Jackie Estacado has been making a mess of the supernatural world for 30 years, and Top Cow is filling December with reasons to revisit it. The Darkness 30th anniversary celebration brings an art gallery one-shot, an oversized clash with the Magdalena, the release of The Darkness #10 and a limited blind bag. Longtime fans have a few different dates to keep straight, so let’s get into the actual books and what comes with them.
Co-created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis and David Wohl, The Darkness has built three decades around a character capable of being both monster and hero. Silvestri reflected on the creators who have helped shape the world and the fans who kept it alive through its turns. His enthusiasm for continuing to find new stories after 30 years comes through loud and clear, and December’s lineup puts that history beside fresh material.
The Darkness 30th Anniversary Art Gallery #1 arrives December 2, 2026, collecting imagery from across the series’ history. Expect iconic covers, sketches, process material and promotional art, with commentary from Silvestri and Joe Benitez about some of their favorites. If you follow the people making these pages as closely as the characters fighting across them, getting that look at the work behind the work is a proper anniversary offering. Its UPC is 70985304969200111.
Then The Darkness vs. The Magdalena #1 lands December 16. The oversized special explores the Darkness’ influence over the Warriors of the Blood Divine in three stories reaching from the setting described in the announcement as 0 AD Istanbul to the industrial 1990s. The Order of the Magdalena has tangled with Darkness wielders before, and this book digs further into how their histories connect.
The announced creative lineup for the specials includes Silvestri with co-writers Matt Hawkins and Ryan Cady, plus artists Pat Boutin, David Lapham and Zul Kamarrudin. Kamarrudin, Top Cow’s 2026 Talent Hunt winner, gets a chapter in the Magdalena special. Cover A is by Bjorn Barends (UPC 70985304970800111), and Cover B is by Joe Benitez and Richard Isanove (UPC 70985304970800121).
The Darkness (2025) #10 follows on December 23, with Silvestri and artwork from Raymond Gay, Agustin Padilla and Arif Prianto. The Angelus stands between Sonatine and ultimate power, with the odds looking rough. Humanity’s possible hope rests with Jackie, but resurrection comes with another problem: even if he could return, would he choose to? Thirty years in, and the man is still making everybody sweat.
Issue #10 offers Cover A by Raymond Gay and Arif Prianto (UPC 70985304537301011), Cover B by Laura Braga (UPC 70985304537301021), and a 30th anniversary Cover C by Marc Silvestri and Matt Batt Banning (UPC 70985304537301031). Silvestri and Banning’s anniversary image also appears as Cover D, a 1:50 Foil Virgin incentive (UPC 70985304537301041).
The 30th Anniversary Blind Bag also arrives December 23, priced at $15 with 1,996 bags available, a nod to the series’ 1996 launch. Each contains one collectible comic. Possibilities include an exclusive The Darkness vs. Magdalena line-art variant by Joe Benitez and Joe Weems, a random Top Cow Store Spot Foil Exclusive with artists including Silvestri and David Mack, or an archival ratio variant signed by Silvestri with a Top Cow certificate of authenticity. The ratio-variant option is guaranteed to be at least 1:25 and may reach 1:250. The blind bag UPC is 70985305002500111.
Ask your shop about the December 2, 16 and 23 releases and whichever covers you want before the holiday rush gets wild. The Darkness is also available digitally through Amazon Kindle, Google Play, Apple’s iBooks, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Scribd’s Everand, Kobo, Overdrive, Hoopla, Sweet app and Comic Plus. Keep up with the line through Top Cow and Image Comics, and check out the official anniversary artwork below.
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