***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
I must have read this back when it first came out, which is also when I first got it, but I really have no memory of it.
All of my memories come from the movie, which you all know I absolutely love.
I must admit that that has me a bit nervous though.
I’m worried that there is a major reason I don’t recall ever reading this, like I blocked it out for commiting some egregious offense.
We shall find out soon enough.
Now, as we well know, sometimes comic adaptations of movies tend to drop a lot of shit that is necessary for the charm and likeability of a flick in favor of making sure they get all of the story beats in.
But since this is a Dark Horse comic adapting a Dark Horse movie, wouldn’t they want to make sure they represent their film in the best way possible?
I do believe, my dear Knights, that we should get these doggies rolling and find out!
***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover By Bart Sears: From the way Bruce is holding the gun, to the angle of Guan-Di’s Guandao, to the background trees, this is just a slightly peppier, poppier, and more dynamic version of the movie poster.
And for that, I dig it.
I’m kind of glad Sears didn’t try and reinvent the wheel too much, he just spruced it up.
Art By Cliff Richards: It varies.
Some panels almost look like blurry rotoscopes of stills from the movie, some panels look like impressionistic interpretations of similar ideas.
It’s not bad by any stretch, but I’m not drooling over it either.
At the very worst, I think it’s perfectly serviceable to the story.
Story Adapted By Milton Freewater, Jr.: In the mining town of Gold Lick, the Ancient Chinese god of war and protector of bean curd has been awakened by a bunch of shithead teens screwing around in a grave yard.
One of the aforementioned shitheads is a huge fan of B-Movie Legend & horror Icon Bruce Campbell, who hatches a plan to get the actor to come and save the town.
That sounds, beat for beat, like the story of the movie, doesn’t it?
Well, I’m happy to report, it is and isn’t.
Anything concerning Bruce’s perspective or anything outside of the action in the town, or specifically the grave yard, has been ripped out completely.
Now I can hear you saying “What the fuck, they just dropped a bunch of the movie’s charm and they thought that was cool? Go suck a rail road spike!” to which I would reply “Calm your tits, my dear, though overly hostile, reader, I will explain why it’s awesome and totally works!” and then I will proceed to urge you to keep reading.
You see, the brilliance of this is simple, it doesn’t just drop a huge chunk of the story because they want to save pages and leave it at that, no.
They give us a great reason: this is the exact story of the movie, but from a fresh and previously unknown perspective.
Our POV into this story comes in the form of 2 Chinese ghosts, Ling & Shen, who add a bit of depth and snark to the story.
That is such a genius fuckin’ idea because it gives you a perfect excuse to streamline the story and not be pissed that some fun jokes and moments are just gone.
But it also puts a new spin on things, it’s not just a boring beat by beat retelling of a story you know well.
This is the reason I love movie novelizations and why I loved that Direct-To-Video Lion King 1 & 1/2 movie, I always dig getting a bit more insight into a world I know and love.
I fuckin’ adore getting to experience shit I love for the first time again, which is something this does so incredibly well.
Look, I shouldn’t have been worried from the jump because I’m just so in the bag for Bruce shit, but going through this again, it all flooded back and it was a goddamn delight.
Like the movie, it’s just a fun and goofy romp.
And it gets me even more excited for Bruce to get the sequel off the ground, in whatever form he wants to take it.
I highly encourage you to find a copy, particularly if you are a fan of the movie.
Sit back, grab a cold case of Shemps, and enjoy a night of fun comic bookery, gang.
Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her continued editorial assistance.
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