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The Complete Darkness #2
The Complete Darkness Volume 2
Jackie Estacado puts his house in order and assumes control of his life with the Darkness. Jackie's family life in the Franchettis is thrown into upheaval when his uncle Cristo and Cousin Nicoletta return and bring old feuds with them. Then he discovers he has a twin sister he never knew right before the Angelus and Sonatine return for a climactic showdown. Family feuds, a mysterious town called Wyrmwood, and being hunted by Ripclaw. All this and more, gorgeously rendered and assembled in this second volume of absolute collected editions.
Collects DARKNESS #19-40, WITCHBLADE #36, WITCHBLADE/DARKNESS 9;, WITCHBLADE/DARKNESS #1, DARKNESS/WITCHBLADE #1, DARKNESS 9; story 2
Collects DARKNESS #19-40, WITCHBLADE #36, WITCHBLADE/DARKNESS 9;, WITCHBLADE/DARKNESS #1, DARKNESS/WITCHBLADE #1, DARKNESS 9; story 2
688 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2021
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About the author
Marc Silvestri
605 books68 followersMarc Silvestri is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He currently acts as the CEO for Top Cow Productions.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 22, 2021
Jackie Estacado is a bastard, an orphan, a Mafia Hit man and his uncle is a big person in organised crime and Jackie is also the wielder of the Darkness, an agent of Chaos. The Darkness being part of the trio of supernatural weapons the others being the Witchblade (Sara Penzini in this book) and the Angelus.
The Angelus wants to kill the Darkness being the opposite force and the Witchblade and Jackie have found their balance with each other.
In this collection everybody wants to kill either Jackie of the Darkness of both, and they put a lot of effort into it. Jackie gets to know his powers and find goodness in his heart while still being one of the most efficient coldblooded killers around. He has to find his role in live while balancing his loyalty to his uncle, best friend Jenny from the orphanage where they both were raised. He also finds he has a twin sister who is also carrier of a slight bit of the Darkness. When Jackie goes into the witness protection scheme of the government his uncle wants him and everything involved dead.
This is highly dark and fantasy full collection of stories about the Darkness, whose darklings are the funny note to the stories if you are into dark humour. I still enjoy this mystical creation in our modern times. Together with a lot of characters who travel between their own titles and the Witchblade they made a lot of good reading and the drawings were quite sensational too, sure a bit over the top but that is what happens in fantasy comics. The men and women look unearthly gorgeous and it fits the story.
These comics were released in my younger years and I still enjoy them a lot, even if the Darkness now surpassed my original reading them as they stopped releasing them in my neck of the woods. So I finally get to read the later stories of Jackie the Darkness.
The Angelus wants to kill the Darkness being the opposite force and the Witchblade and Jackie have found their balance with each other.
In this collection everybody wants to kill either Jackie of the Darkness of both, and they put a lot of effort into it. Jackie gets to know his powers and find goodness in his heart while still being one of the most efficient coldblooded killers around. He has to find his role in live while balancing his loyalty to his uncle, best friend Jenny from the orphanage where they both were raised. He also finds he has a twin sister who is also carrier of a slight bit of the Darkness. When Jackie goes into the witness protection scheme of the government his uncle wants him and everything involved dead.
This is highly dark and fantasy full collection of stories about the Darkness, whose darklings are the funny note to the stories if you are into dark humour. I still enjoy this mystical creation in our modern times. Together with a lot of characters who travel between their own titles and the Witchblade they made a lot of good reading and the drawings were quite sensational too, sure a bit over the top but that is what happens in fantasy comics. The men and women look unearthly gorgeous and it fits the story.
These comics were released in my younger years and I still enjoy them a lot, even if the Darkness now surpassed my original reading them as they stopped releasing them in my neck of the woods. So I finally get to read the later stories of Jackie the Darkness.
August 15, 2025
The Complete Darkness Volume 2 presents a somewhat divided reading experience. The first half is a surprisingly entertaining ride, despite its flaws. It's a bit dumb and has some really oversexualized elements, but it does a good job of leaning into Jackie Estacado's despicable nature. The story is at its best when it's exploring the chaos and upheaval of his life, from the family feuds with his uncle Cristo and cousin Nicoletta to the bizarre introduction of his long-lost twin sister. The appreciation for Jackie as a very flawed and despicable main character who is sticking with his path is something to be valued here.
