The Darkness: Rebirth Volume 2

The Darkness: Rebirth #2

by David Hine, Jeremy Haun (Illustrator)

"BREAKING DARK" - Jackie Estacado has made a lot of enemies, but he has no idea how powerful the gangster Balakov has become. Without the Darkness at his command, will Jackie be able to protect his family? David Hine (Darkness: Four Horsemen, Bulletproof Coffin) and Jeremy Haun (Artifacts, Detective Comics) question everything you think you know about the Top Cow universe. Collects The Darkness #106-110.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Ebooks, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2013

Reviews

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as part of the Top Cow HumbleBundle. Horror is not on of my favourite genres, but this is ok.

Moral of the story as I see it: if there is a darkness inside you, keep it there. Don’t try to get rid of it, because you will lose control and it will start leading a life its own and then all hell will break lose

[Phil Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first entry. Cant help but feel that I am missing something by starting with the Rebirth series.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the events of Top Cow’s initial Artifacts arc, Jackie Estacado has remade the world to his own liking. That world, however, is falling apart at the seams in a very literal fashion. Having finally succeeded in separating himself from the powers of the darkness, Jackie just wants to spend time with his wife, Jenny, and his daughter. But remaking the world in your own image comes at a cost, and by the end of this installment, Jackie has learned exactly how badly he’s screwed up at playing God.

I am in love with Top Cow’s The Darkness reboot. Gone are the short arcs of ages past that have become the hallmark for most comic storytelling. In its place is a new, truly ongoing story arc, starting with The Darkness 101 and continuing through—and past—this collection of issues. The larger storytelling scale is allowing Hine and Haun to do some truly haunting and dynamic things, and I like that Top Cow has finally cut the PG-13 act and turned the series the way it needs to go...with full-on horror, profanity and the works. It helps to highlight just how far Jackie has come from his 21st birthday, when the Darklings were smartass sidekicks and always a little too comical to be taken seriously. Now, Jackie’s entire world is infected and the readers are being shown a new, darker version of his power.

I wish the reboot of Witchblade was this wonderful of a read, but I have not been able to find any enjoyment in the title since its Rebirth arc kicked off. It has, quite frankly, taken a turn for the ridiculous. Sara Pezzini battling orcs and elves? Uh, no. I wanted to keep reading Witchblade, to see what would happen from both sides of the story when Sara found out the truth about Jackie’s rewriting of the world, of Hope’s origins, and of almost every atom of Sara’s own life. Especially now that the truth is so very very close to coming out. Alas, Top Cow has faltered with Witchblade, so the best I can hope for is a decent crossover for the Big Reveal.

The Darkness, however, I will be eagerly anticipating for months to come.

[✨Jess✨ Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say it all the time but I cannot emphasise enough how much I adore this world, artwork and storytelling.

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie has a family with Jenny and Hope, but their happiness is interrupted by him having to use the Darkness in his dealings with the Bulgarian clans. Jenny warns him that she will leave with the child unless Jackie gets rid of the Darkness completely. Aram helps Jackie through an ordeal that leaves him weak and without the Darkness which manifests in Jackie's image, but without his restraint which leads to some bloody murders. Jackie sends his doppleganger to take care of the Bulgarians while he tries to keep his family together. The Darkness makes matters worse and the talk with the Bulgarian boss, who also has supernatural powers, turns a mob war into a certainty. Jackie's wife is having visions, his daughter, Hope, is being infested by the Darkness and his double is able to face sunlight and infect others with the Darkness. The Bulgarian boss goes for Jackie's family, but is confronted by a Hope that is now fully covered in Darkness. He reveals that Jenny opened up the portal used by the demon that possessed him. Her being alive is unnatural and brings an unbalance in the world which is now crumbling. The Darkness allies with the Bulgarian boss, they lock Jackie up in the basement and it looks like they are holding all the cards.