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ithilienlady's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
geofroggatt's review
3.0
I’m one of the few horror fans that actually enjoyed the Freddy vs. Jason movie, and one of the even fewer that wanted a sequel. I heard how the filmmakers wanted to include Pinhead welcoming the two slashers to Hell at the end, but couldn’t due to not owning the rights to the character. I dreamt of a perfect sequel that involved Pinhead and the melding of three iconic horror franchises, but sadly that never came. But we did get this. Unfortunately I about off reading this for so long that copies were no longer being sold in stores, and I distinctly remember walking into a book store and seeing the cover and thinking, “I’ll come back for this”, but I never did. Luckily, us horror fans are crafty and I was easily able to find this online due to fans wanting to make this graphic novel more accessible. The story functions as a sequel to the events depicted in Freddy vs. Jason, but also acts as it’s own story continuing on the legacy of both franchises (A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th), while also weaving in Ash Williams from the Evil Dead franchise. I thought this comic did a decent job at picking up where the last movie left off, and while I’m not a fan of previous horror survivors being picked off in the opening sequence, I recognize that it is a staple of the Friday the 13th franchise and I do feel like it was done well here. This comic had a solid opening premise and did great at casually reintroducing these iconic characters together in one setting. I’ve never been a huge fan of Ash Williams (though I still haven’t seen Army of Darkness or Ash vs. Evil Dead as I write this review) even though I’m a fan of the Evil Dead movies. I always thought his character was a stand-in “final boy” for male horror fans to project themselves onto. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just never previously connected with his character the way that many horror fans have. I used to think his personality and “ladies man” bravado was boring, but it felt a little more charming and fun here. I liked his characterization here, though I did notice he chastises a guy for flirting with Bree when she’s in shock, even though he did kiss her after she falls into his arms directly after they discover her boyfriend’s dead body earlier. There were some minor homophobic moments in this comic, but that’s to be expected from a comic based off such old horror franchises like this, and the homophobic remarks do come from characters who are supposed to shitty (and Freddy Krueger when he’s tormenting Jason) so they do feel fitting with the story and most of the characters. It’s also important to remember that while horror has always been a very queer genre, mainstream horror audiences during the era that this was written were perceived to only be straight white men, so it’s important to take that into account when reading a story like this and try to appreciate it for what it is anyway. I did like the minuscule mention/joke of Jason potentially being gay because I do think that the character acts as a villainous antagonistic stand-in for all kids who were bullied or ostracized/othered, so that was a fun little moment I appreciated despite how small it was. I liked the artwork and how it fit the dark tone of the narrative, and there is some pretty creative and dark imagery here that really elevates the material. The artwork on the kill scenes and gore was done really well and really did the source material justice. The graphic novel medium really gave the writers an ability to play around with Freddy Krueger’s abilities without having to worry about special effects or a budget. Introducing the Necronomicon and the Evil Dead lore into this crossover really opened up the door to some interesting storylines, and I particularly loved seeing Freddy Krueger use the Necronomicon. I love how this small inclusion spiced up and brought life back to these two tired horror franchise villains and shook up the tired storytelling formula. Introducing the idea that Jason may be some from of Deadite was also interesting and fun, and it easily ties the Evil Dead franchise together in this crossover. I felt the ending had the weakest writing and art work, and it did feel too neat and easy for a conclusion, but it was still a fun ride regardless and I am looking forward to reading the follow-up. Overall, not as good as it should have been but not terrible either. I would easily recommend this graphic novel for horror fans of these franchises and characters.
hwpw92's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
ghoulehhh's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
kmk182's review
3.0
While on screen Ash and Freddy would be a wisecracking battle in the written form it doesn't work too well. When Freddy and Jason are killing its fun; but Ash didn't fit in and his storyline bored me.
cneywendleton's review
4.0
Hit all the cheesy notes one would expect from 3 campy cultish movies. Artwork was beautiful, I think ash and Jason were a little off looking in some of the panels, but Freddy stole the show, as always for me.
totobatista's review
3.0
3.5 bloody Stars: This was an entertaining comic. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece because there's almost no plot, it's only an excuse to bring Jason, Freddy and Ash together...and I loved it. If you are a fan of the slasher movies you'll probably enjoy it but, again, don't expect a mind-blowing plot.
The artwork was decent for the most part, except for some pages at the end and Ash is awesome with his chainsaw and over-the-top-badass atittude.
The artwork was decent for the most part, except for some pages at the end and Ash is awesome with his chainsaw and over-the-top-badass atittude.
thisisbert's review
3.0
This is a fun story and you can tell it would have been a cool movie if they'd ever actually made it. Having said that, it's strictly for fans. Which is fine I guess since nobody who wasn't a fan would look at the amazon listing and say "14 used from $45? let me find my credit card".
