The following is a transcription of an article originally written by Cliff Biggers appearing in Comic Shop News #991 from June, 2006. It is presented here for easier online access and historical preservation. Minor spelling mistakes from the original print article have been corrected here.
Darkman/Army of Darkness Brights Dynamite's Summer Schedule
You gotta give the guys at Dynamite Entertainment credit--they are the champs when it comes to surprising crossover lineups. Ash and Re-Animator... Red Sonja and Claw... and now, the most surprising of all: Darkman Vs. The Army of Darkness, a crossover that involves two licensed properties--one of which is making its Dynamite premiere with this crossover limited series!
And the stars of this crossover aren't the only newsworthy aspect of Darkman Vs. Army of Darkness; Dynamite has enlisted some top talent for the project, including acclaimed writer Kurt Busiek, co-writer Roger Stern, and artist James Fry.
What inspired Dynamite to add Darkman to their growing stable of licensed properties? "We have many projects coming together with our friends at Universal," Dynamite's J. Allen said, "and Darkman may very well be among the most exciting. It's definitely different. The Darkman is one of the most tragic when it comes to tragic heroes. Having your assistant killed in front of you and your entire lab blown up with you in it. Woah! The first movie was intense."
Co-writer Kurt Busiek became involved with the project "from the other side, actually, through the Evil De--uh, Army of Darkness."
"Dynamite gave me a call and asked me if I had any interest in writing an Army of Darkness mini-series, and I told him I had one idea I'd love to do, but it was probably impossible, since it was a crossover. He asked for details, so I told him the Darkman Vs. The Evil Dead idea that James Fry and I have been hoping to do for years. And he went out and got the rights to Darkman!
"Probably not just for me, but what the hell!"
"Kurt had stated he wanted to do a cross-over with Darkman and The Army of Darkness for years," J. Allen added, "and it seemed like the perfect way to launch the title. That pushed us harder to go after the rights. Along the way, as stated, the whole notion of a cross-over with Darkman and the Army of Darkness came into play. Now, Kurt and Roger have put Darkman and Ash together in a way that serves as a great team-up/cross-over--as well as re-establishing Darkman back into comics and giving us a good starting point for his own series."
The germ of this story idea dates back to Busiek's earlier involvement with the character. "The seeds of this particular project go back to when I was writing Darkman for Marvel, and James Fry and I, both big Sam Raimi fans, were joking about how Raimi's two great nutboy heroes, Ash and Darkman, were the perfect demented World's Finest--the heroic, muscled-up strong-jawed Ash and the skulking, shadowy Darkman," Busiek said. "The story just kind of fell into place from there, and ever since we've been looking for a place to do it, but nobody ever had the rights to both Darkman and Ash at the same time. Until now."
For Dynamite, the crossover--and its high-profile creative team--was a perfect launching point for Darkman. "The most important part was that Kurt had a story that he wanted to tell, so we knew it had to be good," J. Allen said. "Once we discussed, we figured it's a natural fit, both movie franchises having the same 'father' in Sam Raimi and a great use of Ash outside his own series and a great launching point for Darkman."
How did Roger Stern come to join the creative team? "Actually, this is about the sixth or seventh time that Kurt and I have worked together," Stern said. "We've been collaborating off and on for the better part of a decade, starting in 1997 with a crossover between the Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual and the Amazing Spider-Man Annual. Then I helped plot a couple of issues of Thunderbolts and what turned out to be the final issue of Untold Tales. And of course, we worked together on Avengers Forever and Iron Man."
"Those projects were all great fun, and they were all a little different. We mostly plotted them together. Some Kurt scripted, some I scripted. And those were just the stories that saw print. Remind me to tell you sometime about the projects still gathering cobwebs on editors' desks.
