What do you think?
Rate this book
Hello Darkness #1
Hello Darkness #1
Horror fans rejoice in cadaverous delight, because Hello Darkness is a brand new monthly anthology series featuring what BOOM! Studios is known for – the best in modern Horror, Fantasy, and Mystery, not to mention the darkest stories yet from an all-star cast of creators!
With a spine-tingling lineup of industry legends including Garth Ennis, Becky Cloonan, James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Brian Azzarello, Vanesa R. Del Rey, John Arcudi, Ryan Sook, and more, everything from primal fears to modern political horrors will be awakened, in the classic style of Creepy and Eerie and the contemporary chills of Black Mirror.
Fans can also expect stunning main covers by Paolo Rivera, variant covers by Jenny Frison on every issue, and a guest artist variant on every issue!
In addition, a deadly new Something is Killing the Children story unfolds in the first 6 issues, along with a bone-rattling new serialized tale by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan for the first 7!
With a spine-tingling lineup of industry legends including Garth Ennis, Becky Cloonan, James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Brian Azzarello, Vanesa R. Del Rey, John Arcudi, Ryan Sook, and more, everything from primal fears to modern political horrors will be awakened, in the classic style of Creepy and Eerie and the contemporary chills of Black Mirror.
Fans can also expect stunning main covers by Paolo Rivera, variant covers by Jenny Frison on every issue, and a guest artist variant on every issue!
In addition, a deadly new Something is Killing the Children story unfolds in the first 6 issues, along with a bone-rattling new serialized tale by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan for the first 7!
48 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 24, 2024
43 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,614 books3,159 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 1, 2024
I thought this whole thing was a waste.
To me, a short story should still tell an entire story. <--just faster.
These were mostly snippets, ideas, & partial conversations.
The only story that you could kind of say fit the bill of a story was the one that droned on and on about the Russian/Ukraine war. At least that one had dialogue. It was more a commentary on politics than a horror story but I appreciated the effort after reading the rest of them. At least that author tried.
Even Tynion's Something is Killing the Children story is terrible.
Erica walks into a bar and the bartender tells her something freaky happened. The end.
What?
I guess some people will be pleased to get a glimpse of Erica Slaughter, but I find this sort of lazy writing annoying.
Please don't waste my time, sir.
Thankfully, I got this from the library instead of wasting my money on a copy.
But unless someone tells me that issue #2 is somehow a giant leap forward, I won't even be wasting a Hoopla borrow on the next one.
Not for me.
To me, a short story should still tell an entire story. <--just faster.
These were mostly snippets, ideas, & partial conversations.
The only story that you could kind of say fit the bill of a story was the one that droned on and on about the Russian/Ukraine war. At least that one had dialogue. It was more a commentary on politics than a horror story but I appreciated the effort after reading the rest of them. At least that author tried.
Even Tynion's Something is Killing the Children story is terrible.
Erica walks into a bar and the bartender tells her something freaky happened. The end.
What?
I guess some people will be pleased to get a glimpse of Erica Slaughter, but I find this sort of lazy writing annoying.
Please don't waste my time, sir.
Thankfully, I got this from the library instead of wasting my money on a copy.
But unless someone tells me that issue #2 is somehow a giant leap forward, I won't even be wasting a Hoopla borrow on the next one.
Not for me.
November 2, 2024
3.5
Ongoing Anthology series.
The two ongoing chapter series might be the ones to retain my interest here..
A Monster Hunter Walks into A Bar 1/6.
A Something is killing the children story by James Tynion IV
The War 1/7 by Garth Ennis.
The stories are just glimpses into ideas..the best of those probably Contagious by Jude Ellison S.Doyle.
Ongoing Anthology series.
The two ongoing chapter series might be the ones to retain my interest here..
A Monster Hunter Walks into A Bar 1/6.
A Something is killing the children story by James Tynion IV
The War 1/7 by Garth Ennis.
The stories are just glimpses into ideas..the best of those probably Contagious by Jude Ellison S.Doyle.
