Posted in: Comics, Image, Top Cow | Tagged: Ed Benes, marc silvestri, Raymond Gay, The Darkness

Marc Silvestri Relaunches The Darkness With Ed Benes & Raymond Gay

Marc Silvestri relaunches The Darkness with Ed Benes and Raymond Gay from Image Comics and Top Cow in December 2025

The Darkness, spinning out of the lore of the Witchvlade, was created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl, first appeared in Witchblade #10 in 1996, published by Top Cow/Image Comics before spinning off its own title, and vidioe game, featuring Jackie Estacado, a New York mafioso who, after turning 21, inherits the curse of the Darkness.., and now ahead of his thirtieth anniversary, is returning, written by Marc Silvestri and drawn by Birds Of Prey's Ed Benes, an all-new ongoing series that will "usher in a new era for the genre-defining Top Cow Universe anti-hero, Jackie Estacado." And promising "a thrilling expansion of The Darkness mythology with fresh twists to surprise even its most devoted fans".

"The Darkness has always been one of my favorite characters, and I've wanted to come back to it for a long time," said Silvestri. "Fans have been asking for years when Jackie would return, and now we get to deliver something truly special. This is going to feel familiar, but it's going to take you places you've never been before."

The Darkness (2025) #1 will feature pencils by Benes with inks from Matt "Batt!" Banning, Sal Regla, and John Livesay, colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Troy Peteri. And variant covers by Silvestri, Benes, and acclaimed artist David Mack, along with "blank sketch options, high-ratio incentives, and ultra-rare signed and original art editions for collectors."

And then Raymond Gay of Gunslinger Spawn and TMNT will draw The Darkness #2, out next year. Silvestri added: "This isn't just a nostalgia trip—it's a reinvention. 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."

The Darkness (2025) #1
Cover A by Silvestri & Prianto
Cover B by Benes & Prianto
Cover C by Mack
Cover D Sketch Cover
Cover E 1:10 copy incentive by Benes & Prianto
Cover F 1:25 copy incentive by Mack
Cover G 1:50 copy incentive by Silvestri & Prianto
Cover H 1:100 copy incentive by Benes
Cover I 1:250 copy incentive B&W virgin Silvestri
Cover J 1:500 copy incentive B&W signed virgin Silvestri
Cover K 1:1,000 copy incentive Silvestri original art sketch
"The story once again follows Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman who inherits a terrifying gift on his 21st birthday: an elemental force known as The Darkness, which grants him dominion over creatures from another realm. As supernatural forces wage war over reality itself, Jackie must navigate a brutal conflict where good and evil are anything but clear." Wednesday, December 10.

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