This first book in a new graphic novel series by Brandon Sanderson got a 3/5 stars from me.

Paul sees visions of another world, and is followed around by a girl who claims to be his sister. One day, what he believed to be hallucinations become true. He is brought into another world, a world where people follow the ‘Narrative’, and he is the ‘Dark One’.

The story of the Dark One is an interesting one. Instead of following the good character who will save everyone, we follow the one who is to bring destruction and chaos. It surprised me at times, and kept me engaged all the way through. I like how the prologue, epilogue and intermissions were used in this graphic novel as well.

Whether or not the art style is beautiful is of personal taste. I personally think it worked well with the story. There was some good use of colors, different kinds of panels, a sort of chaos in the art that went well with what was happening.

That being said, I feel like this was not the best medium to tell this story. A graphic novel is much shorter than a novel, doesn’t allow the author to get into characters’ heads and let the reader know their emotions, and doesn’t give enough room for subtilities. All things that were necessary in this case in my opinion. I was left unsatisfied. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and what they were going through. Things felt somewhat incomplete. Not in the sense that the author didn’t build his world well, but in the sense that the reader couldn’t really get things well.

It also felt… basic, not very epic. I was expecting something better coming from Brandon Sanderson, and I feel like he delivered in his idea, but the use of a graphic novel in this case stopped the idea from being fully delivered to the reader.

I had a fun time reading this graphic novel, but it didn’t leave a big impression on me in the end.

Fair warning, there are some gory scenes in this graphic novel.

* This review is also available on Goodreads. It will be shared on Twitter, and posted on Amazon Canada on its release day.

I started reading this with high expectations. As a big fan of Brandon Sanderson and his latest works, reading this made me into a kid in a candy shop.

The story does have a big potential to blow our minds for its greatness but I think it failed to deliver. The execution failed big time here. I was thrown off by a lot of vague stories caused by numerous plot holes. The characters need more work too. The world needs more depth. The magic system was not really clear and there's nothing really new on this one, The tropes were something we have seen numerous times before.

The art style though was amazing. The color scheme and how it became consistent to stick to what the story is was astounding.

Dark One: Volume 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Nathan Gooden
Publication Date: May 18, 2021
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Description from NetGalley...
“Dark One, the first book in a series of original graphic novels, from Vault Comics.

Some worlds are made to be broken. Paul Tanasin is a young man haunted by visions of a dark and fantastic world. Visions he initially believes are hallucinations. But when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus, a world in which he's destined to become a fearsome destroyer, he'll have to embrace the fear, rise up as the Dark One, and shatter everything. Dark One examines the dual roles we often take on in life-the ability to be a savior as well as a destroyer.”
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Thank you @netgalley @diamondbookdist @thevaultcomics for a digital ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
Hooked! I’ve been recommended to read Brandon Sanderson countless of times because of my appreciation for fantasy books. And I finally decided I would. Why not start with a graphic novel? Why not, indeed! I’m not a graphic novel expert, but the illustrations were so full of emotions and absolutely brilliant in it’s simplicity. I would say I’m a “beginner” graphic novel reader, and I found this one easy to follow. The whole theme of destiny, and the subject of choosing between being a saviour or a destroyer was thought-provoking. A quick read of a dark fantasy graphic novel.

I loved the world building and the plot and the engaging characters. With one (very notable) exception, Sanderson has created characters that are sympathetic. You can understand their motivations and how their actions, even if disagreeable, spring understandably from those motivations. And the plot is INREDIBLY propulsive - the world building is doled out in equal measures with action and I never felt I was being exposition dumped on. I was actually surprised how well the author who is know for writing such doorstopper fantasy novels did in his pacing of a comic story. Not too wordy at all. I did have a bit of an issue with a major plot point <spoiler> where the main character discovers that his hallucinations and violent visions aren't mental illness but are instead manifestations of his magic and destiny. Likewise the main villain is an "insane" serial killer. This felt a bit cheap and also not a great use of mental illness in fiction.</spoiler> I was also disappointed that the story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger although I know there are two more volumes to come!

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing and heavy comic.

The art and storytelling were amazing even though sometimes I had a bit of trouble staying absorbed by the story since the pace became a bit slow.

that being stayed I loved the plot, the characters, the world, and "hated" the end because it left me on a cliffhanger to which I need an answer. so I need Volume two like now.

