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Batman
Batman: Dark Detective
In Gotham macht sich eine neue Form von Terror breit, als der Joker für das Amt des Staatsgouverneurs kandidiert: Wählt mich, oder ich töte euch! Der Dunkle Ritter hat aber bereits alle Hände voll zu tun, da Scarecrow versucht, ihn mit seinen tiefsten Ängsten zu konfrontieren. Die größte Gefahr stellt jedoch die Rückkehr von Silver St. Cloud dar. Es gibt wohl keine andere Frau, die Bruce besser kennt. Und jetzt ist Silver mit dem Mann liiert, der bei der Wahl zum Staatsgouverneur gegen den Joker antritt.
Inhalt: US-DARK DETECTIVE #1-6
Inhalt: US-DARK DETECTIVE #1-6
148 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2006
About the author
Steve Englehart
1,374 books101 followersSee also John Harkness.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
February 11, 2016
So i had been wanting to read this ever since i found out that part of the movie Dark Knight was loosely based on this but sadly being where i am i couldn't find this before , now i have and having read it i did see the inspirations . It was a good Comic filled with the usual Batman Charm , The Art was decent and i was pleased with what i read .
January 20, 2016
Nearly gave it 2 stars, but the art saved it. Honestly, the premise - Joker running for governor - is misleading; he's barely involved in the gubernatorial plot, and it's more about Batman prompting Silver St. Cloud to cheat on her fiance (repeatedly).
I'd heard Dark Detective was a great throwback to the incomparable 70s era of Englehart and Rogers, and while it's certainly in that vein - the exposition reaches Chris Claremont levels of over-explanation - it doesn't quite hit the mark. Flimsy plotting, shaky dialogue that occasionally slides into absurdity, and an ending which - spoilers - is the next best thing to a cliffhanger. I know Englehart had a third book planned that never saw the light of day, but come on. You could at least provide *some* closure here.
Rogers is masterful with the art; as I said, the art's the reason this is getting 3 instead of 2 stars, even though Rogers likes to put Silver in next to no clothing wherever possible. Englehart mentioned on his website that he got ideas for Joker's governor election plot from the real Presidential election occurring when he wrote it in 2004. Given the lack of anything meaningful done with said plot, though, this feels like lip service on Englehart's part. What started as an interesting and potentially incisive excoriation of American politics, and a dark and twisted satire of post-9/11 Republican political tactics, ended up being nothing but a limp, two-dimensional love triangle.
On a personal note, I have a big issue with Bruce Wayne being so quick to propagate infidelity with Silver. I don't think Batman would find that attitude acceptable; Bruce in The Dark Knight might've made out with Rachel while she was with Harvey, but he didn't rope her into bed at every opportunity. He may be morally and ethically questionable, but Batman's not that much of an dick.
I'd heard Dark Detective was a great throwback to the incomparable 70s era of Englehart and Rogers, and while it's certainly in that vein - the exposition reaches Chris Claremont levels of over-explanation - it doesn't quite hit the mark. Flimsy plotting, shaky dialogue that occasionally slides into absurdity, and an ending which - spoilers - is the next best thing to a cliffhanger. I know Englehart had a third book planned that never saw the light of day, but come on. You could at least provide *some* closure here.
Rogers is masterful with the art; as I said, the art's the reason this is getting 3 instead of 2 stars, even though Rogers likes to put Silver in next to no clothing wherever possible. Englehart mentioned on his website that he got ideas for Joker's governor election plot from the real Presidential election occurring when he wrote it in 2004. Given the lack of anything meaningful done with said plot, though, this feels like lip service on Englehart's part. What started as an interesting and potentially incisive excoriation of American politics, and a dark and twisted satire of post-9/11 Republican political tactics, ended up being nothing but a limp, two-dimensional love triangle.
On a personal note, I have a big issue with Bruce Wayne being so quick to propagate infidelity with Silver. I don't think Batman would find that attitude acceptable; Bruce in The Dark Knight might've made out with Rachel while she was with Harvey, but he didn't rope her into bed at every opportunity. He may be morally and ethically questionable, but Batman's not that much of an dick.
