
Is It Good?
If you’ve been following the current political climate you need to read this comic book. It’s chock full of running jokes, hilarious political commentary, and a premise that suits Ash. If you don’t read this you clearly don’t know how to party.
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