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Darkness Visible (single issue)
Darkness Visible
When the demons came, humanity reluctantly learned to share the world with another sentient race. Sixty years later, this uneasy co-existence has spawned an endless terrorist conflict. Detective Daniel Aston, charged with being the thin blue line between the two sides, is tested to the limit when a demon sets up house inside his soul. But to save his daughter, he’ll pay any price—including genocide. Collects issues #1-6.
152 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2017
8 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Mike Carey
1,267 books2,972 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.
Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.
Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 11, 2020
The series starts off very strong. Setup is a world where demons came and bonded with humans during World War II to help end the war and now there are demons walking the earth bonded with humans in present day London. The main character is a police officer tasked with keeping the demons in line as they pretty much run all crime nowadays. The book gets sidetracked though midway through, telling lots of histories and backstories. That would be fine if this was an ongoing book. However, the last issue was published in 2017 and the book ends midstory without resolving anything. The story is just getting back on track as the story ends. Some poor planning indeed. It's the reason I knocked a star off the book, for IDW only publishing part of a story.
October 26, 2018
I'm giving Mike Carey the benefit of the doubt on this a bit - I'd rank it as a solid 3.5, but I'm rounding it up. Mainly on the basis of the world-building, which is fascinating here. During World War II, 'demons' that require a willing human host join with the Allies to end the war early, and now are a nation. The 80 years of history that this has impacted makes for a strong background behind an otherwise fairly pedestrian story about a cop who gets forced into a relationship with a criminal to stop a gang leader. There's a lot more to it, and it works well in the world they built (and the art is very well done, with the Shaitan creatures being distinctive and memorable. Gloriana in particular is a memorable creation I've not seen before). I particularly loved Veer's back story, which explores an aspect of the situation that doesn't play prominently into the main plot, but is very powerful on its own.
So the plot is the weakest part of this first volume, but I'll give it somewhat of a pass because it is a volume 1 that did a lot of world building. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next volume offers.
So the plot is the weakest part of this first volume, but I'll give it somewhat of a pass because it is a volume 1 that did a lot of world building. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next volume offers.
October 20, 2017
This was an interesting, ok read that I finished up just in-time for Halloween. It is one of those "humans and monsters need to co-exist" type of fictions. It's pretty much Tokyo Ghoul, but in London. I liked Tokyo Ghoul's anime adaption a lot. I like this too, but it is definitely not as good. Still it is good enough for me to follow-up with when the series resumes in November. Oh and the title, once again folks still want to purposely mis-read Paradise Lost. Oh, artwork is gorgeous: I almost gave it four-stars for that. (And I still might.)
June 16, 2021
Mixing alternate history and fantasy, this book lives up to the lovely cover. It starts back in WWII when we ended up winning the war by letting another being called the Shaitan possess/take over our bodies. This was strictly volunteer but in return the weak would be strong, the sick would be well, the handicap would be sturdy. At least that is what is believed on the outside but inside dark secrets lurk. As time passes there is an inner battle among the believers and non-believers, monsters vs humans, half-breeds against pure-bloods. In the middle of all this is a detective whose soul gets possessed only to save the one thing on earth he truly loves... his daughter.
I really enjoyed this story. It had great artwork to go along with it. Here's hoping that volume 2 comes out soon.
I really enjoyed this story. It had great artwork to go along with it. Here's hoping that volume 2 comes out soon.
May 31, 2020
Peaks early and the last two volumes are a drag. Too bad!
September 27, 2020
Nice beginning
Nice beginning to an interesting take on demonic possession. Detective noir with supernatural(demonic) undertones hope there is more to come.
Nice beginning to an interesting take on demonic possession. Detective noir with supernatural(demonic) undertones hope there is more to come.
July 10, 2018
Eh, this was ok, I suppose.
The writing is choppy, lacking natural flow.
The plot should be interesting but the execution keeps it lackluster.
The art is standard comic book illustration except for the two chapters that look incredibly amateur and offputting.
I won't be continuing this series.
The writing is choppy, lacking natural flow.
The plot should be interesting but the execution keeps it lackluster.
The art is standard comic book illustration except for the two chapters that look incredibly amateur and offputting.
I won't be continuing this series.
Read
June 15, 2019Darkness Visible: Volume 1 collects together the first six issues of the ongoing Darkness Visible series, a story that establishes the world and characters of the book, giving readers a solid basis for future issues.
When Detective Daniel Ashton and his daughter are almost killed, he unknowingly makes a deal with a demonic criminal in order to help save his daughter’s life. Whilst this in itself would be a dramatic turn of events for most stories, here it’s used not just as a story of a man fighting a corruption of his soul, but also explores racism and xenophobia, the fear of the other, and the assumption that every member of a certain group is a terrorist.