There are some serious pacing issues with this. We don't really get to know any of the characters except the ones we already know, and there are moments where the action is so rushed it's difficult to tell what's going on. There's no atmosphere. Jason's sound effect is written as "ch-ch-ch ah-ah-ah" instead of "ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma" which really, come on, this is an official product. I have my standards. Anyway my first thought is that it should have been longer to remedy some of the rushing, but they've obviously had enough trouble adapting the beats from a film script to fit the six-part serial, so adding more parts would only make things worse.
Another thing that seemed rushed was the art, which ranges from good to disastrous. In the big-panel pages dealing with Freddy and Jason there are some nicely executed moments, and the artist obviously really enjoys the change to draw these characters. Nobody named Jason should enjoy drawing Jason that much, actually, so I propose we lock the guy up pre-emptively. Just a thought.
Anyway, despite those nice moments a lot of the art is in the mediocre-to-clumsy region, and a few panels are actively bad. Craig seems to struggle with the rendering of normal human beings. I don't know whether that's because he's weak in that area or just because he was rushed and needed to focus on the movie-monster pages, but at times it actually hampers the storytelling. It took me a lot longer than it should have to realise the girl at the start was meant to be Lori from the film, because the drawings looked nothing like the (fairly distinctive) actress who played her. And I've seen that movie easily like 10 times so it's totally not because I don't know what she looks like. Later we see this is because Craig draws all women the same (and with string-side underpants sticking out above their pants like it's 2001 for some reason). When Bree talks about her breasts making men do whatever she wants, all I can think is that they look the same as every other woman in Crystal Lake's breasts. In a sequence where distinguishing between Bree and Carrie is important I ... can't. I had to go back and re-read that bit, due to a combination of rushed scripting and poor visual character design. Ash is at least always recognisable, but still suffers from some poorly executed renderings that make him look a bit head-melty.
At any rate, it isn't the worst art I've ever seen in a comic and in spite of some pretty major flaws in pacing and the occasional line that really needed an actor's delivery to make it work, this isn't an awful adaptation of a film script. Some of the nods to past films were fun, and there were a few good kills (although the best one was on the amazon preview so I got spoilered). Pretty dumb, definitely goofy, sometimes very poorly translated to the page, but a lot of people get killed with a machete so overall I am happy.
There are some serious pacing issues with this. We don't really get to know any of the characters except the ones we already know, and there are moments where the action is so rushed it's difficult to tell what's going on. There's no atmosphere. Jason's sound effect is written as "ch-ch-ch ah-ah-ah" instead of "ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma" which really, come on, this is an official product. I have my standards. Anyway my first thought is that it should have been longer to remedy some of the rushing, but they've obviously had enough trouble adapting the beats from a film script to fit the six-part serial, so adding more parts would only make things worse.
Another thing that seemed rushed was the art, which ranges from good to disastrous. In the big-panel pages dealing with Freddy and Jason there are some nicely executed moments, and the artist obviously really enjoys the change to draw these characters. Nobody named Jason should enjoy drawing Jason that much, actually, so I propose we lock the guy up pre-emptively. Just a thought.
Anyway, despite those nice moments a lot of the art is in the mediocre-to-clumsy region, and a few panels are actively bad. Craig seems to struggle with the rendering of normal human beings. I don't know whether that's because he's weak in that area or just because he was rushed and needed to focus on the movie-monster pages, but at times it actually hampers the storytelling. It took me a lot longer than it should have to realise the girl at the start was meant to be Lori from the film, because the drawings looked nothing like the (fairly distinctive) actress who played her. And I've seen that movie easily like 10 times so it's totally not because I don't know what she looks like. Later we see this is because Craig draws all women the same (and with string-side underpants sticking out above their pants like it's 2001 for some reason). When Bree talks about her breasts making men do whatever she wants, all I can think is that they look the same as every other woman in Crystal Lake's breasts. In a sequence where distinguishing between Bree and Carrie is important I ... can't. I had to go back and re-read that bit, due to a combination of rushed scripting and poor visual character design. Ash is at least always recognisable, but still suffers from some poorly executed renderings that make him look a bit head-melty.
At any rate, it isn't the worst art I've ever seen in a comic and in spite of some pretty major flaws in pacing and the occasional line that really needed an actor's delivery to make it work, this isn't an awful adaptation of a film script. Some of the nods to past films were fun, and there were a few good kills (although the best one was on the amazon preview so I got spoilered). Pretty dumb, definitely goofy, sometimes very poorly translated to the page, but a lot of people get killed with a machete so overall I am happy.
francomega's review
3.0
Better than I thought. Loyal to the characters and this stuff doesn't get better than Ash and Freddy swapping one-liners. Was originally written as a screenplay picking up after the events of the movie "Freddy vs. Jason". And really, this would be a very cool movie.
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