July 6, 2017
Keep in mind this was from the 1970's, before Miller, before the first Crisis. This means a Batman that's less grim, despite the title. Most jarring is reading Bruce talk about his feelings, and why he is Batman which all comes out because of a serious relationship with Silver St. Cloud. Oh yeah, there are some villains too: Joker, Two-Face, and Scarecrow. Not a bad read, but different from today's stories and version of Batman.
November 5, 2025
Very strange comic, but I did enjoy the Scarecrow relaxing with a pipe and wine in a barn loft! Batman steals a senators girlfriend and shows her his secret lair full of stuff to win her over. Absurd but not as much political humor as the concept would suggest. The Joker needs to up his campaign game, I found it weak!
October 28, 2016
Vote for me... or I'll kill you.
The summary on the back of this book starts with "When the maniacal Joker enters a gubernatorial election, the Dark Knight takes action." I was intrigued how Joker running for public office would compare to the circus surrounding Trump in the United States' 2016 presidential race. If only the election was any sort of focal point for this story. Instead it delves into the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud.
The dichotomy of Bruce Wayne and Batman is always a fascinating aspect of the Batman comics. Which is the "real" persona inhabiting the body? This can be done extremely well, as seen in collections like Batman: Ego and Other Tails. Or it can be turned into a milquetoast soap opera, as is the case in Dark Detective. Silver St. Cloud and Bruce Wayne used to be in love, but she couldn't handle his dual life as Batman; we've read all that before, so nothing new there. But after a single quick encounter at a governor's campaign gathering the two reignite their love. I understand old flames reuniting but this just felt extremely out of character for Bruce.
Joker eventually kidnaps Silver as part of his plan to win the governor's race. Joker goes way out of his way to convince everyone, including the reader, that's he's very much insane. It's mostly a case of telling us but not showing us the crazy. Besides the lunacy of actually entering the gubernatorial election nothing Joker does is all that crazy. Sure, he has a house filled with death traps, but what mastermind villain doesn't? Speaking of the house, it must have been built by the makers of Doctor Who's Tardis; there seems to be an infinite amount of space contained with its walls.
Along the way some other members of Batman's rogue gallery get shoehorned into the story. Scarecrow manages to sneak some fear toxin into the Batcave to terrorize Batman and Silver. Basic Scarecrow plot, except he appears to have no motive behind it except sitting back to sip wine while Batman supposedly destroys himself with fear. The only purpose the fear toxin serves is . Two Face also makes an appearance that has even less purpose and adds nothing to the story except to fill some pages. He has some cockamamie plot about a clone. Two Face's inclusion may have made an iota of sense if this story was part of the regular ongoing Batman comic book series, but this was a standalone miniseries. Both Scarecrow and Two Face get on the front cover, though, while Joker is relegated to the back cover and Silver is nowhere to be seen on the outside of this book.
The style is very much in the 1970s mold. An abundance of thought balloons keep the reader clued into every character's inner thoughts. The pages are packed with panels yet nothing feels dynamic. The dialogue is stilted. Most of the wooden romantic patter between Bruce and Silver is on par with Anakin and Padme from Attack of the Clones (that's bad, by the way). And as mentioned previously, Joker spends most of his talking time stating how he's out of his mind.
Another pet peeve included is yet another recasting of the excellent "The Laughing Fish" from Detective Comics #475. Writers keep using the trope of Joker announcing to kill someone at midnight then sneaking Joker gas into the locked and guarded room. I guess they figure it's a good scene to homage. It strikes me as lazy, usually because the only element changed is the exact delivery agent. "The Laughing Fish" was originally published in 1978, the hey-day of Dark Detective's creative team. And closer inspection reveals the writer of "The Laughing Fish" was none other than Steve Englehart, who also wrote Dark Detective. So it's not a writer ripping off another writer; it's a writer repeating one of his own great ideas. Does that make it better or worse?
The ending is lackluster, especially how Silver leaves Bruce yet again. And I honestly couldn't pay attention to some of the middle issues, partially because they were difficult to follow due to the fear toxin but also because of lack of interest in the events and characters. I know Silver is an important character in Batman's history but she never holds my attention. Maybe it's because we all know Batman will never settle down with a woman (or if he does, it's going to be Selena Kyle).
I was hoping for a fun, mad romp with Joker running for governor. Instead I got a sloppy, nonsensical, boring Batman story. A poor example of 1970s comics published in the mid 2000s.
