Visual gore mixed with a deeper meaning
This is a quite simple tale of two fractions having to kill one another. It is not their vicious nature, it is not what they want to do, it is what life forced them to.
The story is told really great, almost like Garth Ennis used to write the Punisher. Visually you get a total gore fest, but the words that accompany the blood and guts tell a story of longing for peace and life. What is striking, is the fact that neither the Romans (everyone’s favorite bad guy) nor the Darkness are pictured as the villains… they are simply opposing force having to kill one another in order for themselves to live.
As the great Punisher books from Ennis, you finish the book, and what sticks with you are the simple truths and emotions rather than all those severed heads and limbs.
Gore and brutality seem to be a great carrier for these things.