Batman: Dark Victory

For this report, I read and analyzed the graphic novel Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. This, as well as the graphic novel that preceded it, Batman: The Long Halloween, are two of the most well received batman stories written since the character’s debut in 1939. Dark Victory Was published in 1999 and follows the characters of Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon as they face the aftermath of The Long Halloween’s events. This crime drama features an all-out war between supervillains and the Falcone Crime Family, with the titular character stuck in the middle trying to deal with a mysterious murderer called the Hangman Killer.

This graphic novel stands out in comparison to other famous superhero stories, both in the storytelling and the art style. In terms of story, the graphic novel is quite lengthy. This allows the writer to flesh out many characters and plotlines throughout the narrative. This becomes very apparent when the reader finds themselves invested in the characters. Even more impressive is that the writer fleshes out side characters that are only featured in minor roles to a point that the reader understands them completely. This is perhaps the greatest advantage that Loeb gains from having an extended page count. He is not the only one, however, that benefits from the length. Sale’s art absolutely flourishes in this novel. In contrast to the more modern superhero art of the likes of Jim Lee, Sale’s art is very simplistic and utilizes a less hyper realistic look. The more “cartoony” style used in Dark Victory opens numerous doors for creative decisions. One of these is the ability to use color to alter the mood of scenes and fill frames in entertaining ways. There are several situations where Sale will fill the background of one frame with a vibrant color. In the next frame, they would use a dark color or a color on the opposite of the spectrum to create eye-catching contrast. In other situations, the artist will simply color an entire scene a specific hue to create a mood.

One of my favorite artistic decisions in this graphic novel comes from a scene when the story draws a parallel between two similar situations. These two situations involve different people at two different times, but they unfold in the same room and in the exact same way. To convey this, the artist uses the same exact framing and panel sizes, one on the left page and one on the right. To illustrate the difference in times, the art style itself changes. In the scene taking place in present day, the art is consistent with the rest of the book. The lines are crisp, and the scene is colored. The scene taking place in the past, however, is drawn to feel like a dream. It is entirely in black and white and the lines are not crisp at all. There is a high amount of shading and smoothness, which is almost never found in the rest of the novel. This creates a fantastic somber mood, while also providing the knowledge that the scene is a flashback.

When reading this graphic novel, it became clear to me that Tim Sale often manipulates panel sizes for various reasons. One method he uses is implementing smaller panels to show rapid movement. This is used mainly when Batman is fighting or punching someone. Another method that Sale uses extremely often is using full page splash panels for an important event. In almost every case, when someone is found dead, there is a full-page spread. This helps the audience realize how important the situation is. The majority of the storytelling in this graphic novel is action-action, as described by McCloud. Sale’s dynamic images do a good job conveying action and a lot of movement in a limited number of panels. There are a few examples of moment-moment, such as the previously mentioned small panels that feature fast movement in combat.

Here we have one of my personal favorite pages in the entire graphic novel. In the context of the story, this is the first killing in the narrative. This character is a police chief that we had met and gotten to know in a couple scenes prior. That being said, this page does a couple of important things for the story. Firstly, it slams on the breaks in terms of pacing with three page length textless panels. This format excellently showcases this dramatic event with a shot that gradually gets closer to the deceased. The second thing this does for the story is establish stakes early on. Because we met this character previously, the audience knows that the story will not hold back from taking risks and making big decisions. In my opinion, this page perfectly exemplifies the genius storytelling done by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale throughout the entirety of Batman: Dark Victory.