The summary on the back of this book starts with "When the maniacal Joker enters a gubernatorial election, the Dark Knight takes action." I was intrigued how Joker running for public office would compare to the circus surrounding Trump in the United States' 2016 presidential race. If only the election was any sort of focal point for this story. Instead it delves into the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud.
The dichotomy of Bruce Wayne and Batman is always a fascinating aspect of the Batman comics. Which is the "real" persona inhabiting the body? This can be done extremely well, as seen in collections like Batman: Ego and Other Tails. Or it can be turned into a milquetoast soap opera, as is the case in Dark Detective. Silver St. Cloud and Bruce Wayne used to be in love, but she couldn't handle his dual life as Batman; we've read all that before, so nothing new there. But after a single quick encounter at a governor's campaign gathering the two reignite their love. I understand old flames reuniting but this just felt extremely out of character for Bruce.
Joker eventually kidnaps Silver as part of his plan to win the governor's race. Joker goes way out of his way to convince everyone, including the reader, that's he's very much insane. It's mostly a case of telling us but not showing us the crazy. Besides the lunacy of actually entering the gubernatorial election nothing Joker does is all that crazy. Sure, he has a house filled with death traps, but what mastermind villain doesn't? Speaking of the house, it must have been built by the makers of Doctor Who's Tardis; there seems to be an infinite amount of space contained with its walls.
Along the way some other members of Batman's rogue gallery get shoehorned into the story. Scarecrow manages to sneak some fear toxin into the Batcave to terrorize Batman and Silver. Basic Scarecrow plot, except he appears to have no motive behind it except sitting back to sip wine while Batman supposedly destroys himself with fear. The only purpose the fear toxin serves is . Two Face also makes an appearance that has even less purpose and adds nothing to the story except to fill some pages. He has some cockamamie plot about a clone. Two Face's inclusion may have made an iota of sense if this story was part of the regular ongoing Batman comic book series, but this was a standalone miniseries. Both Scarecrow and Two Face get on the front cover, though, while Joker is relegated to the back cover and Silver is nowhere to be seen on the outside of this book.
The style is very much in the 1970s mold. An abundance of thought balloons keep the reader clued into every character's inner thoughts. The pages are packed with panels yet nothing feels dynamic. The dialogue is stilted. Most of the wooden romantic patter between Bruce and Silver is on par with Anakin and Padme from Attack of the Clones (that's bad, by the way). And as mentioned previously, Joker spends most of his talking time stating how he's out of his mind.
Another pet peeve included is yet another recasting of the excellent "The Laughing Fish" from Detective Comics #475. Writers keep using the trope of Joker announcing to kill someone at midnight then sneaking Joker gas into the locked and guarded room. I guess they figure it's a good scene to homage. It strikes me as lazy, usually because the only element changed is the exact delivery agent. "The Laughing Fish" was originally published in 1978, the hey-day of Dark Detective's creative team. And closer inspection reveals the writer of "The Laughing Fish" was none other than Steve Englehart, who also wrote Dark Detective. So it's not a writer ripping off another writer; it's a writer repeating one of his own great ideas. Does that make it better or worse?
The ending is lackluster, especially how Silver leaves Bruce yet again. And I honestly couldn't pay attention to some of the middle issues, partially because they were difficult to follow due to the fear toxin but also because of lack of interest in the events and characters. I know Silver is an important character in Batman's history but she never holds my attention. Maybe it's because we all know Batman will never settle down with a woman (or if he does, it's going to be Selena Kyle).
I was hoping for a fun, mad romp with Joker running for governor. Instead I got a sloppy, nonsensical, boring Batman story. A poor example of 1970s comics published in the mid 2000s.
January 15, 2018
Ugh, this was awful. I wasn't enjoying myself for the first half, and wanted to quit reading it every page past. The only thing pushing me to finish was shame of not finishing something so short. The plot was just stupid, the art was mediocre, and the lettering was awful. Yes, I actually noticed the lettering. There were dramatic soap opera worthy moments that made me gag. And plot holes! How do you fit a plot hole into 100 pages of Batman?
July 10, 2024
Really engaging story and nice artwork. Great interactions between the characters also. Would recommend to any Batman fan!
April 18, 2019
Batman: Dark Detective is a Silver St. Cloud story. She's one of Batman's key love interests, though shes nowhere as awesome as Catwoman.