"Anyway, when Kurt suggested that I join in on Darkman Vs. The Army of Darkness and that James Fry would be drawing it, I just had to say yes. I mean, come on! Darkman and Ash fighting Deadites in the city? What's not to like? We really ought to call this book World's Weirdest! 'Your two favorite Sam Raimi heroes in one adventure--together!'"
Who's doing what in this collaboration? "Kurt already had an overall plot in mind; he'd been thinking about this story for years. Once I was on-board, we hashed out the broad strokes of the story over the phone and via email. Then, once the studios approved the overview, I started fleshing out the plots. And now, as James finishes penciling each story, I script it," Stern explained.
What's the premise of the crossover? "Well, Darkman's all about the city and about watching over Julie, and Ash is all about killing Deadites. So what brings them together is that the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis gets read in Darkman's city, and now there's Deadites all over the place and Julie's in deep trouble. So bam!, they're both on the case," Busiek said. "Trouble is, Ash just wants to kill all the bad guys, and Darkman just wants to save Julie, so there's a certain clash of interests that will lead to trouble."
"Of course, Darkman is already pretty conflicted," Stern added. "He'd gotten used to being the weirdest guy in town. And now there are whacked-out demons wherever he turns."
"Will they fight and then team up? What do you think?" Busiek joked.
So what' the tone of the series--will it have the pulp-meets superheroes feel of Darkman, or will it have the horror-adventure feel of Army of Darkness? "Both, I hope," Busiek said. "To my mind, they're very similar in tone--the Army of Darkness movies are pulpy over-the-top horror, and Darkman is pulpy, over-the-top superhero action. They've both got that Sam Raimi Ram-o-Cam sensibility, wildly kinetic, with lots of humor and grossouts. So bring 'em together, and you get pulpy, over-the-top superhero horror, which sounds just swell to me. And it's perfect for James, who's doing a knockout job on the book."
Will this crossover pave the way for a solo Darkman series? "That's the plan!" J. Allen said. "We've got our fingers crossed."
And should such a series be added to the lineup, will the writers come back for a return engagement? "Not me, alas," Busiek said. "I always have a blast writing Darkman, but I'm exclusive to DC and busy with that Man of Steel, that undersea warrior, and with Astro City. But I'm thrilled to have had a chance to finally make this story a reality, and to work with Nick, James, Roger, and George (cover artist George Pérez) on it. It's one of those projects I figured would never happen, but hey, never say never, right?"
As for Stern--"I never say never!" he replied.
Darkman Vs. the Army of Darkness #1, the kickoff book in a four-part limited series featuring variant covers by George Pérez and Army of Darkness fave Nick Bradshaw, is scheduled for August release.
BONUS: Dynamite's Cancelled Darkman Series
As mentioned in the Comic Shop News article, there were plans for Darkman to go into a solo comic following the Army of Darkness crossover series. This solo title was far enough in development for a creative team and plot synopsis to be released (included below), as well as cover artwork for the first two issues (though a solicitation for a third issue was also released by Dynamic Forces). As of 2026, the reason for scrapping the series remains unknown.
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| Full dress artwork for the canceled Darkman #1 by Fabiano Neves. |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT presents an all-new Darkman comic book event, inspired by the original Sam Raimi film and featuring the classic cast of Darkman (yes, we've found a way to bring back Robert Durant!) Peyton Westlake had fled town in his attempts to distance himself from Julie, all while continuing his research; his obsession with his lost love was greater than his obsession with perfecting his synthetic skin, and he found himself unable to stay away. Now, he's returned to a find world quite different than the one he left behind.... Producer Ford Lytle Gilmore is joined by artist Tommy Smith and cover artist Tomm Coker and Fabiano (Army of Darkness) Neves for this all new comic book event! Taking place five years after the events of the first film, our series promises to remain faithful as well as standing on its own to entice and intrigue new readers!
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| Black and white artwork for the canceled Darkman #1 by Fabiano Neves. |
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| Black and white artwork for the canceled Darkman #2 by Fabiano Neves. |
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