I really liked this graphic novel! The story was dark, but engrossing! I want volume 2 right now because need answers. Paul is fascinating character and ending was amazing.
Overall I can't wait for the next volume.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance of reading Dark One by Brandon Sanderson who is one of my all-time fav authors in advance!

Cannot lie, I had a rough time while getting used to the way of this story's telling. It seems like jumping around way too quickly at first but after like ten, fifteen pages later. I was completely captivated! I know it's just the first volume and the world most probably gets bigger in the next issues but I wish we could see more about the magic system. Brandon Sanderson creates such amazing magic systems and I'm more than eager to meet a new one! And only critique coming from me is that I think if the coloring differs from each point of the story (I mean, earth, light side, dark side, etc.) It could be easier to track the story.

All in all, if you're looking for a fast-paced comic with a captivating story, this is for you guys!

✨🌟 8.25 stars out of 10 🌟✨
Interesting premise and nice improvement on Sanderson's comic line.

Keywords: graphic novel/ comic, fantasy, isekai, multiworld

Are you bored with chosen hero trope where the hero finds out its their fate to slay the villain and save the day? In The Dark One, it's the opposite. Our main lead is a teenage boy that is chosen incarnate of evil, a Dark One. But what would they do when reluctantly given the position and know from the start it is their fate to be defeated by the force of good?

Storywise it's not that unique but so far I think it's still quite promising. The magic system and worldbuilding is not as meticulate as Cosmere, but I like the premise. I also personally thought this have better execution than previous comics Sanderson work with. The dialogues are neatly placed and not too wordy, the scene sequences are easy to follow and the plot itself not too muddled.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me e-arc of this in exchange of honest review.

ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley

"Our Chapters end. The narrative does not."

I did not know about this book until I saw reviews and ratings of the ARC going around lately. I found out that it was available on Netgalley so I got it immediately. The Current rating this ARC has is 3.75 which happens to be my exact rating too I (In another language 7.5/10).

Graphic Novels are always a challenge to read because there is the plot, the world-building, the characters which all are found in the typical novel format but the authors have also to account for the illustrations, colors and text. I think the graphic novel format was very well done. It had beautiful illustrations and it was easy to read.

On the content itself, I think I am not mind-blown but I did not expect to be so. It is just Sanderson likes to flip the narratives so I kind of knew where this was going. I like the contrast between our world and the other fictional world. I expect something fast when it comes to novels and this was exactly that. For me, this worked pretty well and I don't think it would have been much different had it been a novel. I am looking forward to Vol2!

I received an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Paul Tanasin is a 17-year-old who sees visions. These visions are of another world and they haunt him. A ghost girl also follows him around, claiming to be his sister. However, everything changes when he realizes that the other world is real. Somehow, the other world is tied to his, and it has declared him the Dark One. Without any other options, Paul rises up as the Dark One, fulfilling the role he was given.

This is my first time reading Brandon and the experience was really good. I liked the world he created and it seems so dark, but I couldn't connect with the story, but the idea of someone becoming a villain is so good that makes me wanna read the next book. Seeing his transformation, knowing who he was makes the story even better.
The illustrations were amazing with every frame, the emotions the characters displayed were so real and the world was a big surprise.

This arc was provided by Vault Comics, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Dark One is a graphic novel that follows Paul Tanasin, a young man who has always been plagued by visions and voices in his head of cruel intents. He dreams of a fantastical world where Light and Darkness battle each other, unknowing his role in it.

I will be honest and say that I only picked this up since I've been hearing Brandon Sanderson talk about his projects and what he hopes to accomplish for them. Truthfully, I was surprised to find this available on Netgalley and I immediately requested it. I love graphic novels, I love fantasy, it had everything going for it.

The premise is interesting but the execution didn't achieve what was promised. Most of all, I felt very confused by the progressing of the story and the events. I had trouble distinguishing some characters, and understanding what was happening. Finally, and this is a highly subjective opinion, I didn't like the artwork as it's not to my style. I do want to say that coming from a family of artists, I know how much goes into one's art and I respect that and even commend it. It's not bad, just not to my taste.

I wish the story had been better explained, especially this connection between Earth and Mirandus. I'm sure it will be done in future volumes, sadly this one didn't win me over.

I enjoyed this a lot. Paul's story of seeing visions and an imaginary girl (or so he thinks) was very fun to read about. At first it felt similar to Saga, which I didn't like, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked how the beginning of the story is a flash forward and that it's interpreted in 2 different ways: first he looks evil, and then he isn't. The story itself was interesting and I'm excited for the next volume.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review!

