Never trust the girl in red, gentlemen.
The Darkness #76
Writer: Phil Hester
Artist: Michael Broussard
Covers: Frazer Irving (A, below) and Josh Medors (B)
Summary: Jackie’s face-off against his deadliest foe yet continues as the Legacy numbering of The Darkness goes into full effect, taking into account every issue ever published, regardless of volume.
The Sovereign’s bloody mission for Jackie has finally driven him to despair. Broken and lost, Jackie falls for an otherworldly seductress who seeks to exact a centuries-old curse against The Darkness. Plus, who is The Foreigner and how does his connection to The Darkness predate Jackie Estacado’s?
Review: Life has been especially trying lately for the shadow-walking gangster Jackie Estacado. The link between him and the Darkness was severed after he “died” (to be brought back shortly by his kindred dark forces), now preventing him from being able to tap into more than a mere fraction of its raw power. Not to mention his soul currently burns in hell, and the only way to reclaim it involves doing the bidding of an evil hell lord called the Sovereign. Estacado must cross off every name on the Sovereign’s “you-owe-me” list—and by “cross off” I mean whack—before his new boss will make good on his deal to restore Jackie’s soul; the tasks aren’t pretty and continue to test Jackie’s limitations.
Well, things just go downhill from here—in more ways than one. The first four pages show nothing but art. Granted, it’s good art (thank you, Mr. Broussard), but considering how the rest of the issue stacks up, the lack of dialogue here doesn’t satisfy in the long run.
Jackie’s latest assassination target ends up being a ten-year-old kid named “Colonel” Ngozi, whose brains he splatters all over a wall (again, go Broussard … and ew). Morally frustrated and exhausted, Jackie intends to call it quits as the Sovereign hints that the real big stuff has yet to come.
On top of that, Jackie becomes blindly tempted by a beautiful brunette wearing a blood red ribbon in her hair; according to the random yet wise and physically capable (let’s just say he slaps Jackie silly with a stick) man he meets while chasing the young woman, she’s a trap meant to ensnare wielders of the Darkness from generation to generation. This issue might be lacking in story and true development, but the Foreigner sparks intrigue. He holds some kind of connection to the Darkness; the reason he gives as to why he’s helping Jackie defeat the Djinn—the powerful creature designed to trick and murder anyone with the Darkness running through his veins—seems to be because only he deserves the privilege of that kill. Oh, well, that makes everything better.
Of course, Jackie takes the Foreigner’s warning lightly, and instead rushes off to succumb to the temptation of the woman with the red ribbon. Certainly not an essential issue by any means, but it does introduce a rather mysterious character who knows potentially more about the Darkness than he’s letting on.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:15 am
Heh nice nod to the Matrix with the red there
March 27th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I wish my favorite entertainment cost 2.99!
March 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I’m not sure how I feel about the beard. I do love Jackie either way though.
March 30th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Fanastic review
This was very helpful for me
March 31st, 2009 at 1:49 pm
“Never trust the girl in red”…I just watched the Matrix for the 34390th time last night and that was the first thing that popped into my mind =p
April 1st, 2009 at 7:34 am
Yup, good call on the Matrix reference, guys!