This is perhaps one of the best things about Darkness Visible; it’s not just a story about demons living in the real world, it uses so much of what’s happening in the world today as a part of it’s universe. It addresses the fact that Shaitan are seen as an outside force that is ‘taking over’ the way of life. Even without reading the interview included at the start of the book with the writers, it’s clear that this is an allegory for the world of today, for the Trump-era and the Brexitiers, fearing anything different.
The book manages to entwine these real world fears and notions into a very fantastic tale, a world with warring demon factions that are fighting to be the first to gain control of a mystical artifact referred to as ‘the lamp’. By the end of the book we still don’t know what the lamp is, why it’s being sought out, or even where the book will head next. It manages to keep the progression a mystery by staying clear of tropes and forging its own identity instead.
Much of this first volume is about that, the world building. Two of the six issues within the book are actually flashback issues, one which shows the origin of the alliance between the human and the Shaitan during World War Two, and the other exploring how one of the characters joined with a Shaitan during the 1970’s (though I’m not mentioning which character as it’s a twist you won’t want spoiling).
These two flashback issues are the two standouts of the book for myself. They have a different art style to the rest of the book, and act as a refreshing break to the main story. Most importantly, however, they manage to show you a lot of the important details and history of this bizarre world we’re reading about, which is much more preferable to simply having a character just tell us it instead.
By the end of Darkness Visible I found myself not only invested in the characters, but genuinely intrigued by the world being created. I wanted to know more, not just about what would be happening next, but also more about the history of the world and how the presence of the Shaitan altered their historical events.
With snappy dialogue and some incredible artwork, the book will be a quick read for most, with the story and development driving you forward, eager to experience more. Having now completed Volume 1, I’m eagerly awaiting the next chapter of this universe.
When Detective Daniel Ashton and his daughter are almost killed, he unknowingly makes a deal with a demonic criminal in order to help save his daughter’s life. Whilst this in itself would be a dramatic turn of events for most stories, here it’s used not just as a story of a man fighting a corruption of his soul, but also explores racism and xenophobia, the fear of the other, and the assumption that every member of a certain group is a terrorist.
This is perhaps one of the best things about Darkness Visible; it’s not just a story about demons living in the real world, it uses so much of what’s happening in the world today as a part of it’s universe. It addresses the fact that Shaitan are seen as an outside force that is ‘taking over’ the way of life. Even without reading the interview included at the start of the book with the writers, it’s clear that this is an allegory for the world of today, for the Trump-era and the Brexitiers, fearing anything different.
The book manages to entwine these real world fears and notions into a very fantastic tale, a world with warring demon factions that are fighting to be the first to gain control of a mystical artifact referred to as ‘the lamp’. By the end of the book we still don’t know what the lamp is, why it’s being sought out, or even where the book will head next. It manages to keep the progression a mystery by staying clear of tropes and forging its own identity instead.
Much of this first volume is about that, the world building. Two of the six issues within the book are actually flashback issues, one which shows the origin of the alliance between the human and the Shaitan during World War Two, and the other exploring how one of the characters joined with a Shaitan during the 1970’s (though I’m not mentioning which character as it’s a twist you won’t want spoiling).
These two flashback issues are the two standouts of the book for myself. They have a different art style to the rest of the book, and act as a refreshing break to the main story. Most importantly, however, they manage to show you a lot of the important details and history of this bizarre world we’re reading about, which is much more preferable to simply having a character just tell us it instead.
By the end of Darkness Visible I found myself not only invested in the characters, but genuinely intrigued by the world being created. I wanted to know more, not just about what would be happening next, but also more about the history of the world and how the presence of the Shaitan altered their historical events.
With snappy dialogue and some incredible artwork, the book will be a quick read for most, with the story and development driving you forward, eager to experience more. Having now completed Volume 1, I’m eagerly awaiting the next chapter of this universe.
June 23, 2020
I initially picked this up for the cool looking demon on the cover and after reading the synopsis I was ready to give this comic a shot. The plot can be broken down to a demon possession story with a couple twists. The demons in this world need human hosts and you can probably deduce where the story could go. I personally love this story idea, but the execution left much to be desired. Chapter 1's writing is a bit choppy and you're thrown into this world without much context. Now, I do stand by the theory of "less is more" but some context would have made the beginning a little less disorienting.
Chapter 3 and 6 have the opposite problem. The entire third chapter is exposition and is pretty much pointless plot wise. It explains where the demons came from but that could have been cleverly sprinkled in throughout the story. The final chapter, Chapter 6, is similar though not as pointless. Ultimately, both chapters make the story line come to a halt and you're left bored for thirty pages or so before you get back to the action. Also, the art in these chapters was just not for me and was jarringly out of place, which, is a shame. The rest of the chapters have beautiful art and unique character designs for the demons.
I won't say this is a bad comic but I wished the story had picked up a little sooner. I did eventually become invested around chapter 4 just to have the story take a detour toward the end. I'm pretty sure this comic was dropped and probably won't get any more issues. Knowing that, I would suggest skipping this comic. This volume ends mid-plot and without the conclusion I would say this one would be a waste of your time.