* I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Another story about the chosen one... but here with a little twist: the dark one is our hero, the one the story follows. And he is a dark one with little desire to become one: Paul Tanasin seems to have dreams of another world and there is the ghost of a girl that follows him around, but he is not particularly happy with these things happening. He seems to think everything is in his head till the moment he discovers that no, he is the destined one to rise and become the dark one in a parallel world.

The story is interesting, even if a little bit rushed in the last part (it is just volume 1, so it is normal that there is no clear resolution to the story, even if it can be read as a stand-alone), but apart from making the dark one a reluctant teenager that seems to be the bad one just by chance, there is little in the name of originality here: battles, warriors, betrayal, extras too ready to die for the plot to advance... Again, it is interesting and enjoyable, and a person will probably not regret reading it, but in my opinion it lacks something to make it really special (that something could be developed in future volumes). It might be that it takes itself too seriously (and how many chosen ones stories can we have?) for its own good. The characters are also a little stereotypical and Paul's arc feels (again) a little bit rushed. I think it would have been better to give the characters more time to develop and to show the reasons behind their behavior.

The art is good, a little bit messy sometimes, and with a palette that brings a dirty, harsh, world to life. The creatures (from the parallel world) have a good design, and the humans are of the realistic type. It fits the story and helps in immersing the reader in the story. There are maybe too many dialogues in some pages, too much exposition that makes the story drag.

A good read (with quite a lot of potential for future volumes).

2,5/5

This is the first book I've read by Brandon Sanderson and I wish it wasn't. Maybe high fantasy is not for me or maybe Dark One just was a mess but it was really hard to get into it. By the end of the first volume I was left confused and I wish this wasn't a 224 page graphic novel but a full fledged 300+ page novel because I need some explanations.
The art seemed a bit rushed and I wish it wasn't as shaky.
If I get a chance, I'll give volume 2 a chance.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Is it bad that a graphic novel was my first actual foray into Brandon Sanderson? No! I was surprised that it was situated in the real world *and* a fantasy world. The storyline was easy to grasp and interesting and the artwork, especially in Mirandus, was amazing!

Wow, what an amazing graphic novel, Brandon Sanderson work translates so well in a graphic novel format. I really enjoyed the characters and world we are introduced to. The artwork was also so stunning. I will be definitely continuing this series!

Like the White Sand trilogy, we need more of the world to be a solid story.

The color palette and the drawings used in this graphic novel were astounding. Very vibrant and it soothes the mood of the story.


I do love the story. The mystery and the lore!

I am excited to see more of Paul's development!


For the narrative!

Synopsis: The story starts with Paul in our world, who sometimes has these weird visions of another world and violence and sometimes he just feels like he will forcefully unravel. It turns out that those visions aren’t actually figments of the imagination, but part of a larger story, in which he is the supervillain in another dimension who is out to destroy that world.

Review: First of all, I love Brandon Sanderson, so I already had huge expectations before picking this up. I know that he is great at worldbuilding and I was intrigued, what this new world might look like.

The synopsis of this story also sounded very captivating, because there aren’t that many good stories with a bad guy protagonist out there and I was ready to see Paul step into this new role.

The art style also fits the concept quite well, because it is kind of gritty and the colors always felt a bit off, so that both our world and the other world didn’t create this feeling of wonder and happiness but rather induced anxiety.

Even though I like the concept and the art work, I wasn’t that convinced by the actual plot. The world-building wasn’t on par with what I’m used to when reading Sanderson. The pacing felt off and it seemed like a jicksaw of different fantasy world building tropes. You’ve got the Dark-One-versus-Chosen-One-trope, you’ve got the friends-turned-enemies-trope, you’ve got the pattern-of-the-story-repeats-itself-trope and so many more. This recycling of already familiar elements left me bored and I contemplated giving up on this, but then – quite close to the end – there was this plot twist I quite enjoyed, so I finished this graphic novel on a positive note.

So, the question is: Will I continue on with this series? Probably not, because Brandon Sanderson is so much better at writing novels than constructing comic books in a way that makes them entertaining. Nevertheless, it is a decent graphic novel and many other people have enjoyed it a lot more than I did, so I wouldn’t advise against giving it a try.