July 30, 2024
Reading this I was a bit confused because I was under the assumption this was going to be a spinoff of something is killing the children. Spoiler it’s not, there are seven “horror” stories written by various writers a lot of which weren’t that great.
Unfortunately out of the seven stories in this anthology, I only enjoyed two of the them. The first sorry “Contagious” was really gripping and I just wanted more! The second story I enjoyed was “ A monster hunter walks into a bar” which centers around Erica Slaughter, whom I absolutely adore.
The variant covers are stunning and I’ll definitely be continuing this just to see where it goes!
Unfortunately out of the seven stories in this anthology, I only enjoyed two of the them. The first sorry “Contagious” was really gripping and I just wanted more! The second story I enjoyed was “ A monster hunter walks into a bar” which centers around Erica Slaughter, whom I absolutely adore.
The variant covers are stunning and I’ll definitely be continuing this just to see where it goes!
August 17, 2024
This was a fun inaugural issue. I liked that the writers chose to turn some contemporary events into horror rather than depend solely on some nostalgic past (80s and 90s slashers and the like). “Stay in Your Lane” was particularly fun because of its setting and “The War, part one” held its horror to the *very* end, setting up for the next issue. I can’t wait for the next!
September 11, 2024
Pulp horror sci fi at its most quintessential such a ride new and brutal
September 30, 2024
Solid set of horror stories but most are just decent except the first fucked up one.
September 3, 2024
Overall, I liked this horror anthology. It reminded me of the thick Hitchcock anthology I'd read when I was younger. Looking forward to more of this.
1st story - kind of like a reverse something is killing the children? But it's a little too vague.
2nd story - midlife crisis meets bowling massacre. Straight up horror.
3rd - love SiKtC, so definitely here for an Erica side story.
4th - Siren - too short. Like a 5 second horror rendition of The Little mermaid.
5th - Twilight zone like madness and karma
6th - timely and a real conversation. I'm curious about what the deal is with Nikki and why everybody tiptoes around her. I mean her being pregnant and English speaks for itself within the story's context but it seems like there's something deeper there. It's not like pregnant women can't participate in conversations.
1st story - kind of like a reverse something is killing the children? But it's a little too vague.
2nd story - midlife crisis meets bowling massacre. Straight up horror.
3rd - love SiKtC, so definitely here for an Erica side story.
4th - Siren - too short. Like a 5 second horror rendition of The Little mermaid.
5th - Twilight zone like madness and karma
6th - timely and a real conversation. I'm curious about what the deal is with Nikki and why everybody tiptoes around her. I mean her being pregnant and English speaks for itself within the story's context but it seems like there's something deeper there. It's not like pregnant women can't participate in conversations.
July 25, 2024
EC Comics was revived recently by Oni Press, and today they released their first new horror comics title since the Comics Code Authority nonsense of the 1950s, Epitaphs from the Abyss #1. BOOM! Studios also released a brand new horror anthology comic today called Hello Darkness. I picked up both, and I have to say, BOOM! out-EC'd EC. By a wide margin.
You would think for a first issue, EC would go all out with really strong stories with powerful art. But something went seriously wrong somewhere. The cover looks great, but the stories jumped back and forth from okay to bad. Hello Darkness, on the other hand, pushed some boundaries ("The Foster"), went to weird and unsettling places ("Contagious"), had some humorous commentary ("Stay in Your Lane"), and even ended with a really well-written first part of a longer narrative (by Garth Ennis) that had a compelling cliffhanger ("The War, Part One"). And I was so disappointed that the people behind the EC reboot would flub it so badly and be beaten by a competitor on the same day of their debut. How embarrassing.
The ending note in Hello Darkness also has a paragraph that reads as a direct criticism of the EC comic that I had just read: "This comic book isn't trying to revive or bring back something for the sake of nostalgia. Its aim is to breathe new life and catalyze the next evolution of this timeless format that has excited and entertained readers for generations. Each issue is curated with an immense amount of thought and passion because that's what this format needs and it's what readers deserve."
