Batman: Dark Victory
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
It is a Dark Victory Indeed...
Ranking: 5 stars
The first thing I should say is, don't read BATMAN: DARK VICTORY unless you have read THE LONG HALLOWEEN first. You won't be able to understand the plot because it picks up directly from where THE LONG HALLOWEEN left us off, and contains many references to the events of the first book.
Yes, DARK VICTORY is the direct sequel to THE LONG HALLOWEEN, and is a talent of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that is worthy of recognition. The story takes place six months after the events of THE LONG HALLOWEEN. Alberto Falcone, formerly known as the serial killer Holiday who struck at Gotham's underworld on holiday, has been released from Arkham Asylum and placed under the care of his brother Mario Falcone. Meanwhile Alberto's sister Sofia Falcone Gigante, is struggling to keep ahold of her father's crumbling criminal empire. Even though we saw Sofia fall from the top of her father's penthouse at the end of the last book, we find out that she survived the fall, Only now, she has been confined to a wheelchair and is forced to wear a head brace, (according to her, she can't even go to the restroom on her own anymore). Since Two Face killed her father, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, Sofia has been replaced as the head of the Falcone Crime family. But the mob's control over Gotham City is slipping, as all of the insane criminals (Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Solomon Grundy, the Calendar Man, and the Mad Hatter for example) led by Two face, are waging war on the mob that refers to them as the "Freaks." Even as Gotham City is tearing itself apart by gang wars, Batman, the only one who can stop them, has distanced himself from all of his friends, including Commissioner Gordon. He still feels responsible for Harvey Dent's transformation into Two Face, and he distances himself, as he does not want anything like that to happen again. However, the dark knight is about to realize that he can never truly work alone...
For on Halloween night, Police Chief Clancy O'Hara is found hanged on the Gotham Bridge. Unlike the traditional way of hanging, O'Hara was hoisted up by the noose, and what's even more suspicious is a note attached to his body. The note is from the private case files of former district attorney, Harvey Dent, and has the children's game of hangman, written in blood on it. Batman begins to realize that the "Hangman's" killings follow a pattern like Holiday's, as more cops are hanged on a holiday of each month, including some familiar corrupt cops from BATMAN: YEAR ONE. As Batman continues to solve the mystery of the Hangman killings, he becomes even more separated from those he cares about. Eventually his only hope to figuring out the Hangman's identity will come from a young boy who was orphaned by tragedy just like he was: Robin, The Boy Wonder!
What I truly admire about Jeph Loeb, as a writer is that he's able to drive deep into the heart and soul of Batman. He fully understands Batman's tragic history and his motivation for ridding Gotham City of its criminal element. In THE LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY he takes the early Batman and Robin stories from the 1940's, and adapts them for a modern audience! He links Batman's early days with Harvey Dent's transformation into Two Face, the control of Gotham going from the mob to the freaks, and Robin's origin. A feat that only a talented writer like Jeph Loeb could accomplish. His interpretation of Two Face is also my favorite version of the character. Loeb is able to show Harvey's dueling personalities so easily by altering the form of his words and speech bubbles when his Two Face persona is speaking. This was the first time I could tell which personality was speaking in the comics, and gives me the feeling that I'm actually looking at some one with a multiple personality disorder (besides Ventriloquist and Scarface). And of course Tim Sale is always a superb artist when he's teamed up with Loeb.
I like THE LONG HALLOWEEN better, but BATMAN: DARK VICTORY is almost as equally as good! If I could break down Batman's origin into three parts, they would be BATMAN: YEAR ONE (Frank Miller), BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN (LOEB), and BATMAN: DARK VICTORY (Loeb).
Overall, DARK VICTORY is a truly worthy sequel to THE LONG HALLOWEEN!