Chapter 3 and 6 have the opposite problem. The entire third chapter is exposition and is pretty much pointless plot wise. It explains where the demons came from but that could have been cleverly sprinkled in throughout the story. The final chapter, Chapter 6, is similar though not as pointless. Ultimately, both chapters make the story line come to a halt and you're left bored for thirty pages or so before you get back to the action. Also, the art in these chapters was just not for me and was jarringly out of place, which, is a shame. The rest of the chapters have beautiful art and unique character designs for the demons.
I won't say this is a bad comic but I wished the story had picked up a little sooner. I did eventually become invested around chapter 4 just to have the story take a detour toward the end. I'm pretty sure this comic was dropped and probably won't get any more issues. Knowing that, I would suggest skipping this comic. This volume ends mid-plot and without the conclusion I would say this one would be a waste of your time.
December 15, 2025
At the end, it says "to be continued," but that was eight years ago and it doesn't look like there's been any follow-up since. This isn't terrible--a story about "demons" who merge with human beings, making the resulting combination stronger and often with unusual powers. There's a flashback to the demons offering to assist England's effort in World War II. Winston Churchill doesn't want the help, given the cost, but the alternative is for the demon queen to head to Nazi Germany. Now, postwar, demons are crime lords and such and some shadowy groups are doing what they can to monitor them, in case they should ever declare war on humanity. In the midst of all this, a police detective is tasked with tracking down a local crime lord, thus setting the wheels in motion. The art isn't bad and the story isn't bad, either. So why was this never finished?
abandoned
October 3, 2019The introduction specifies Luther as an influence, and it shows – the criminals being bad because that's what criminals do rather than for any coherent goal, the contradictions from scene to scene over whether they want to draw attention, the big stompy cop playing out a fifth generation photocopy of maverick policing, are all present and correct. Except here you have demons living on Earth too, although apart from one cool bit of body horror in the opening scene they're very boring-looking demons, like the also-rans in Buffy, so it's Luther meets Bright! For which I'm sure there's a market, but I'm very much not it.
October 29, 2017
The first two issues completely captivated me. The characters and dialog crackled, the setting was rich and full of little hints of how we got to here, and I loved the art style throughout. Unfortunately, the momentum of the series gets trashed by issue three (a look at World War II's alternate outcome), and again in issue six (the origin of one of the more interesting characters). Though they were both well-crafted, they took me out of what should have been the story of Detective Aston, and made this first run of Darkness Visible seem like it meandered and ran out of steam.
January 28, 2021
2.5
Interesting storyline that keeps building this into something unique and over the top. Mike Carey shows his craft at world building and the pace is somewhat odd considering the page length.
Why the 2.5?
This is half a story. It probably won't finish and it's a shame. I wanted to know what happens and if I hadn't purchased the floppies back in 2016 I would be annoyed.
Interesting storyline that keeps building this into something unique and over the top. Mike Carey shows his craft at world building and the pace is somewhat odd considering the page length.
Why the 2.5?
This is half a story. It probably won't finish and it's a shame. I wanted to know what happens and if I hadn't purchased the floppies back in 2016 I would be annoyed.
October 4, 2025
Mike Carey and his collaborators create a fascinating world by blending crime, horror, and alternate history. This is also a tale that takes the demonic possession dynamic found in a lot of horror stories and adds some new fun spins. There's also an element of body horror as well. Only real fault of the story is it's mostly table setting. No huge payoff yet.
October 25, 2017
I loved it. I did think that it was a self contained story but apparently it is to be continued. It did end rather abruptly but the premise was great and so were the characters. Looking forward to volume 2. 5 stars.
March 17, 2019
This isn't necessarily my kind of thing, but the excellent writing dragged me in. Fantastic characterisation and detailed worldbuilding in just a few strokes, with some intriguing politics. And then... that's it? It wasn't continued? What a missed opportunity!
January 17, 2024
I could not find the 'Darkness Visible' book that I listened to on Audible. It was a 'devil's proposition' type of book with Winston Churchill. I did not really care for it but finished it since it was a less-than-one-hour listen.
June 6, 2024
Interesting take on an alternate timeline story. It wasn't bad, but it left me hanging. I would have liked a second volume.
August 30, 2024
This series of issues downplays the art to make room for the huge world-building involced here, in so few pages. I love it.
June 8, 2019
It's a shame this story didn't continue. While it wasn't the best story I've read, the premise could probably be taken pretty far. The theme of racism is also a big part of this story and it would've been interesting to see how it was handled in later issues. Alas, it was not meant to be.
December 25, 2025
Good idea, poor execution. Maybe they will get a better editor for volume 2 and tidy up the serrated edges.
2.8✨
2.8✨
May 1, 2017
Pretty decent start! Demonic hosts, crime syndicates and resurrection. A good mystery indeed!
April 11, 2018
Slow pacing, but by the end of the volume I really started to buy the premise.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews