DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #5, available from Dynamite Comics on November 10th, 2021, counts down to Armageddon as Evil Red Sonja attempts to nuke the world. Meanwhile, Jennifer Blood has personal plans for the Necronomicon.
The Details
- Written By: Fred Van Lente
- Art By: Vincenzo Carratú, Jordi Perez
- Colors By: Kike J. Diaz
- Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: November 10, 2021
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Was It Good?
What a wild, wild ride. DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #5 marks the end of the current volume, and it does so in spectacular fashion. There’s so much happening in this issue, it’s hard to keep track of it all, but the sheer volume of events is actually a high point because it all flows together logically. You get tons of story, tons of development, and tons of revelations without feeling like the ending was rushed or left plot threads dangling.
Van Lente nails the whacky tone that’s a mainstay of the Army of Darkness film. All the characters remain true to their respective voices but they take on a slight edge of silliness that merges well with the blackly comedic tone of the horror inside. For example, Evil Red Sonja is a terrifying villain but her snarky lines are highly amusing.
And that’s the key takeaway from this volume – how crazy can the story get while still maintaining a sense of high-energy entertainment? If that wasn’t enough, the ending has a twist, cliffhanger (maybe crossover) that you absolutely will not see coming.
The art from Carratú and Perez is pure joy. Every panel has motion and energy (sometimes literal energy) to hold your eyeballs directly on the page. They’ve done an excellent job of using every panel to its fullest with kinetic, dramatic panel angles to ensure the reader always has something eye-catching to behold.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Find out how the world moved one step away from Armageddon by reading our DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #4 review first.
When last we left… well… everybody, Evil Red Sonja and Evil Peter Cannon had taken over the missile systems at the battle base, Vampirella, Ash Williams, and Pantha were chasing Jennifer Blood to stop her from using the Necronomicon, and the world was quickly becoming overrun by zombies.
Evile Red Sonja and Evil Peter Cannon initiate the launch codes for every nuclear missile on base. If Evil Red Sonja can kill the world, her role as avatar of the dead will end and she’ll finally be at peace. However, she notices she can hear all the voices of the dead except one.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Blood uses magic to create a forcefield preventing Ash, Vampirella, and Pantha from stopping her from reciting the book’s spells with Smiley’s help. Her plan is to help Smiley cast the spell to break Evil Red Sonja’s control over the zombie hordes in exchange for freeing her children from the zombie plague. Smiley, of course, helps her but a promise from Smiley is never what it seems.
We conclude the issue (and the arc) with a betrayal that doesn’t go as planned, a spell that works exactly as written, a merging of two evil minds, and a cliffhanger arrival that boldly goes where this series hasn’t gone before.
Final Thoughts
DIE!NAMITE LIVES! #5 is a wild, crazy, take-no-prisoners (literally) crossover event that captures the spirit and tone of Army fo Darkness mixed with all the pulp characters from Dynamite’s catalog for a truly unique horror adventure. The art is as interesting and as dynamic as the one-liners, and the cliffhanger setting up the next arc will absolutely send your brain into warp speed.
Score: 9.5/10
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