The plot here is that Silver St. Cloud is back in Gotham after the last time she was there (when she broke up with the Batman cause she couldn't handle the life style.) with her new fiance, who's running for Governor, but so is the Joker! There's also Two-Faces antics to deal with and Scarecrow is in the mix. The police are also on the hunt for Batman because of a recent law. It's simple while you're reading it I promise.
It has my least favorite aspect of Batman stories which is the contrived love story, though it doesn't make him a lovesick puppy that just wants to give it all up for a woman. Contrived because Silver is engaged and happy and mad at Bruce but then after a Scarecrow dosage the both fall for each other again but also break up at the end of the story, its all very melodramatic.
Worth a read if you love Silver St. Cloud, otherwise maybe if you find it for cheap.
3 stars.
The plot here is that Silver St. Cloud is back in Gotham after the last time she was there (when she broke up with the Batman cause she couldn't handle the life style.) with her new fiance, who's running for Governor, but so is the Joker! There's also Two-Faces antics to deal with and Scarecrow is in the mix. The police are also on the hunt for Batman because of a recent law. It's simple while you're reading it I promise.
It has my least favorite aspect of Batman stories which is the contrived love story, though it doesn't make him a lovesick puppy that just wants to give it all up for a woman. Contrived because Silver is engaged and happy and mad at Bruce but then after a Scarecrow dosage the both fall for each other again but also break up at the end of the story, its all very melodramatic.
Worth a read if you love Silver St. Cloud, otherwise maybe if you find it for cheap.
3 stars.
December 9, 2009
Written and drawn like a poor copy of the 1960's comic. Trite dialog and exposition, characterization very much out of 1990's-2000 continuity, etc.
February 17, 2016
The story was not as exhilarating as "The Long Halloween" or "The Dark Knight Returns." Joker is always surprising people. It was an okay read.
December 12, 2024
Did not realize that this wasn't one of Englehart's classic Batman stories and was instead just a fun little run he did in the early 00s.
What's interesting about this book is that it's sort of an in between of what classic comics feel like and what modern comics are. The story is a little darker, but the character's dialogue feels somewhat comic booky. The 70s era of comic books walked so the 80s and 90s could run in terms of dialogue, and Englehart is stuck in the walking phase of life. The book just sometimes has weird conversations between characters, and I'm personally glad that comics got rid of the thought bubbles. They were kind of quaint and cute back in the day but its something that should really stay in the past.
I wish I knew more about Silver St. Cloud. I want to like this character. But all I know about her is that she's dating the guy running for mayor and then runs right back to Batman since she realizes that she still loves him. Maybe in older Batman comics she's interesting, but for some reason I have my doubts.
The main plotline of the book is that the Joker is running against the latest mayoral candidate. Okay, I guess? It could be a really fun Joker story, and could be a satirical riff on American politics, but nothing really comes of it. All we know is that the Joker wants to be mayor and is willing to kill Silver St Cloud to do it.
Two-Face also gets a clone in this book for some reason? Actually he gets 2 clones; one that's Harvey Dent and the other that's just the scarred part of his body. Again, something could be interesting here, but the book fails to actually follow up with it or create any sort of resolution to the arc here.
Here's my guess: Englehart had a ton of ideas before he was taken off of Batman that didn't come to fruition. 30 years later he was heralded as an all time great for the character. Now he's asked to come back and write some Batman stuff, he picks and chooses what he would've written had he gotten the chance but worse since the books short and he wants to cram us much as possible in there.
The art is okay, I think it would've benefitted if the colorist did some more retro coloring on the book, but they don't and so the art looks substantially worse. There's a grainy effect to old comics that I guess companies have a hard time recreating or choose to remove in reprints, and it actually makes the older stories' art look worse because of it. This suffers because of that same reason.
I cannot imagine a world where post-crisis Batman would have to deal with this. It's such a pre crisis era premise, and I can't tell if DC wanted this in continuity or not. My guess is probably, but I hope it wasn't deemed as such because it doesn't work for modern Batman.
Englehart isn't shaping up to be a writer I particularly enjoy at this point. I haven't read his most seminal works yet, so I can't say I'm completely turned off yet, but I can say the stuff I have read isn't promising. Hopefully I find something of his that changes my mind.
What's interesting about this book is that it's sort of an in between of what classic comics feel like and what modern comics are. The story is a little darker, but the character's dialogue feels somewhat comic booky. The 70s era of comic books walked so the 80s and 90s could run in terms of dialogue, and Englehart is stuck in the walking phase of life. The book just sometimes has weird conversations between characters, and I'm personally glad that comics got rid of the thought bubbles. They were kind of quaint and cute back in the day but its something that should really stay in the past.
I wish I knew more about Silver St. Cloud. I want to like this character. But all I know about her is that she's dating the guy running for mayor and then runs right back to Batman since she realizes that she still loves him. Maybe in older Batman comics she's interesting, but for some reason I have my doubts.
The main plotline of the book is that the Joker is running against the latest mayoral candidate. Okay, I guess? It could be a really fun Joker story, and could be a satirical riff on American politics, but nothing really comes of it. All we know is that the Joker wants to be mayor and is willing to kill Silver St Cloud to do it.
Two-Face also gets a clone in this book for some reason? Actually he gets 2 clones; one that's Harvey Dent and the other that's just the scarred part of his body. Again, something could be interesting here, but the book fails to actually follow up with it or create any sort of resolution to the arc here.
Here's my guess: Englehart had a ton of ideas before he was taken off of Batman that didn't come to fruition. 30 years later he was heralded as an all time great for the character. Now he's asked to come back and write some Batman stuff, he picks and chooses what he would've written had he gotten the chance but worse since the books short and he wants to cram us much as possible in there.
The art is okay, I think it would've benefitted if the colorist did some more retro coloring on the book, but they don't and so the art looks substantially worse. There's a grainy effect to old comics that I guess companies have a hard time recreating or choose to remove in reprints, and it actually makes the older stories' art look worse because of it. This suffers because of that same reason.
I cannot imagine a world where post-crisis Batman would have to deal with this. It's such a pre crisis era premise, and I can't tell if DC wanted this in continuity or not. My guess is probably, but I hope it wasn't deemed as such because it doesn't work for modern Batman.
Englehart isn't shaping up to be a writer I particularly enjoy at this point. I haven't read his most seminal works yet, so I can't say I'm completely turned off yet, but I can say the stuff I have read isn't promising. Hopefully I find something of his that changes my mind.
October 19, 2023
First of all, I've always disliked Englehart as a writer. Sorry, I just don't get the hype. His Batman is the only thing I've read that I enjoyed. His other stuff (Millennium, GL, Avengers, Star-Lord, etc.) has ranged from mediocre to unbearable. But given that I DID enjoy his Batman (now collected as "Strange Apparitions"), I was curious to see how this belated sequel would follow up such a foundational run. Sadly, it kinda shit the bed. There's actually some stuff to like here, including some silly Silver Age antics like villainous clones, a house of traps, and colorful hallucinations. But the main attraction is the return of Silver St. Cloud, one of Bruce's more memorable flames over the years (if only because of her name and appearance). Her relationship to Bruce is the meat of the story, and there are times when it works. But mostly, Silver is too poorly written for any of it to land. Englehart seems to have a rather low opinion of women, and writes Silver as an overgrown child, petulant, moody, and volatile. Unlike Englehart's original stories, her chemistry with Bruce here is entirely unbelievable, and her immature motivations even moreso. I liked Silver St. Cloud before reading this story. Can't say I do anymore. I wish I could say she's the only one whose characterization suffers, but pretty much everyone takes a hit. There are some weirdly goofy lines in otherwise serious situations. There are bizarre out of place 00's pop culture references. All the dialogue is so stilted, and always accompanied by unnecessary exposition (that much, at least, is accurate to the original). Everything I've disliked about Englehart's past work is here in spades.
Another issue with this story is the continuity. It's written to be a direct sequel to "Strange Apparitions", but inexplicably it seems to take place in the post-War Games era nearly 40 years later! EXCEPT, due to Two-Face's appearance, that's completely impossible (he was cured at the time). On top of that, the ending is so abrupt that you don't get any closure whatsoever. So not only must this story be non-canon, it's also incomplete.
