Dark Dominion


 * Not to be confused with Dark Dominion, a science fiction novel by David Duncan.

Dark Dominion is a comic book series that was published monthly by Defiant Comics from October of 1993 until July of 1994. It spanned a total of 10 issues until Defiant ceased publication. There was one #0 issue published as a trading card set and binder.

Dark Dominion was created by Jim Shooter and Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man. The concept was based on Shooter's idea that, "fear is the root of all evil," and dealt with Shooter's fascination with quantum mechanics.

The Characters

 * Michael Alexander - The protagonist of the series.
 * Chasm - The main antagonist of the series.

The story
The comic was based in Manhattan and featured the main character Michael Alexander.

Alexander was the author of a book entitled, "Dark Dominion," in which he explored the idea that another world occupied the same spacetime as our own. In this alternate world, housed in the sub-stratum of our world, demons arose from the fears of human beings. The only way to see this hidden world was to put aside one's fears.

The main villain, Chasm, chose Manhattan to be his headquarters on Earth because of the vast population on whose fears he could draw from.

Michael Alexander was the one man who wasn't afraid to face Chasm and the demons of the Dark Dominion. He perceived this alternate dimension as an energly-filled double of our own, with various demonic-type bits of architecture added to it. Monsters tended to ride the very humans they afflicted. This is seen in a Charlemagne crossover when he tears creatures from the minds of affected dockworkers. The same issue sees Michael befriending a super-powered 'fish out of water' named Charles.

The Final Chapter
The story of Dark Dominion was only published for ten issues. Four more issues were solicited, and one more issue was produced, but, due to the closing of the company, they were never released. According to Shooter, Defiant ran out of money sometime in 1994.

Afterwards, all their comics ceased to be published and the characters - including those of Dark Dominion - were purchased by Golden Books. The rights have since shifted to Random House. Shooter has expressed an interest in perhaps re-visiting the characters and story in the future.