Can Jackie begin to get his life back?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“THE AGE OF REASON,” Part One
Jackie Estacado is no longer lord over The Darkness. His Doppelganger has usurped his place at the head of his crime organization and his daughter Hope is quickly maturing and growing in her abilities to inherit the Darkness power for herself. Jump on board in the first part of this special, oversized issue of The Darkness that unveils the horrors that come to life when Hope’s nightmares are allowed to roam free.

If there’s one thing that can be said about this run, the title has endured one interesting twist after another as this team charts a course that seems familiar.  Initially our head Mafia man was trying to rid himself of the evil within but there have been quite a few twists along the way and guess what? It all has been leading to this point.

David Hine delivers two stories in this mammoth release and both of them are compelling for different reasons.  In the main feature we see our hero attempt to take control of his life with the help of Aram with some shocking results that lead this world into more bleak circumstances.  The second yarn focuses on how this ally came upon Balakov‘s heart and in this tale we get to know a bit more about a cryptic character.  Both of these journeys are good on their own but as a whole it left me wanting more content from both.

Jeremy Haun continues his run as series artist as he lavishly creates the main feature in detail.  Laura Braga steps in for the back up jaunt and her style may be different from what fans have come to expect but her elegant strokes do more than enough to nail the character of the narrative.  Overall both talents bring enough to the table to sate the appetite of even the most devoted followers.

The Darkness #114 is a strong release that maintains the quality of the series as it earns a recommendation.

4.5/5