The Dark by Mark Sable is Cyberpunk Post Apocalyptic story that has good bones, but maybe doesn’t connect in all the ways it tries to. The graphic novel was written solely for the comiXology Originals line, and was released in October of 2019.
The Dark is the story of Carver and Camille, and despite a few new tropes added in, it’s not a new story. Over a ten year stretch of wars, the world goes dark when all electricity is basically wiped away. With only the truly powerful having access to power, the world is a dangerous place. Carver is a soldier, disillusioned after losing his team and then conscripted back into service of the indentured kind becasue he was given new eyes. Camille is a criminal, only looking out for herself, a mercenary. Their lives are intertwined by outside forces and once they meet, they forma team. Of sorts.
The art is good, but falls downing some places and the story is the same way. I like what the idea of what the writer was trying to do, even if it didn’t always work. I think to me, it boils down to it all feeling rushed. You don’t ever get enough backstory to fully immerse yourself into the world, and that is a shame becasue the world is pretty dang cool. I think, in all honesty, that if this hadn’t been a one off (is it?), or had been set up to do a couple issues that allowed the writer to get more in depth, then I think this would be a great read.
The last thing I took issue with in this story, is that for our website, The Dark was sent in with a bunch of other stories, lauded as titles with LGBT characters/storylines/creators and it took me until pg 103 of 131 to realize that Camille was in fact trans. But the problem is, there is no way to know what kind of trans she is. And that is pretty important when there is talk of “transhumans” (humans who have been augmented by the new biotech) in the story line. This goes back to my earlier comment that there isn’t enough background. The writer might have wanted to introduce her as a trans character, but it is convoluted, like much of the story.
In the end, I give The Dark 3 stars. It was okay, but the wasted potential is kinda sad.
