Move Over Boomstick: Discussing ‘Army Of Darkness Forever’ With Writer Tony Fleecs

Comics creator Tony Fleecs has turned his attention from Stray Dogs and Local Man to a different kind of character these days – Ash Williams. In Dynamite Comics’ Army of Darkness Forever, Fleecs explores the original movie’s alternative ending as his skips among three timelines. The series, which was initially picked up for six issues, has been extended. In a Comicon exclusive, Fleecs discussed that extension and the impact it is having on his scripting as well as how he’s going to trump Ash’s infamous Boomstick.

Tom Smithyman: Your run’s been extended! Congratulations! Now what? Did you have something planned all along, or did you have to come with something quickly to show your editors? And did you have to go back and retcon any of your original story to adapt to a longer format?

Tony Fleecs: Thanks! I outlined it as 12 issues from the start. Which, now that I think about it, is crazy. Dynamite asked for an outline, and I guess they didn’t say how long, so I just went the full Tom King. Then they said, “We dig it! MGM digs it!…We don’t know if we’ll be able to do all 12.”

So, then I had to decide – and this happened at two different publishers at the same time, weirdly. I outlined two different books at 12 issues, and both places said, “The market is weird right now. We might not make it all the way to 12 issues.” So, I had to decide: Do I cram all this into six? Trim it way way down? Or do I just go for it? And maybe there’s just a crazy cliffhanger that never gets resolved, and I can tell people at conventions how it would’ve ended.

I basically just thought: “What would Ash do here?”

Smithyman: I’m glad it worked out for you and the fans. Army of Darkness is a little bit comedy and a little bit horror. As a writer, how do you balance the gore with the funny?

Fleecs: Just like in the movies, I think I try to let the adventure and the scares drive the plot and then the funny comes from the character or from taking a left turn into something bizarre. I never really thought about it, it’s not a rule I wrote down, but the setup is always the danger or the action and then the punchline comes from how Ash reacts to whatever new hell we throw at him.

I learned through a lot of trial and error that it’s much easier to sell jokes in comics if they’re hidden in some sort of horror or action trojan horse.

Smithyman: You are taking the story through three distinct timelines. Do you have all the details in your head, or do you have everything charted out on a massive whiteboard in your studio?

Fleecs: I’ve got it all written down in the outline, but I’m definitely always thinking about it. I just know I’m gonna wake up three years from now in a cold sweat like, “I FORGOT ABOUT THE OTHER WISEMEN!” Luckily, I’ve still got a few issues left to write so I can get in there and make sure everything lines up. Like in Bill and Ted when they go back in time and hide car keys under a trashcan. That’ll be the whole last issue. Just Ash falling through portals and fixing my plot holes.

Smithyman: Clearly a Boomstick is the greatest weapon ever invented. We’re going to see lots of it here, right???

Fleecs: The Boomstick definitely gets its big moment. I took stock of all the stuff we had to play with and figured out how to really celebrate it or show it off. At the same time, we’re building on the lore, adding our own new stuff that hopefully feels like it fits right in with the very specific Army of Darkness vibe. The Boomstick is about to be Ash’s 2ND coolest gun.

Smithyman: Whoa! That’s quite a statement. I’m looking forward to seeing that get paid off. So, this might seem silly, but do you feel any added pressure since Army of Darkness is the first title that Dynamite published back in 2004?

Fleecs: I honestly didn’t think about it until they put the J. Scott Campbell AoD #1 cover from 2004 on one of our issues. And then I was like, “Holy shit… we’re really kind of part of something here.”

Smithyman: Justin Greenwood is illustrating the book. What is the back-and-forth like with the two of you, especially given your own illustration experience?

Fleecs: It’s really great. Justin and I are close friends. So, besides scripting, I’m always talking to him in text or in DMs. It’s sort of a running dialog. Which is nice, I know he likes working with me or like, our buddy Dennis Culver because we’ve drawn comics. We know what works on a page, what fits, and what doesn’t. And I love working with him because I know whatever I write, he’s gonna make it better. He always adds energy.

And the same goes for Brad Simpson on colors and Troy Peteri on letters. These are all people that I’ve known for years. They know all my weird little quirks.  And they’re all really doing the kind of work that makes me want to continue to work with them for years to come.

Smithyman: Director Sam Raimi famously casts Bruce Campbell in all of his movies. What non-Raimi movie would you put him in and in what role?

Fleecs: I really want to see him do his Robert Forester role in Jackie Brown. Would love for Raimi or the Coen Brothers do an old man Ash-type story. Not necessarily Ash, because I think they covered that pretty well in the Starz show. But like an Unforgiven for Bruce Campbell. Some sort of badass elegy.

Smithyman: That would be crazy! Congratulations again on your extension, and good luck with the rest of the series.