Writer and Image Comics CEO Marc Silvestri will return to the series he created in 1996, The Darkness, with plans for what he terms “an explosive new era” in the saga of cursed hitman Jackie Estacado. The first issue of the ongoing series, part of the Top Cow Universe, will be penciled by Ed Benes with inks by Matt “Batt!” Banning, Sal Regla, and John Livesay, colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Troy Peteri. Gunslinger Spawn artist Raymond Gay will take over on interior pencils with issue #2.
“This isn’t just a nostalgia trip—it’s a reinvention,” Silvestri said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We’re going back to what made The Darkness such a hit: its grit, its danger, its sense that power always comes with a price. But this time, we’re turning everything up to eleven. Jackie’s world is going to expand in ways readers never expected.”
Image will publish The Darkness (2025) #1 on December 10, 2025, with covers by Silvestri and Prianto, Benes and Prianto, David Mack, a 1:10 incentive variant by Benes and Prianto, a 1:25 variant by Mack, a 1:50 variant by Silvestri and Prianto, a 1:100 variant by Benes, a 1:250 black and white with no trade dress by Silvestri, a 1:500 black and white with no trade dress signed by Silvestri, and a 1:1000 original art sketch by Silvestri.
The Darkness was created by Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl in 1996 and ran for 25 issues. It was revived several times after that (see “‘The Darkness’ Falls Again”) and was also adapted into two video games (see “‘The Darkness II’ Follows Million Seller”).
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Source: ICv2
