‘Army of Darkness’ and ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ To Cross Over in New Comic

Bruce Campbell might not be interested in doing franchise films anymore, closing the door on future Evil Dead or Bubba Ho-Tep sequels, but his characters from those films will meet in an upcoming comic from writer Scott Duvall and artist Vincenzo Federici.

In Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep, Ash embarks on a soul-searching road trip to Texas on a hunch that Elvis Presley may still be alive and kicking (and supposedly vanquished a mummy)! What follows is a series of universe-spanning events that involve an Elvis jumpsuit with special time-travel abilities, a trip to 70’s Vegas, plus the reveal of an evil new Book of the Dead, the Necronomicon Ho-Tep.

“Being a huge fan of the character of Ash, and by extension, actor Bruce Campbell, I was instantly drawn to the movie Bubba Ho-Tep, based on an original story by the great Joe R. Lansdale, and starring Campbell as Elvis. Immediately upon release, I added it to my DVD collection, and I would group it with Army of Darkness because it felt like a companion piece to it,” said author Scott Duvall. “Often viewing them in close succession, I knew the Ash and Elvis team-up would go together like peanut butter and banana. These two worlds already fit so well together in tone, it made it totally plausible that they could co-exist on the same plane. Wanting to see what it would be like if Ash and Elvis interact is a big part of what sparked this, and so I’m thrilled we’ll get to finally see that in these pages.”

Bubba Ho-Tep creator and author Joe R. Lansdale added, “Script and artist for the first issue of Army of Darkness vs Bubba Ho-tep are as delicious as a fried peanut butter and ‘nanner sandwich. I’m as excited as if I had good sense and owned Ft. Knox. Can’t wait.”

Lansdale had recently published a Bubba Ho-Tep sequel miniseries at IDW Publishing, making the transition to comic book franchise crossover a little easier.

“This cross-over is definitely a no-brainer, especially with Ash involved. Seriously though, when this idea was discussed with our friends at IDW, we all agreed that this cross-over would be one of the grooviest cross-overs that we could do together! And we’ve brought together a great story. Scott really brought a fun concept to the table pitting these two ‘Kings’ against each other. As Army of Darkness was the first license we signed at Dynamite, we’re excited to have this new series as part of our publishing line,” said Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “This is a cult classic comic in the making and fans of both franchises are going to love where this story goes.”

Dynamite Entertainment first published Army of Darkness in 2004 and has built into the story canon for over 14 years. IDW Publishing’s most recent series, Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic-Blood Suckers was released in May 2018.

The first issue of Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep delivers a wide selection of cover variants, providing fans and retailers a chance to collect the whole set! The cover artwork features the talents of Robert Hack (Mars Attacks), Carlos Gomez (Red Sonja), Emma Kubert, Diego Galindo (Power Rangers) and Tom Mandrake (To Hell You Ride), respectively.

Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ December 2018 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in February 2019. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep with their local comic book retailers in advance of release, so they can be sure to get one.