Age of Darkness: Book 1

The Age of Darkness compilation gives you an impression that it's a brand new story arc. Well, it is, sort of, but the issues compiled within are more periphery stories rather than the main event.

The main villain is the rerisen Dark Queen, who takes command of the Dark Horde to bring war and suffering to the other Realms. It brings together the separate heroes of various arcs, but they only show up sparsely. Having not read them (Neverland, Agent Red, Robin) is a disadvantage, as these issues doesn't even bother to provide any backstory, just a “see so-and-so issue note). But then again, this series didn't get famous for its dialogue and expositions.

The issues mostly deal with side stories regarding the persecution of the highborns and the Dark Queen gathering allies and biding her time. I found most of them boring, except one about the tooth fairy, which does capture the original feeling of what brought me to the series in the first place.