An Ax to Grind

The Man Eating Bookworm really liked DEAD MAN #2: RING OF KNIVES. He says, in part:

RING OF KNIVES is a terrific sequel to The Dead Man: Face of Evil  and a trip through an insane asylum you won't soon forget. If you're looking for a shock treatment of horror or a dose of suspense, RING OF KNIVES is just what the doctor ordered.

But he does take us to task for not making use of Matt's iconic ax...

If I had to criticize anything, it's the absence of Cahill's axe. In FACE OF EVIL the axe acted as a nice physical representation of what the dead man was all about. Sharp, solid and trustworthy...dependable. It represented Cahill's long family tradition of lumber-men. It was an object of focus after the passing of his wife and in the troubling time after his revival.
At the end of FACE OF EVIL I was left with the impression the axe would be Cahill's primary weapon against the forces of darkness. Instead it was left behind in the trunk of his broken down wreck. It certainly doesn't spoil anything but I sure hope it comes to play a bigger role in future installments.    

Never fear...the ax returns in a big way in DEAD MAN #3.