Dark One by Brandon Sanderson is the first YA/adult book I've read by Brandon Sanderson, and it will definitely not be the last! I had heard reviews of Sanderson's genius before, but I did not expect to be blown away by the awesome narrative contained in this graphic novel. This is not your typical fantasy / action adventure. For example, Sanderson drops hints and images in the beginning of the graphic novel that aren't fully understood by the reader until the end. Dark One transcends the limits of the graphic novel and speaks to aspects of morality and good vs. evil.. What if an ordinary boy were "chosen" to be the villain of the story? Would you root for the villain or would you root for the warriors of the light? Can murder ever be justified? These are the types of questions that Sanderson posits in this genre-breaking graphic novel.

Dark One is a prequel of sorts, expounding on the origins of the "Dark One" of Mirandus, a fearsome overlord that commands the Drulls, goblin-like servants that reminded me of Dobby from Harry Potter. The story starts off with Paul seeing a therapist after he sees ghostlike visions of a sister he never had. Soon, he's transported to the magical kingdom of Mirandus, which is anything but welcoming. He befriends Princess Feotora, who is the definition of Girl Power! Meanwhile, in the "real world," Paul's mother is in charge of defending a serial killer in the courtroom. The narrative alternates between this real world drama and the fantasy of Paul's journey in Mirandus. Honestly, I found both narratives very gripping and I was just as excited to read one as the other. Overall, this graphic novel would be a great read for anyone interested in fantasy and even anyone who is not. I look forward to reading volume 2 of Dark One when it comes out!

I've never read graphic novels before, but I like mangas so I've always wanted to try their western counterparts. I've also *almost* never read Brandon Sanderson before (probably unlike most fantasy readers), only a few chapters of the Mistborn series before I lost interest, though that was a few years ago and I was curious if my taste has changed. So, Dark One was quite a different venture for me. And the result of that venture, is ... interesting.

I can't say that I was impressed by the plot. It's pretty much exactly what the blurb already suggests: the MC finds out that he is the chosen one to fulfill a prophecy. He travels to a different world, gains power, and saves his people. Yay! It's not a bad story but ... it feels like something from the 90s? Except for a couple of small side plots, I could already guess where everything was going after 10 pages. The fact that the whole plot is driven by a prophecy instead of characters is also a bit unappetizing. I'm not sure if this is a typical Sanderson thing though or if it's lost in translation from words to pictures, and considering this book is only the first volume of a series, I'm going to give it the benefit of doubt and hope that there will be better twists to come.

Another thing that didn't seem to translate well is the pacing. There are a few scenes where the MC goes through some emotional conflicts or revelations, but they all seem too abrupt and unrealistic. I'm tempted to say that this is somewhat expected, since we can't get inside the character's head as easily in graphic novels as we can in prose, but I've seen plenty of monologues done in mangas and they usually work quite naturally. Looks like graphic novels still have a ways to go to catch up.

On the other hand, the writing (aka. dialogues) was great. I love that pretentious medieval tone! Dialogues are one of my favorite parts of medieval high fantasies and I'm glad to see that it survived the graphic novel medium.

The art was OK. A few scenes are gorgeous, most are decent, and some are ... not so great, mostly due to characters' faces changing from page to page, sometimes to the extent that they are unrecognizable if not for their clothes.

All in all, I hoped for better but this was a good enough first experience with graphic novels. I'd be interested in reading the second installment to see what happens next.

As a massive Brandon Sanderson fan, I knew I had to get my hands on whatever new book he comes out with next. Dark One, his latest release, is about Paul who lives on Earth but can see visions of another world called Mirandus, including seeing Nikka, a ghost girl who befriends him. He thinks he's going crazy, but in reality, he's prophesied to become the Dark One in Mirandus.

I have to admit that I was pretty confused during the whole story. I've always struggled with fantastical graphic novels because there's never enough worldbuilding for the story to make sense, and magic and character motivations are shallow as well. I didn't understand the connection Paul had to Mirandus, or what exactly his dad's role was either. I'm also not sure about his mom's client's role, and that seemed to be pretty important, yet it went right over my head. Paul was from New York yet took so quickly to his role as the Dark One that I just didn't find it believable. I personally feel like we needed a lot more page time getting to know the background of the world and getting to understand Paul's thoughts, which is why I think this story would have been better as a prose novel instead of as a graphic novel.