So goodbye, EC; hello Darkness, my new friend.
You would think for a first issue, EC would go all out with really strong stories with powerful art. But something went seriously wrong somewhere. The cover looks great, but the stories jumped back and forth from okay to bad. Hello Darkness, on the other hand, pushed some boundaries ("The Foster"), went to weird and unsettling places ("Contagious"), had some humorous commentary ("Stay in Your Lane"), and even ended with a really well-written first part of a longer narrative (by Garth Ennis) that had a compelling cliffhanger ("The War, Part One"). And I was so disappointed that the people behind the EC reboot would flub it so badly and be beaten by a competitor on the same day of their debut. How embarrassing.
The ending note in Hello Darkness also has a paragraph that reads as a direct criticism of the EC comic that I had just read: "This comic book isn't trying to revive or bring back something for the sake of nostalgia. Its aim is to breathe new life and catalyze the next evolution of this timeless format that has excited and entertained readers for generations. Each issue is curated with an immense amount of thought and passion because that's what this format needs and it's what readers deserve."
So goodbye, EC; hello Darkness, my new friend.
September 30, 2024
I found out about this graphic novel because of Sarah Andersen, who I follow because of her strips. I knew she had a story in here (The Siren) so I bought it for that. I was not disappointed <3
I have to say I LOVED ALL the stories AND the artwork, so I got the next issue immediately.
I did like that some of the stories were to be continued.
Really looking forward to keeping up with this series.
I have to say I LOVED ALL the stories AND the artwork, so I got the next issue immediately.
I did like that some of the stories were to be continued.
Really looking forward to keeping up with this series.
October 5, 2025
3.5/5
Hello Darkness, Vol. 1 is a horror anthology. We get murderous children, monsters, a hand growing out of a man’s abdomen, a siren, a nuclear war. As is typical with anthologies, you get some good stories and not so good stories. None of these are particularly bad just . . . incomplete? Most of these stories just seem like ideas that the various authors couldn’t flesh out into full comic books.
Kudos for a Something is Killing the Children tie-in.
Hello Darkness, Vol. 1 is a horror anthology. We get murderous children, monsters, a hand growing out of a man’s abdomen, a siren, a nuclear war. As is typical with anthologies, you get some good stories and not so good stories. None of these are particularly bad just . . . incomplete? Most of these stories just seem like ideas that the various authors couldn’t flesh out into full comic books.
Kudos for a Something is Killing the Children tie-in.
August 4, 2024
I thought this was going to be a spinoff of Something is Killing the Children but the comic contains multiple short horror stories. After reading, all I want is more of the first story “Contagious.” That story premise is AMAZING! All the other stories aren’t really worth reading except for Erica Slaughter making an appearance.
November 6, 2025
Didn't care for this at all.
Only ones that were any good was the glimpse in to "Something Is Killing The Children" and "The War".
Disappointing end to my Horror October (probably because I waited till Nov. to start this.
Only ones that were any good was the glimpse in to "Something Is Killing The Children" and "The War".
Disappointing end to my Horror October (probably because I waited till Nov. to start this.
August 18, 2024
This is trash on paper. I wouldnt read the continuation if they paid me for it
August 20, 2024
Very into this format / most of what’s in it.
September 16, 2024
A bunch of horror stories. Nothing too memorable.
February 27, 2025
Bad ASS Stuff
Very cool to see this sort of format with a new fresh breath. The stories are beautiful ! Cfeepy and we’ll written cool artwork.
Very cool to see this sort of format with a new fresh breath. The stories are beautiful ! Cfeepy and we’ll written cool artwork.
April 3, 2025
Eh I only actually read half the stories
April 29, 2025
2.5 stars
June 23, 2025
Aunque sufre la inconsistencia de toda antología, me cerró la boca con la terrible THE WAR de Garth Ennis.
July 24, 2025
Anthology horror at its best. Ends on a cliff hanger so I have to read vol 2. 👍
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews