In this review of Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1, we’re introduced to the diverse crew of the Event Horizon as they embark on an experimental mission into space. What in the horror could possibly go wrong?
Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1
Writer: Christian Ward
Artist: Tristan Jones
Main Cover: Jeffrey Alan Love
Variant Covers: Martin Simmonds, Christian Ward, Josh Hixson
Pages: 32 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 kicks off at the funeral of Dr. William Weir’s wife Claire. Despite being told to take it easy, he’d rather continue his work with the gravity drive. He also keeps seeing a ghoulish vision of his wife in his dreams.
After the title spread and the overview that states that things will not end well, we’re introduced to the crew, their mission, and their reasons for going on a space mission and leaving Earth. First off, there’s Dr. Kwan (quantum physicist, still coping with the loss of her twin sister) and Nia (communication officer, immediately shown as supportive). There’s also Captain Kilpack, Lieutenant Tsang, Dr. Adjei, Chief Engineer Quinn, and the ship’s navigator, Devlin Connors. Their mission: to test out the gravity drive, and see how it impacts both the ship and the people aboard. If it works, it’d revolutionize space travel.
About 4 hours away from them reaching the jump point, Nia receives a message from Australian law enforcement, calling for Connors’ arrest. He happens upon her as she gets this message, tries to explain himself…but she can’t just let this slide and intends to bring it up to the captain. He, of course, can’t let that happen…
Back at Mission Control, everything seems to be going okay. It’s about an hour until the jump point. Dr. Weir should be happy, but there’s something weighing on him…He’s blaming himself for his wive’s death, for being so focused on his work that he never noticed her illness.
We end Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 with the ship reaching the jump point, the gravity drive entirely online, and the question of what awaits on the other side.
Where to start with this one… I’m vaguely familiar with the movie that inspired Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 (as in I have a copy, but it’s been ages since my last viewing). But space-based horror is always ripe with possibilities as to what can go wrong. Space is one of those classic areas of the Vast Unknown (much like the deep sea, but our focus here is a bit further above the atmosphere). The little introductory text on the title spread states that the crew doesn’t survive this trip, and that the story is how that came to be the case.
There’s something to be said about a well-done foregone conclusion, and I’m definitely intrigued as to just how badly things will go.
I love how each character is given their own text boxes of information about which country they’re from, their job on the Event Horizon, and why they’d have decided: “Eh, yeah, so, I’m gonna need to ditch Earth for a while…”. The reasons are just as varied as their nationalities, ranging from such things as an abusive ex, daddy issues, or just needing a break from humans in general. Devlin’s reason is a secret he’s hiding from everyone (not that this stops Nia from finding out), and Nia’s reason seems to be less about running from something. In her case, it feels more like a “How often would I get the chance to go to space?” situation.
Of course, it also makes a lot of narrative sense that Nia would be the first casualty of the crew. When she’s introduced, she’s established as a supportive presence. Between that and the part where she’s not explicitly hiding from anything, she definitely gives off “heart of the group” vibes. In any self-respecting horror setting, anyone with that sort of designation doesn’t tend to last long.
There’s also the fact that she was their communications officer. If someone gets stranded in, say, space, they’d want to be able to get in touch with someone that could potentially help, so by offing the one in charge of that oh-so-vital function, we can already see a contributing factor to the disaster that will befall the crew.
Then we come to Dr. Weir and the trauma of losing his wife. It gives him a nice parallel with Dr. Kwon. They’ve both lost a vital part of who they are, there are nightmarish visions of both of the deceased shown in connection with their surviving loved ones, both have horrific feelings of guilt toward these losses…
The characterization in Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 is strong, overall. Weir’s monologue at the beginning/end paints him as a logical man, about to be pulled into something highly illogical. Kwon may not have the same sort of monologue as he does, but she does have a passion for science (as comes up in an exchange between her and Nia at the start). I get the feeling that she’d be the last one standing on the Event Horizon (with him being the final survivor overall, given his position on Earth). Or both could end up joining their waiting loved ones. We’ll see just how deep into hell it all goes.
The artwork in Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 is a semi-realistic type that works well for the vibe of the story, with the nightmare visions having more of a hellish red tint to them, everything else favoring cooler tones that feel about right for the vast cold of space.
Final Thoughts
We’ve got a solid introduction here, and I think anyone with a taste for space horror might find a lovely case of the creeps in this title. Bring on issue 2! It did take me a little bit to really focus, but once I did, I greatly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing things get worse.