If there's one thing Brandon Sanderson is a master of it's slowly creating a world out of bits and pieces that get revealed over the course of the story. Dark One is no exception. What starts out feeling like two disparate stories slowly turns into an epic crossworld fantasy about good, evil, and destiny.
Paul Tanasin is a great guide for the reader because he starts out (and ends up) as lost as the reader about where the story is heading. There is so much backstory and details that are yet to be revealed, that I did end up with more questions than answers, but it mostly left me wanting more of the narrative of Mirandus.
The art is dark and fitting to the tone of the story with the only downside that characters are sometimes really difficult to tell apart. A minor point when considering the amount of detail that some of the splash pages have, but something that I've always disliked in graphic novels.
Overall, it's a very good crossworld fantasy that starts out a bit slow but races towards a great ending. I can't wait to read more.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors/Vault Comics for the early read!

I’m a big fan of anything Brandon Sanderson is involved with, and typically I’m engaged, impressed and enjoy his books. But somehow Dark One Volume 1 couldn’t connect with me.

The problems started with Brandon trying to mesh a narrative that gelled a present setting with a fantasy-driven grim world named Mirandus. Usually Brandon or similar graphic novels would present this world-building in a way the reader has time to grasp its rules, settings, etc. But the pacing in Dark One moved way too fast for (at least me) to digest where we were, why Paul was there, and ultimately the pending conflict in between the light and the dark factions. It felt rushed and I have a feeling this story was meant for a larger medium such as a novel or novella, but not a graphic novel.

There were also a few moments where Paul’s motivations weren’t clear and why is he blundering forward in this alien world. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the characters’ motivations and how they meshed with the main plot.

The line work and coloring was great and probably the one area I enjoyed in this graphic novel. The styles reminded me of your modern drawings in Mile Morales’s Spiderman. But unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to win me over the confusing narrative.

Loved the graphics! Brandon Sanderson is a master of storytelling. I do think I enjoy his regular novels more than the graphic novels, but this was still an excellent GN and I will read the next one.

This book was kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

The art in this comic was very sombre and atmospheric. You could tell it was a Sanderson work because of some easter eggs present and also there were subtle references in the story reminiscent to other works.

The story follows a very familiar plot-line of prophecy in which the chosen one is meant to destroy the dark one. But that is where the similarities end because there is so much more going on, quickly we realise things are not what they seem.

The action gets very intense towards the end and it ends with a very nerve wracking plot twist. Hopefully I'll get my hands on the next volume soon enough.

The Author is quite popular which is why I wanted to check out a graphic novel with his works even though I have never read one of his books. I was not disappointed in this graphic novel, it's a good way to get acquainted with BS if you're not feeling you have time for a novel since the GN is only about 200 pages. It is well written, captivating sci-fi and moved along faster than I expected. There is a cliffhanger ending so don't expect to be done with just this one. The artwork is also well done and I found this to be a overall pleasant new world that I would enjoy continuing in the next Volume. I'll have to check out Brandon Sanderson's standard books when I have more time now.
This is my opinion and I'd like to Thank NetGalley for this Arc.

I initially picked this up because Brandon Sanderson’s name was attached and therefore, I guessed I would enjoy it, I wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t love it as much as some of his novels.

I enjoyed the story however I feel that Sanderson’s worlds and characters are more suited to prose rather than graphic novels, while this was better than White Sands it still wasn’t my favourite of Sanderson’s work to date.

I was excited to read and review this but once I sat down I just couldn't get into it. It doesn't seem very fair to review a book that I only managed to get through like a 1/3rd of. I guess I just didn't like a Sanderson graphic novel as much as I thought I would!

I will of course review the book if the publisher still wants me to, it just wouldn't get a very good or fair review despite being an obviously great graphic novel and author.

This is the first work by Brandon Sanderson that I've read and it would be an understatement to say that I liked it!

I loved the classic-y dark art and the story was pretty brutal! I loved the knight and all of the epic elements of the story. I found it a bit slow at times, and that would be the only "bad" thing I have to say.

I am definitelly interested in reading more of this series and more of Sanderson's works in general.