I also struggled with this story because I expected this to be very different from what it was. I've seen Brandon mention this story in the past, a spin on "What if Harry Potter was prophesied to be Voldemort instead of the one who defeats Voldemort?" That would be a very different story, he explained, if the boy was prophesied to be the Dark One instead of the Chosen One. So somehow I imagined the story would be set in a more classical fantasy setting, something similar to Mistborn, and we would follow a good young boy as he learns he is to grow up to be an evil ruler and how he comes to grips with that. I thought we'd watch him grow up and slowly give over to the evil even though he didn't want to, something along those lines. But that is not at all what Dark One is about. The modern-day Earth setting threw me off, as did Paul being an adult when he learned about the prophecy and his willingness to accept the prophecy. Plus I'm not sure we even saw a real prophecy, it was more like someone just told him that was his role, and he was like, "Oh, okay."

This graphic novel isn't actually written by Brandon Sanderson though. As far as I'm aware, he came up with the idea and wrote an outline for it, and then someone else wrote the graphic novel based on his idea. But anything that has Sanderson's name on it I will read, and this is no exception. I just wish it had more of a Sanderson feel to it because his prose novels are so good about fleshing out the world and filling the plot holes.

The art style in this book reminds me of a classic grungy superhero story. It's set partially in downtown New York City and partially in Mirandus, and each panel has a mostly monochromatic color scheme with thick lines and gruff drawings. It's not my favorite art style—in fact, I really didn't like it—but I do think it matches the tone of the story.

Dark One is not my favorite thing I've read from Brandon Sanderson. I enjoyed his epic fantasy novels and young adult sci-fi stories more, and I even liked his other graphic novel series, White Sand, better. In fact, I hate to admit this, but this book might be my least favorite story I've read from Sanderson, and I've read almost everything he's written. Ultimately, my expectations were way off so I was left disappointed and confused. I think the concept is cooler than the execution. If you, too, liked the concept but didn't like the execution, check out Brandon's full-length novels, which do a much better job of fleshing out the world and explaining the plot. I will be continuing on with this series, but only because it's Brandon Sanderson; if any other author wrote this book, I wouldn't be reading any future installments.

I'm really sad I didn't end up loving Dark One, but you can't love every book an author writes, even if it's your favorite author. I think if you like the gritty art style, know what the story is actually about beforehand, and don't set your expectations too high for the plot, you would enjoy this graphic novel. Like I said, it still is a cool idea, just not done at all in the way I thought it would be.

Dark One is volume one of a modern fantasy graphic novel about what it means to be good versus evil, and whether one can control his own destiny. It takes place in modern day New York City and Mirandus, a land across another dimension, where the same battle “narrative” is fought repeatedly with the same result. The people of Mirandus believe this narrative is pre-written and can’t be changed, but is that true? Fans of Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” or George R. R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” will especially enjoy Dark One. I know I did.

had to def this one, I just couldn't get into it, maybe in the future I will give this another shot.

So this was a first for me with this author. I had heard many great things about this author and I wanted to check out his stuff and let me just say I was not disappointed!
I enjoyed the graphic novel because it just kinda jumped into the action right off the bat, like there was not any leading up to it was like BAM right there I enjoyed that aspect of the graphic novel! I also liked that the graphics were like the old school graphics and not the rounded out type of graphics in a lot of the graphic novels. I will have to say that it was intense but the intense aspect of the read made it very hard to put down! There is a lot of death, if that is a trigger for anyone but its really good! Lots of action and i enjoyed the classic good v. evil aspect of it too and dividing between the two worlds! I am very intrigued by this and plan to continue on with the series! Definitely recommend it!

Pretty disappointed in this. It felt very basic and rushed. I would have liked to see more character development.

I was not sure what to expect with this one and it was way darker than I expected from Brandon Sanderson and I loved every minute of it.

It is something new and exciting and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

I'm not a big graphic novel person, but I like them all right and I will always read anything by Sanderson.

This was an interesting story with a lot of points of intrigue. I don't think any graphic novel, though, is going to effectively showcase Sanderson's particular strong points the way prose does.

Ooh, now this was a dark gritty delight!

This is one of the most richly complex graphic novels I've read to date, and yet it never felt TOO complex for the graphic novel format. I have read one just recently that just felt like there was too much going on for the format and it ended up just being confusing and rushed. I didn't feel like that at all here. I felt that it was very well done and I was easily absorbed in the story.

There is so much to this one that it's hard to even give a short summary for. In essence, we meet human Paul, who discovers his fate is inextricably tried with a battle between light and dark in another world. He's the Chosen One... but not for Team Light. He's the Dark One, destined to fight and fail in a repeating narrative that plays out in this alternate world.

The master stroke of this novel is the way it twists right around the age old concept of the fight between light and dark. Are the good guys really the good guys? Are the bad guys really monsters? If you're the kind of person who ever finds yourself kinda wanting to root for the villain instead of the hero, this might just be right up your street.

