Batman: Dark Victory #1-3

You have to give DC Comics credit. It's been a long fourteen years since they published Frank Miller's masterpiece, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and regardless of the fact that Batman will never be written, penciled, inked, or crafted any better, DC continues to give it the old college try. Sometimes the storytellers are successful, but far more often than not, they fail miserably. Dark Victory does not fail. Dark Victory is by far one of the best series to come along since the Miller induced hey-day, and with ten issues to go, I think it will only get better.

The story takes place in the Batman: Year One era. Batman is a loose cannon, while Police Commissioner Gordon is the quintessential Boy Scout good guy, trying to rebuild Gotham's Police Department after purging it of corrupt cops and his predecessor, Commissioner Loeb. Without their sea legs, the two must take on both the Gotham mafia and a killer that strikes on holidays. Adding to the confusion is a character whom I will refer to as Holiday (see Ba tman: The Long Halloween). Straight out of prison, Holiday is the obvious culprit--but you know it can't be that easy.

Dark Victory comes out on the heels of The Long Halloween. While it serves as a sequel, it is also a stand-alone series. WARNING: If you desire to both read and be surprised with the outcome of The Long Halloween, DO NOT start with Dark Victory. As a sequel, it begins where The Long Halloween left off. The killer, Holiday, is referred to by his/her first name and the premise on which the book begins is the premise on which Halloween left off.

Jeph Loeb's really crafted a page-turner with Dark Victory. His combination of characterization, plot and setting makes for a story tailored for the Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne is, as ever, the mysterious playboy, but is going about things in a very un-Batman-like way. Commissioner Gordon is struggling both with his domestic situation as a result of events in Halloween and a new District Attorney (there's something not right about her?). Furthermore, Loeb's villains are right on the mark--his rendition of the Scarecrow is downright spooky.

Penciler Tim Sale has also done some amazing work on these books. Amazing stuff. Both together and alone, his panels work magic. If the sequences alone don't do it for ya, his character design will. Visually, I don't know that Catwoman has ever looked cooler. And Batman's cape and cowl are classic. There's some really primo stuff in these books.

If I've been at all unclear, let me say it again. GO BUY THESE BOOKS. Well written and well illustrated, I don't know that there's a surer shot than these. DC's really kicked off the millennium in style.