DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #4 – Review

In DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #4, available from Dynamite Comics on September 22nd, 2021, Captain Future interrogates the Evil (and dismembered) Red Sonja. Meanwhile, Jennifer Blood, Ash Williams, Vampirella, and Pantha all fight over the right to use the Necronomicon.

The Details

• Written By: Fred Van Lente
• Art By: Vincenzo Carratù
• Colors By: Kike J. Diaz
• Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
• Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: September 22, 2021

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Was It Good?

This is the first issue in the series that matches the tone and black humor of The Army of Darkness, and it’s a lot of fun.

Van Lente puts in the work to tell two, nearly independent storylines with characters that you wouldn’t want to mess with and you can’t take too seriously at the same time. The overall tone of the book is a cross between black humor, satire, and farce with a healthy bit of gore splatter thrown in for good measure. As much as this strikes the right tone for an Army of Darkness comic, you can also detect echoes of Dr. Strangelove in the way the General holding Evil Red Sonja barks commands like the worst (or best) generalissimo stereotype.

The over-arching story makes some decent progress in this issue. There are some fights in both threads, but each one ends with the players moving to a new point that sets up whatever comes next. Evil Red Sonja seems helpless but it turns out her capture was part of a larger plan. Ash Williams holds his own against competing forces vying for the Necronomicon. And despite all parties acting in their own interests, you can see little, subtle hints dropped that the threads are coming together.

I like the way this issue played out as a complete chapter, despite not necessarily resolving any major conflicts. The action is great, the story is surprisingly complex for all the pieces in motion, and yet, it’s a fast and easy read.

Carratù‘s and the team’s artwork is, likewise, great in this issue. There’s quite a bit of action happening in addition to the hints and exposition dropped on every page. The action is energetic with a fair bit of gore, and it fits the tone of the story perfectly. The one odd point, that’s not quite a down point, is the excessive use of green filtering throughout the book. It gives the visuals a sickly vibe that may be intentional but it tends to wash out the colors a little bit.

The coloring is a small nitpick in an otherwise visually imaginative book.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Before you find yourself becoming one of the walking dead, read our DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #3 review to find out how we got here.

We pick up after the events of the last issue. Captain Future’s Futuresteins have torn apart and captured Evil Red Sonja and Evil Peter Cannon for interrogation. The still-living body parts have been taken back to military HQ, against the General’s protests.

Back at S-Mart, Ash Williams is in a standoff with Jennifer Blood who wants the Necronomicon for herself with a little encouragement from Smiley, the evil talking button. Before guns start blazing, Vampirella and Pantha arrive to throw gas on the fire.

In the heat of battle, Blood and Smiley escape with the book while the others are distracted by having to fight off a zombified Ms. Fury and Tabu. Pantha is especially upset about the fight since she and Tabu are a couple and she’s forced to make a hard choice to save the group.

Back at the military base, Captain Future questions Evil Red Sonja in private where he lets slip his plans are less than heroic. We conclude the issue with Captain Future finding out the cost of underestimating Evil Red Sonja, Evil Peter Cannon proving he’s smarter than Captain Future gave him credit for, and the reveal that Evil Red Sonja is right where she wants to be.

Final Thoughts

DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #4 captures the spirit, tone, and fun of an Army of Darkness story while poking fun at the military and big box stores at the same time (Is there anything S-Mart doesn’t carry?). The art is packed with equal parts action and gore, and the plot makes a respectable amount of progress toward a bigger conflict.

Score: 9/10