This story is definitely gritty and the dark colours and sketchy art style play into that atmosphere building as well. In amongst it all is just enough dry humour to lighten the journey a little. It dabbles in the morally grey, the question of fate, of whether destiny can be rewritten, of who we should really be rooting for.

And the ending! I have to admit, I was a bit like.... what?? What just happened?? I am definitely keen to read the next volume and see this story continue!

SIDE NOTE: I'm frustrated to see people rating this low online because they "wish it was a prose novel". I suspect this is because of the name on the cover, but people who want to read a prose novel should GO AND READ ONE. This is NOT a prose novel, it's a graphic novel and a dang good one.

I need volume two now!

This graphic novel was fantastic. I originally thought this was classified as a sci-fi, but it is definitely in the fantasy realm.

Characters 5/5
These characters are fantastic! I love the dynamics set up in this story between the different groups involved and I can't wait to see what volume 2 has in store for us.

Plot 5/5
After struggling a little bit to latch on to the plot of Sanderson's other graphic novel, White Sand, this one really gave me something fun and exciting. This is definitely not a stand-alone. Can I say it again: I need volume 2 now! But, the parts of the story contained in this volume are just so fascinating that it is hard not to consume this in a single sitting.

Storytelling 4/5
I think Sanderson definitely upped his game with the graphic novel storytelling here. The art style seemed to work really well with the story being told. I had some difficulties at times telling what some scenes were portraying though. I think they were probably trying to keep the gore factor down, but I found myself wondering the level of violence happening. (Did someone just get beheaded? Or is it like in Disney's Pocahontas where you get shot but there's no bullet wounds?)

Enjoyment 5/5
I absolutely loved this. Don't make the same mistake I did where you try to start this before you have to be somewhere. You won't want to put it down and you'll miss your appointment.

Atmosphere 4.5/5
I love Sanderson's worlds, no matter what he includes in them. I do miss a little of the descriptive text in his regular novels. The art really helps bring the world to life, but I'm a sucker for overly descriptive scenery.

Overall 4.7/5
I think fans of Sanderson, fans of fantasy, fans of graphic novels, and fans of comic books can all love this story. Again, this is not a standalone volume, so don't go into it expecting a full resolution by the end of the book. It is absolutely fantastic though, and it is perfect for a quick fun read.

4.5 stars

I'm a major fan of Brandon Sanderson's storytelling prowess, so when I saw he was coming out with a new graphic novel, I was interested right away. And I must say, Sanderson's narrative genius has struck again, well-supported by the writing and illustration team.

Dark One immediately thrusts us into a dual setting—that of our own Earth, and the world of Mirandus, a fantastical land which our main character Paul initially thinks is a hallucination, but he soon learns is quite real...and which he is prophesized to destroy. This instant dive into the dual setting with minimal setup means the reader needs a bit of time to figure out what's happening, but the slight confusion passes quickly into immersion into the storyline. I found this to be a very successful plot device, as we're able to learn the story of Mirandus and Paul's destiny right alongside him. The subversion of the Good vs. Evil and the Chosen One tropes was quite clever, and added a refreshing, intriguing layer to the story.

The world of Mirandus was fascinating and unique, and it was interesting seeing the connection with the Earth storyline. Though currently the world-building and magic system isn't quite on par with Sanderson's novels, I anticipate it will continue to grow and develop as the series progresses. This is, after all, only the first volume of a graphic novel series, rather than a 1,000+ page epic.

The gritty, moody illustration style was very fitting for the narrative. The use of a limited color palette, with distinct coloring for each world/scene, not only offered a unique look and feel to each scene and helped create some separation between each setup, but also added an interesting layer of intrigue and depth to the novel as a whole. My only minor issue with the illustrations was that sometimes the way the mouths were drawn looked strange or misaligned with the rest of the face or the emotion attempting to be portrayed; this was most prevalent with Paul's facial expressions.

I'm very intrigued to see how this narrative will expand in future volumes and look forward to continuing with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Believe it or not, this is the first book I’ve ever read from Brandon Sanderson, and fortunately I don’t think it will be the last.

This graphic novel didn’t have an illustration style that really appealed to me; I usually prefer a more stylised cutesy drawing style in graphic novels and so this gritty, more traditional style wasn’t something that drew me in. I also found that some of the panels were confusing, particularly the placement of the speech bubbles, but after a while I got used to this.

On the whole, my favourite thing about this book was the world-building and the characters. I think that Sanderson managed to build an expansive world in very few pages and weaved together elements of the human and the fantastical brilliantly. Although I was confused at points and the art style wasn’t my favourite, the mystery kept me engaged so I would still recommend this one.

3 out of 5 stars!