Unfortunately, the quality takes a significant nosedive in the latter half of the volume, a change that coincides with Scott Lobdell's run on the book. This is where it gets really hard to give a shit about the storyline. While some of the returning enemies like the Angelus and the cunning Sonatine reappear for a climatic showdown, the excessive and often nonsensical dialogue undercuts the impact of these events. The writing just isn't worth a damn, making it a real slog to get through. It feels like the narrative loses its footing, and the momentum from the earlier, more entertaining issues is completely lost.
The one major saving grace of this volume is the very final issue, which marks the beginning of Paul Jenkins' run. This single issue is ten times better than the preceding material. It offers a glimpse of a much more promising direction for the series, with a quality of storytelling that is a breath of fresh air. It's this bright spot that ultimately prevents the volume from being a complete write-off. For the fun of the first half and the hope provided by the very last issue, I will generously give this a rating of 3 out of 5.
Unfortunately, the quality takes a significant nosedive in the latter half of the volume, a change that coincides with Scott Lobdell's run on the book. This is where it gets really hard to give a shit about the storyline. While some of the returning enemies like the Angelus and the cunning Sonatine reappear for a climatic showdown, the excessive and often nonsensical dialogue undercuts the impact of these events. The writing just isn't worth a damn, making it a real slog to get through. It feels like the narrative loses its footing, and the momentum from the earlier, more entertaining issues is completely lost.
The one major saving grace of this volume is the very final issue, which marks the beginning of Paul Jenkins' run. This single issue is ten times better than the preceding material. It offers a glimpse of a much more promising direction for the series, with a quality of storytelling that is a breath of fresh air. It's this bright spot that ultimately prevents the volume from being a complete write-off. For the fun of the first half and the hope provided by the very last issue, I will generously give this a rating of 3 out of 5.
January 2, 2023
Very good second volume of this comic collection.
An interesting and nicely-produced volume - until the artists were changed towards the end. There's much more about Jackie's development and background with plenty of Darkness action inevitably.
It's fun and enjoyable but, as with many comic titles, is less entertaining when the better artists sign off on the title. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
An interesting and nicely-produced volume - until the artists were changed towards the end. There's much more about Jackie's development and background with plenty of Darkness action inevitably.
It's fun and enjoyable but, as with many comic titles, is less entertaining when the better artists sign off on the title. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 21, 2022
This was a fun followup to volume 1 that expanded on the world of the darkness and gives further background into the estacado family. If you enjoyed volume 1 then you know what to expect here. Hopefully we get a volume 3.
May 24, 2025
(Zero spoiler review)
A trope of my reviews is to say that poorly written, puerile nonsense seems as though it was the fledgling 'writing' of an incompetent fourteen year old. Well, never has that been more of the case than with The Darkness 2.
I started to read volume 1 a few years ago and quickly cast it aside. For some reason, namely seeing this book heavily discounted, I decided round 2 seemed like a fruitful endeavour. Nope! Wrong again.
Incompetent would have been an improvement on these utterly galling and unforgiveable 'stories'.
I did appreciate the emphasis on the overtly sexual though. They may not have been able to write a compelling story worth a damn, but at least they could give their fellow fourteen year old's what they wanted. A bit of eye candy to make up for the lack of anything worth reading. Just call me your modern day comic's Justin Timberlake. Bringing sexy back one awful comic at a time. 1/5
OmniBen.
A trope of my reviews is to say that poorly written, puerile nonsense seems as though it was the fledgling 'writing' of an incompetent fourteen year old. Well, never has that been more of the case than with The Darkness 2.
I started to read volume 1 a few years ago and quickly cast it aside. For some reason, namely seeing this book heavily discounted, I decided round 2 seemed like a fruitful endeavour. Nope! Wrong again.
Incompetent would have been an improvement on these utterly galling and unforgiveable 'stories'.
I did appreciate the emphasis on the overtly sexual though. They may not have been able to write a compelling story worth a damn, but at least they could give their fellow fourteen year old's what they wanted. A bit of eye candy to make up for the lack of anything worth reading. Just call me your modern day comic's Justin Timberlake. Bringing sexy back one awful comic at a time. 1/5
OmniBen.
November 2, 2022
Overall this was good and well written. My issue with The Darkness as a whole now is that it is sometimes over the top for over the top's sake and that gets a bit tiring from time to time. Still this volume has a great third act, even if the first two are muddled with Witchblade crossovers.
August 17, 2022
Really leaning into the creepy horniness, huh? Simultaneously too convoluted in its mythology and also too shallow to dig into.
November 29, 2023
I just didn’t find it well written and it was offensive. It seemed to poor mashup of spawn, the boys and preacher.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews