Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Ales Kot

Artist: Maro Oleksicki

Release Date: 4th June 2014

Much like this week’s Witchblade #175, The Darkness: Close Your Eyes is being promoted by Top Cow as new reader-friendly. Similarly, it’s not entirely the truth, but where it differs from Witchblade is it’s also an excellent comic in it’s own right.

Set 100 years back in the oil fields of California, the one-shot tells the story of future Darkness-host Jackie Estacado’s ancestor, Adelmo Estacado.

A child of rape, Adelmo’s life is a daily struggle, both to survive and contain the violence that lurks within him. The only ray of light is his secret love affair with the boss’ daughter, but this is a grim tale that doesn’t pull it’s punches.

Ales Kot (Zero/Wild Children) again lives up to his growing reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in comics, spinning out a story of love and death that hits like a bloody hammer.

The Darkness element is underplayed, always lurking in the background instead of being focused on. In fact, read a certain way, the story could easily be appreciated as a straight Of Mice And Men-style historical. Only at the very end is any knowledge of the Estacado line important, but you could live without it.

Ales Kot has crafted a real winner here. Love, death and The Darkness. It’s a perfect combination.

Rating: 5/5.

The writer of this piece was: Jules Boyle

Jules tweets from @Captain_Howdy