Over two years in the making, this story brings a great deal of action and violence to the printed page. It also brings back the fabulous Dale Keown. Keown's art alone makes this book well worth the price of admission. Be warned, however, that this is not a book to be read while eating dinner. The gore Keown draws in the pages of this first issue would give any child's mother a heart attack should she happen to pick this book up to see what her young child is reading.

It's also not a book to be shared with younger readers as the f-bomb and a number of other saucy terms are let fly. The dialog helps make this unreal team-up between a gangster and a monster and his boy just a little more believable. Jenkins gives these characters realistic actions and dialog -- except for the snail scrotums and bowel movements. The line immediately following that one makes up for it though.

This book is not for the squeamish as it features Jackie Estacado in all of his gangster glory, as well as Pitt and Timmy in their glory against a horde of zombie-like killers. The quick pace is established early and never falters as gang members are slain, innocent people are victimized, and Jackie's darkness is unleashed.

While Pitt hasn't been seen in a while, readers will find themselves learning all they need to know about Pitt in this issue. Conversely, if Pitt is the impetus for drawing readers into this book -- say a lapsed fan from the salad days of the "Pitt" comic -- readers will learn everything they need to know about Jackie Estacado and the Darkness. The story here also gives readers a chance to move forward with the characters. This is a wild ride from Jenkins and Keown. It's not going to win any awards, but it sure is an exciting, eye-popping read. It's good to see Pitt back on the printed page and I'm happy that Keown is the one who brought him back.