This is another great graphic novel, and a worthy sequel to The Long Halloween. I thought the story was nice and gripping (just like a Batman story should be!), while the illustrations were wonderfully done, making the whole read that much better. I enjoyed the Catwoman character once again, and thought that the author did a great job with the Robin character. I highly recommend this book to any, and every, Batman fan!


Last Stands and Origins   March 22, 2006
 11 out of 17 found this review helpful

In the sequel to the amazing The Long Halloween, Batman/Bruce Wayne and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon are out to catch a cop-killer who hangs both current and ex cops on holidays, very similar to the exploits of Holiday, AKA Alberto Falcone. The difference is that Holiday always struck at members of the Falcone crime family. Complicating the investigation is the fact that, with the Falcone family in ruins, the streets of Gotham City have become infested with "freaks", the supervillains who comprise Batman's Rogues Gallery. Chief among them are Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, the ex-District Attorney whose face was half burned off by acid. Furthermore, the Joker, Batman's chief nemesis, the Scarecrow, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, and Catwoman are making things very hard for Batman.
Meanwhile a new D.A. named Janice Porter has taken over for Dent, and her misguided idealism causes problems for Gordon and Batman. Furthermore, when Harvey Dent's files are stolen out of her archives, his old documents begin appearing on the victims. These, along with intricate knowledge of the dead cops suggests that Dent is the Hangman, as the killer is called, but Batman thinks that they are merely being misdirected (although, it is strange that one of the notes implies that the killer knows something only the true Holiday would know).
Dark Victory shows the final attempts of the Falcone and Maroni crime families to regain power in Gotham. When one of the plans involves using a circus as a front for their illegal activity, a young Dick Grayson witnesses the death of his parents, very similar to Bruce Wayne.
Overall, this is a great story and worthy follow-up to The Long Halloween. While it isn't as good as its predecessor (it's a hard story to top) and it does somewhat follow the same formula (holiday killings), it is still a great read.


Dualling Identities   June 5, 2006
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

Loeb and Sale improve upon the Long Halloween with a gripping mystery that succeeds in tension and suspense where I felt the long Halloween failed. More important than the mystery is the continued look at the relationships of the characters in Gotham City. Jim Gordon and Batman, Jim Gordon and his wife. Batman and Selina Kyle in their heart-breakingly unconsummated relationship and Batman and Robin.

We also get to see the interactions of the remnants of the crime families, the new super-villains under Two-Face's lead and a new D.A., Harvey Dent's replacement getting her fingers dirty interacting with both sides. More than the mystery of who Hangman is, it is the characterization of Batman, the D.A., Jim Gordon and Two Face that make this a superior work. Dualism abounds in this work as you would expect in a story about Two Face and Batman. We get to see the two sides of many characters as well as their dramatic foils. I speak not just of the two sides as in alter-egos, but the emotional dualism of each character as well as contrasting and comparing each character such as the quartet of Selina/Bruce/Catwoman/Batman. That's one complex relationship.

The art...well it ranged from good to serviceably abstract. I prefer realism though I understand what Sale was going for. However it wasn't distracting to me so it worked for the story.


A page turner, a little confusing, but the best Robin story.   February 16, 2002
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

This book, the sequel to The Long Halloween, is yet another winner from Jeph Loeb. All the best from the Batman universe are in here, and his notion of how Robin came to be is the best use of the Boy Wonder I've read yet.

One of the real strength of this one is the use of all the supervillains; every character from The Scarecrow to Mr. Freeze makes an appearance and plays a roll in the story. A part of me wonders if that might not be a continuity error (as Dark Victory is set early on in the Batman universe), but that's certainly a minor quibble. I also really liked the development of Jim Gordon in this book.

The two reasons I knocked this story down: the new ADA, and the confusing elements of the plot. The motives behind the new ADA (the lady who took over Dent's job) aren't really explained that well--more of a backstory would have helped to explain her better. I also thought the book had too many elements at times; three competing crime families, a cast of characters that probably numbers 30+, plus two seperate yet intertwined storylines that both demand a lot of attention. This isn't an inherently bad thing, and the things that I'm still not quite sure of will probably resolve themselves on a second reading.

All in all, a great story. Thumbs up, and highly recommended!


Loeb & Sale have done it again!   October 18, 2002
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

If you have never read anything by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale, you truly are missing out on the dynamic duo of comic book storytelling. I read Batman: The Long Halloweeen a few years ago and was totally blown away by the writing and artwork. It is, hands down, one of the best Batman stories of all-time and is right up there with Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns in my book.

I read Dark Victory last week and it is just as much a page-turner as The Long Halloween. Few people can write Batman/Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon, Catwoman/Selina Kyle and the wealth of supporting characters that make up the Batman universe like Jeph Loeb. The man has a gift. And Sale's artwork, while not for everyone, has grown on me over the years and is definately appropriate for Bats and company.

I would also highly recommed Daredevil: Yellow by Loeb and Sale. They bring the same high level of quality to The Man Without Fear that they've done with the Dark Knight Detective. I am anxiously awaiting the softcover release of Superman: For All Seasons, as well as the tpb version of Spider-Man: Blue, so that I can add to my Loeb/Sale library.