By MATT SCHORR
As we draw ever nearer to the Halloween holiday, let’s look back at something that was a pretty big deal when it came out: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. There were actually two separate miniseries released, and I’ll be reviewing both of them.
But first, a little back-story…
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash was a proposed sequel for the Freddy vs. Jason film. The proposal never made it out of development hell. It would’ve floundered and faded into the winds of cinematic obscurity, but some publishers decided it would make a good comic book.
And they were right.
The now defunct Wildstorm Comics partnered with Dynamite Entertainment to release the first six-issue series, simply titled Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, in November 2007. It was pretty successful, ranked as one of the top-selling comics at the time. Its success made a sequel inevitable, and Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors was published just a year after the first series ended.
The sequel had no film treatment to work from, and so the creators penned their story from scratch. No longer working within the confines of what was possible on a film budget, they pulled out all the stops and delivered a wildly outrageous story that brought back just about every surviving Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street character in existence. (For better or worse.)
My opinion on these books hasn’t changed since I first read them. The first series gets way too much love, and the second gets way too much hate.
Let’s start with FvJvA. The plot is absurd, but that was inevitable (and, incidentally, perfectly fine with me). Five years have passed since the conclusion of FvJ. The film’s sole survivors Will and Lori return to Crystal Lake to find closure and end up slaughtered by Jason, who now had Freddy trapped within his subconscious. Meanwhile, Ash is transferred to Crystal Lake’s new S-Mart and is naturally dragged into Jason’s killing spree, while Freddy hatches a scheme to get the Necronomicon from Jason’s house…where his mother had it. (Don’t ask, it’s never explained.) In the end, Jason turns on Freddy, Freddy resurrects Jason’s victims as Deadites, and Ash banishes them all to hell. And Jason ends up back in Crystal Lake.
One ongoing criticism among many for this book is that it feels like a “cut and paste” job of the film script, and it’s a fair criticism. The story is really disjointed. It doesn’t have an even flow throughout, with several abrupt jumps. It’s the sort of thing that might work on film, but not so much in a comic.
That’s not to say this was bad. FvJvA set out to be a fun ride, and it succeeded. Although Ash’s wisecracks aren’t quite the same in print as they could be coming from Bruce Campbell’s lips, he’s still an amusing reluctant hero. Freddy gets a little wordy at times, since he’s often stuck with exposition responsibility, but he’s still the nasty dream demon we all know and love. And Jason does what he does best: hack ‘n’ slash. Including “CH-CH-CH-AH-AH-AH” as sound effects during his appearances was also a nice touch.
I give this one four out of five stars.
Now for Nightmare Warriors. Government agents excavate Crystal Lake and retrieve the Necronomicon, hoping to create an army of demonic soldiers to defend America’s borders. (How could that possibly end badly?) Naturally, their meddling reawakens Jason, who, with Freddy prompting him yet again, seeks out Ash and kills his new girlfriend. Ash, who’s inadvertently blamed for the girl’s death, somehow meets with survivors of both Freddy and Jason’s previous rampages. They team up (DC Crisis-style!) and set out to end the evil once and for all. Then, in a swerve that would make Vince Russo proud, one of the Nightmare Warriors reveals herself to be Freddy’s daughter, Kathryn Krueger, and kills a few folks before making out with Daddy. (Eww!) Long story short: the new team destroy a Deadite army that’s attacking Washington D.C., banish Freddy again, decapitate Jason, and send one of the team back to the 60’s so they can make sure Freddy really goes to jail for his crimes.
This story has its flaws, but, truth be told, it’s a lot more fun than the first outing. For starters, the creators weren’t bound by an initial script and thus were free to explore whatever territory they wanted. As such, they weren’t bound to what would’ve been possible in a horror movie budget (i.e. an army of Deadites attacking the nation’s capitol). And last but not least, the story’s much more coherent. This one’s not the least disjointed, unlike its predecessor.
If there is any glaring criticism, though, it’s that it almost goes too over-the-top at times. Jason is reborn with new clothes, a shiny new mask, and gorgeous flowing hair…and that’s just weird. Freddy bantering back and forth with government agents Hannibal Lecter-style also just doesn’t feel natural.
Then there’s Kathryn’s heel turn. It’s never explained. I mean ever. For whatever reason, after killing dear old Dad in Freddy’s Dead, she decided to team-up and do have some father/daughter nookie.
You said it Farooq!
Still and all, this was a fun and wild ride. Despite the wonky Krueger family shenanigans and other wacky scenarios, this was a really entertaining story. And that’s all it ever set out to be.
I give it another four stars. Hail to the king, baby.