The Dynamite Report #10: The DIE!namite Gang Rides Again
Welcome back to The Dynamite Report! Last fall, Dynamite launched a bold new endeavor when they premiered the first installment in their DIE!namite crossover miniseries, which pit several of their best known characters against a zombie horde spanning the entire multiverse. Over the course of five issues, this ravenous army of the undead encountered the likes of Vampirella, Red Sonja, Project Superpowers, and even John Carter of Mars. By the time the series reached its cliffhanger ending, a possessed Sonja had become the horde’s new leader, setting the stage for even more high-stakes battles to come.
Thus begins Dynamite’s impending follow-up, DIE!namite Lives. The new series reunites the creative team of writer Fred Van Lente and artist Vincenzo Carratu. And who better to join the ongoing zombie bloodbath than Army of Darkness star Ash Williams? Armed with his trusty chainsaw and boomstick, Ash is bound to find himself at odds with Sonja and her zombie horde. To get an idea of what to expect from their new adventure, we caught up with Van Lente himself. Check out what he had to tell us below!
How long were you thinking about a DIE!namite sequel? The ending of the original series made it seem like a follow-up was planned from the very beginning.
Fred Van Lente: Yeah, we got the greenlight to go to a second season pretty early on in the writing of the first, which really took the pressure off me. I could bring the major threads of the first series to a close while still having plenty ready to go for the second.
You’ve teased that the new series has a much bigger scope compared to its predecessor. What have been some of the challenges in expanding the story’s parameters?
Having done about half of the second season already, I will say the challenge is that each time I come up with a cool idea, that spawns three or four more cool ideas, and at a certain point you run out of runway to expand everything you want to. For the readers’ sake and mine, fingers crossed for a third season! Everyone who’s reading this, buy multiple copies!
DIE!namite memorably ended with Red Sonja becoming the evil leader of a zombie army. Are she and her minions going to be the only threats in DIE!namite Lives?
No, great question! In fact, once you see who the US government recruits to fight her from Dynamite’s stable, you may think she’s not even the biggest threat… [laughs evilly]
How exactly did Ash enter the picture? Has it been fun to come up with new one-liners for him?
So much fun! I love Bruce Campbell in all his many cinematic incarnations (can we get a mini for the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills from Escape from LA?), and Army of Darkness is one of my all-time favorites. Ash is this guy, you know? But zombies always seem to find him, no matter where he goes or what he’s doing. And he’s a little sick of it. So at the opening of our tale he would really rather somebody else solve the apocalypse, for once.
Given his vendetta against the undead, it seems like Sonja will be Ash’s primary target. Will he come to blows with any of the series’ other heroes over her fate?
Yes, very much so. Particularly because some of our heroes think the final solution to the zombie problem may have to do with a certain book of evil that Ash doesn’t think anyone should have anything to do with.
Project Superpowers took their own share of hits in the last story. How can we expect them to recover from their losses this time around?
Let’s just say I already hinted at the involvement of other members of Project Superpowers we haven’t seen yet earlier in my answers…
What makes artist Vincenzo Carratu a good collaborator on stories like these?
He really does a great job with character, and gory action, and the first sequence he’s turned in revolves around Ash, and Campbell fans are just going to lose their minds. I mean it’s incredible, what he’s done. Equally parts horrific and hilarious.
Is it too early to be thinking about a third installment in the DIE!namite saga? If not, are there any new characters on your wishlist for another sequel?
Let’s see if anyone survives this installment! But yeah, a third series would be great. Let’s hope it happens.
DIE!namite Lives #1 will hit comic book shops this June. You can take view five different covers and several pages of interior artwork in the gallery below.
Are you excited to see what Ash brings to the DIE!namite saga? Let us know in the comment section!
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The Dynamite Report #10: The DIE!namite Gang Rides Again
DIE!namite Lives! #1 Cover by Lucio Parrillo
DIE!namite Lives! #1 Cover by Arthur Suydam
DIE!namite Lives! #1 Cover by Dave Acosta
DIE!namite Lives! #1 Cover by Joseph Michael Linsner
