Dark Victory follows teh same tone as that used in the Long Halloween. Loeb weaves his magic by taking us a step further from the plot line of the previous book. Victory is part 2, but can truly stand on its own. People would be happier if they would have known the character before and that occurrs mainly in the first book, the Long Halloween. The two books can really work together, but I have to admit, I liked the first one better. It was more or less like saying which better, the first Godfather or the second, in which both cases you just can't deny the two materpieces.

Dark Victory is at its namesake very very dark and truly pits the Batman deep down to his roots. The book would have made Frank Miller proud. The mystery, on the other hand, is not that much of a great mystery as in the first book. You could easily figure out who was pulling the strings all along, but where Loeb fails in that department, his words are carried off by Sale's tremendous art, which seems to get better with each passing project those two make together. For a book this size, you would expect Loeb to put in some more beef to it and have Batman more, menacing and more detective like than he's used to. The introduction of Robin is a nice touch. Though one thing is for sure, the essence of the Batman character is that of a dark mysterious loner.

All in all, this book is a treat. It's more of a gem. You can't say that you're wasting time going on ahead with the full read. Loeb should seriously think of penning the next Batman movie, if there ever would be one (I hear Miller is gutting that one out). Those two have Daredevil:Yellow soon to be out from Marvel Comics. They're excellent when it comes to dark characters like Bats, I wonder how they would fare with a much lighter tone with Daredevil. If it fits the same style as Superman for all Seasons, I don't think anyone should think twice about getting it.


A page turner, yes, but there's more to it...   May 23, 2002
 3 out of 5 found this review helpful

I ordered this book, thinking it would be a words-only novel. Although I was disappointed with the short read, it was nonetheless fun. I enjoyed the entire book and every illustration. The book curtails a nice joyride back to the good old days when batman wasn't so confusing and solves a very cunning murder-sequence mystery. I was surprised to find out who the killer was, and enjoyed the end. Buy a used copy if you can(for those who aren't committed batman fans), or if you're a collector, buy the hard cover.

Also recommed Diane Duane's novels on Spider-Man, they're said to be awesome.


Better than Long Halloween   August 10, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

People that have read Long Halloween know the back story on this and if you haven't read Long Halloween pick that up and read it before reading this book. While they are seperate books they could be combined to be one book. Dark Victory starts where LH ends and continues to tell the story of Two-Face, The Maroni and Falcone families, and the new murderer "The Hangman".
Loeb and Sale are awesome again in this book the pace is still fast and includes many of Batman's trademark villians with Joker, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and Solomon Grundy all making appearances. Loeb uses these villians so well in the little time they are in the story because ultimately its not about all of them. While Joker and Two-Face get the most attention it revolves around Two-Face and the two families that are still vying for Gotham after the Roman died in the last book.
Loeb throws in the story of how Batman takes Dick Grayson in to be the first Robin in towards the end. While it isn't to big of a part in the book it makes it more interesting.
If you're a Batman fan you should definitely pick up both of these books and set aside about 3-4 hours to read them straight through.