DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES! #3, from Dynamite Comics on May 4th, 2022, takes the War of the Dead to the cities of Barsoom as Evil Red Sonja and her gal pals seek out the deity holding sway over the zombies of Mars and Earth.
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: Tony Fleecs (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 4, 2022
Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.
It’s 100% FREE. Sign up NOW!
Was It Good?
DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES! #3 is the first issue in this series that truly feels like the story is hitting its stride.
Van Lente finally reveals the big bad villain of the arc who possesses a solar system-spanning power that poses a genuine threat to all the heroes and citizens of Mars, Earth, and Drakulon. The villain is new to the DIE!Namite Saga, but her appearance organically explains the spreading chaos, which motivates all the players to put their differences aside (almost) for the greater good.
The premise is inventive, but the real winner in this issue is Van Lente’s snappy dialog. Each character has a unique flavor of sass to liven up the adventure, even when characters are doing nothing more but figuring out what to do next. Every dialog exchange is thoroughly amusing, and Van Lente nails the back-and-forth pacing of the speech between characters to keep the energy up when the action is low.
Speaking of action, there’s plenty to be had here with escapes from zombie swarms, interplanetary space travel, and backstabs. Extra kudos goes to Van Lente for finding a clever way for Tarzan to use his unique talents on Mars.
Carratú and Perez turn in another fine display in the art department with uniques character designs, including the newly-introduced main villain. The action is pulp-serial perfect, the colors by Diaz are excellent, and the facial acting by all the characters is on point for the volumes of sass on display.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
If you don’t remember who’s who and why they are where they are, first read our DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES! #2 review.
We begin with Evil Red Sonja coming face-to-face with Issus, a Barsoomian god who holds dominion over the dead of Mars… and now Earth. Ancient Jasoomains built temples to Issue on Earth, giving her the ability to project her power across planets. The only way for Evil Red Sonja to regain control of the dead on Earth is to defeat Issues on Mars and break her control.
Meanwhile, Carthoris, Tarzan, and Thuvia seek out the help of an old scientist on Barsoom. The scientist is unwilling to help due to Carthoris’s association with his legendary father, and the scientist projects a ray that sends their flying ship down to the ground where the zombies are waiting. when the zombies get close enough to reach the ship, Tarzan swings away and uses his language skills to enlist unlikely help.
We conclude the issue with Vampirella receiving futuristic ship repairs, a lesson about how women feel about stitches on men, and a pre-emptive doublecross.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES! #3 is a weird-but-wonderful interplanetary zombie adventure with creative visuals, dialog that snaps, crackles, and pops, and a villain reveal that sets up a monstrous threat. Van Lente crafts a wild adventure that would fall into the tallest of “Tall Tales” categories, but it works.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com