Although I hated the title and concept for this latest chapter of Ashley “Ash” J. Williams’ story, I did really enjoy the hell out of this first issue. The displaced man from the future in a medieval court setting battling the armies of undead soldiers throughout time learns to accept his fate of being stuck in a time and place not his own. Always fighting against demons that possess the living or animate the dead, Ash found a love in his princess Shelia.

A new threat arrives that commands such a presence as to scare the Deadites. “The Faceless Man” has everyone scared—everyone but Ash. While he unlocks the mystery of this new threat, two armies (barbarian and Moorish soldiers) arrive to aid the kings in ridding the world of the armies of the dead.

As the groups arrive at Arthur’s abandoned castle only to be met with an envoy of the dead. He issues a challenge on behalf of the King of the Deadite Army. When the groups accept, the following does not end well for anyone.

Ash, the wise man, and Shelia arrive too late. They discover the remains of the two armies, skinned and very dead, about the land. As Murphy’s Law loves to mess with Ash, the hero accidentally pits his group into mortal danger.

Niles’ version of Ash misses the anti-hero and sarcastic nature of the character. The plot for this arc, though, makes up for that. The escalating threat level adds some excitement to the book while the cliffhanger ending will have readers itching to get the next installment.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Steve Niles Artist: Nacho Tenorio Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/16/14 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital