Release: December 2025 | Writer: Marc Silvestri | Penciler: Ed Benes | Inker: Sal Regla, Matt Banning & Jon Livesay | Letterer: Troy Peteri
THE DARKNESS
A series that transcended everyone’s expectations, selling thousands of copies and going to multiple reprints when it first came out. This success helped propel the character into the world of video games at one point as well. But over recent years, this series sadly joined Witchblade as a relic of the 1990s and 2000s. That was until Top Cow made a huge announcement that they were bringing back Witchblade with a new ongoing series in 2024. Reimagining the world of Witchblade through a new creative team and modern lenses was a tremendous idea.
And it was a hit.
The world of Witchblade grew quickly, reintroducing the characters everyone loved and introducing new characters into the mix as well. So, when Jackie Estacado appeared in Witchblade #7 (2025), it was only a matter of time before The Darkness would return. And he finally has!
As a person who recently read The Darkness #1 (1996) very recently, it was a phenomenal book that set up years and years of lore and entertainment. Which made me think, how could Top Cow take that entire history. improve on it and retell it for a new audience?
Lightning Strikes!
We see what The Darkness can do to an individual firsthand in the opening pages. A man is facing shadowy figures head-on, who are begging him to stop while he’s being… intertwined with a woman, for lack of a better term. Without hesitation, at the climax of this situation, he’s interrupted by a bald, tattooed individual who presumably has been trying to find this man in bed. The man in bed, still with the woman, tells the bald onlooker that he’s creating a better man than him and wishes the bald man luck—before suddenly turning into a withered, dead body in an instant.
The visualization of this body horror is shocking, especially if you don’t yet know what could kill the entity known as The Darkness when it’s inside you (which will be revealed later in this review). Seeing his face melt away slowly is something you only see in nightmares.
And that’s what happens when we see a young Jackie Estacado waking up in a panicked scream. Jackie is a young child at a foster home, haunted not only by nightmares but also by the other boys living with him. What gets him through his time here is a girl named Jenny—a no-nonsense young girl who becomes his closest friend.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something dark is within Jackie, even at this young age, as he beats kids to a bloody pulp for harassing Jenny.
When the priest tries to pull Jackie off, Jackie bites the priest’s hand. A child this rabid is only going to end up in a life of crime with the Franchetti mob family. Cut to modern-day Jackie as he lays in bed with a woman. As the Franchettis’ heaviest hitter, Jackie is tasked with doing a job for his family: killing a mole in the organization who’s been talking to the Russians.
Jackie has a dominating presence in this issue. His appearances in recent Witchblade entries have shown this as well, but there’s something about him in this book where he’s oozing with power—literally and figuratively. His brutal way of taking out moles and traitors in the family has landed the Franchettis in hot water with the Russians.
After some… interesting expletives are exchanged between Mr. Franchetti and the Russian mob leader Novikov, war has been set in motion. Shots ring out at Jackie and Mr. Franchetti’s men in retaliation, as lead detective Sarah Pezzini, the wielder of the Witchblade, watches. She knows something is different about Jackie, so she’s been scoping him out.
Relationship Problems
Even though it’s his 21st birthday and it’s already started with bloodshed, Jackie visits a local bar, ordering his usual club soda. Of course, a man who loves to please the women around him doesn’t just order a drink for himself, but for two other women at the bar as well. Jokingly retorting back at him with her sense of humor, his childhood friend Jenny reluctantly obliges, as she’s the bartender here. She demonstrates how she still cares for Jackie by wishing him a happy birthday—a kind gesture to a man she obviously cares about, even though he’s become a womanizing mob hitman who struggles to keep his pants on.
Living up to his expectations, Jackie successfully brings a woman home from the bar and has her join him in bed. As they’re doing the deed, he begins literally leaking from every orifice on his face. His fearful eyes, nose, and mouth are all pouring out black ooze.
It’s at this moment we’re reintroduced to the bald, tattooed man from the beginning of the book—his name is Sonatine. Sonatine knows that Jackie will be obtaining the power of The Darkness on this very night, but not without the potential interference of The Angelus.
The Angelus are looking to finally kill the entity known as The Darkness, which they’ve been trying to destroy for at least 200 years. This almost becomes a reality as they come very close to succeeding. They’re stopped not only by Sonatine’s soldiers, who are fighting to protect Jackie, but also by Jackie himself, who becomes enveloped by The Darkness to defend himself and stay alive.
The battle rages on, and even though Jackie survives, he wakes up in a dumpster outside the same bar where Jenny works. As she lets him in, Jackie asks for a whiskey. Surprisingly, this drink is paid for by The Angelus, who is in civilian clothes. She tries her hardest to lure Jackie with sex to kill The Darkness, but Sonatine arrives to put an end to that. Jackie attempts to shoo both away so they stop annoying him. After revealing that the man from the beginning of the book was Jackie’s father—someone both of these people personally knew—Sonatine gives Jackie his business card, not without warning him that The Angelus will stop at nothing to kill him and Jenny. Sonatine drops the news to Jackie that if he has sex, The Darkness WILL die, along with himself.
Before this issue comes to an end, Jackie is alerted that his mob family is in trouble. The Russians have retaliated in a deadly way. Members of the family are not only missing, but Jackie’s uncle, Mr. Franchetti, is in critical condition. There’s only one thing to do to save his Mafia family from demise: accept The Darkness and use it to his advantage—with the help of his Darklings.
The Art of The Darkness
Let’s talk about the art in this issue: the work by Ed Benes and all three inkers is top-notch. The Darkness has always been known for its spectacular art and this relaunch is no different. I’m a fan of unique art that doesn’t look like anything else on the shelves currently, and this is one of those books. It’s always refreshing to see a 2025 story with art that could easily be slotted alongside ’90s comics. There’s a charm about that era’s art at its peak that resonates with me, and this issue encapsulates all that brutality and sex appeal you'd expect from a Darkness story.
Conclusion
That was The Darkness #1! The writing in this issue by the legendary Marc Silvestri is phenomenal. Everything flows well, and every character has their own unique voice. There’s a sense of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” when it comes to this story. It takes all the good from the original Darkness #1 and adds layers to it. Seeing Jackie as a kid early on is huge for his character development, as well as showing the implications of what happens to your body when the Darkness dies when having sex.
I’ve always thought the idea of a womanizing sex addict being forced to abstain—or die—was an interesting story concept.
The Darkness has easily set up a fun story that’s very promising to provide entertainment for as long as it lasts. 2026 is going to be a great year for The Darkness and Top Cow as a whole: action, gore, sex, Mafia drama, demonic beings, and seductive angels. What DOESN’T this story have?!
Absolute home run of a first issue.
Overall: 8/10