I didn't expect this comic book would appeal to me on any level, given that both title characters rarely appeal to me. The whole hero-with-the-killer-instinct vibe is so cliched that I assume this one-shot special would feature a senseless, violent confrontation with over-the-top, extreme artwork designed to look cool rather than tell a coherent story. It turns out I was wrong; the book exceeded my expectations. The art is rich, dark and entertaining, and the plot initially embraces the done-to-death super-hero team-up/fight formula but turns it on its head by the end of the book. The storytelling structure is simple but effective, and the script is accessible. I'm definitely not a member of the target audience for this book, but I can't deny that the creators execute the project pretty well.
France, 1942. The Nazis have dispatched the most ruthless and effective assassin the world has ever known, the Spaniard, to eliminate a man who has bolstered the efforts of the French Resistance. The Spaniard has kept the key to his deadly success a secret, but his target is about to learn of the demonic allies at his command. But his target has secrets as well... an uncanny ability to recover from injury and sets of razor-sharp claws. Fast-forward six decades later, and the newest host of the Darkness power crosses paths with a surprisingly well-preserved and still deadly mutant by the name of Logan.
I've been unimpressed with Tyler Kirkham's efforts in the past, and I wrote that I didn't care for his loose style, which reminded me of While Portacio's exaggerated, distorted style. Well, with this project, Kirkham surprised me. There's a rough, conventional, Marc Silvestri-esque tone to his work, but that makes sense, given that one of the title characters is a Silvestri creation. The move to apply computer colors directly to his uninked pencils has yielded a good result. There's an almost painted look to some of the art here that really grabs the reader's eye. I also like how Kirkham uses off-kilter perspectives to drive home the corrupt and overwhelming power of the Darkness demons.
The story is pretty simple in concept, and one could even argue that it's somewhat crude: two disparate superhuman characters cross paths by happenstance and end up fighting one another. It's a typical super-hero team-up scenario, save for the fact that there's no common enemy for them to contend with. What I like about this take on the cliche is that in the middle of the fight, the younger, less experienced of the two acknowledge that it's ludicrous to fight for no reason and puts an abrupt end to it.
The use of the two settings -- 1940s Europe and 21-century Manhattan -- was a great way to transform the Darkness into both a villain and a hero in the book. Given how thin the book is on plot, it also beefed up the story and allowed for greater accessibility for readers unfamiliar with the first title character. I enjoyed the juxtaposition not only of character but of place in time, culture and conflict. 6/10