The one unquestionable success in the comic is Marshall Rogers' artwork. He adds little details, like Harvey's use of eyedrops, that make the characters feel a bit more alive. It's a shame he died shortly after drawing this story. Apparently he was going to work on a third volume, making a trilogy, but his death caused Englehart to bail, leaving the task to Kevin Smith of all people. Smith would go on to write the (terrible) sequels "Cacophony" and "Widening Gyre", the latter of which he never finished, meaning the Silver St. Cloud saga is STILL incomplete. Fucking hell, what a mess. Skip this one unless you're a serious fan of Marshall Rogers. There's not much else here to enjoy.
Another issue with this story is the continuity. It's written to be a direct sequel to "Strange Apparitions", but inexplicably it seems to take place in the post-War Games era nearly 40 years later! EXCEPT, due to Two-Face's appearance, that's completely impossible (he was cured at the time). On top of that, the ending is so abrupt that you don't get any closure whatsoever. So not only must this story be non-canon, it's also incomplete.
The one unquestionable success in the comic is Marshall Rogers' artwork. He adds little details, like Harvey's use of eyedrops, that make the characters feel a bit more alive. It's a shame he died shortly after drawing this story. Apparently he was going to work on a third volume, making a trilogy, but his death caused Englehart to bail, leaving the task to Kevin Smith of all people. Smith would go on to write the (terrible) sequels "Cacophony" and "Widening Gyre", the latter of which he never finished, meaning the Silver St. Cloud saga is STILL incomplete. Fucking hell, what a mess. Skip this one unless you're a serious fan of Marshall Rogers. There's not much else here to enjoy.
June 10, 2019
Absolutely loved this. Book has a very cinematic feel to it. Englehart is great at writing the Joker, and of course, with his own invention: Silver St. Cloud (one of the most iconic of Batman's love interests ever). This is part 2 of Englehart's Silver St. Cloud trilogy, with part 1 being Strange Apparitions. He was never able to publish part 3, but Kevin Smith did put a cap on Silver's arc in his book The Widening Gyre (for better or worse...). Anyways, the art for this is great also, and has a very 80's feel to it without taking away the story's timelessness. And the story IS timeless. Basically the plot is this: New Senator runs campaign in Gotham City, His current girlfriend is Bruce's old flame Silver St. Cloud who starts realizing she is still in love with Bruce, and the Joker doesn't like not being the center of attention so he runs for Senator too (with the slogan "Vote for me or I'll kill you!" - classic). Hijinks ensue. A big romantic subplot that is done better than 99% of comics can pull off (this is why fans love Englehart's Silver St. Clouds character), the obligatory cameos of other villains like Two-face and Scarecrow (again- done better than average), and a powerful climax where Batman must work with his romantic rival to save his lover from the Joker's booby-trapped house of death (plus blood and gore!). It's got all you need in a Batman story, and none if it is done in a mediocre way, so I definitely can recommend this book.
April 5, 2021
It is hard to believe, with the recent run of really good Batman stories that there could ever be a bad one. But Batman: Dark Detective is one of the worst Batman stories I have ever read. For a moment, I thought I was reading an Aquaman comic.
Gotham Police are after The Batman again in their love/hate relationship. But, strangely there is no Jim Gordon to be found.
There is however, a love interest that modern Batman books have seemed to have forgotten. Silver St. Cloud. Quick backstory, Silver and Bruce have fallen in love and Bruce shared his secret identity with Silver, who then, freaks out and runs away. She has now returned to Gotham on the arm of Senator Evan Gregory who is running for Governor.
But Senator Gregory soon finds himself opposed by none other than the Joker who has decided that he should be Governor and any who oppose or do not contribute to his campaign, must die. Toss in Two-Face in one of his worse appearances as a mad criminal who has himself cloned in hopes that the process can separate his two halves and we have simply one of the worst Batman stories I have ever read.
Or does it go to show just how far the writing has come in recent years.
Gotham Police are after The Batman again in their love/hate relationship. But, strangely there is no Jim Gordon to be found.
There is however, a love interest that modern Batman books have seemed to have forgotten. Silver St. Cloud. Quick backstory, Silver and Bruce have fallen in love and Bruce shared his secret identity with Silver, who then, freaks out and runs away. She has now returned to Gotham on the arm of Senator Evan Gregory who is running for Governor.
But Senator Gregory soon finds himself opposed by none other than the Joker who has decided that he should be Governor and any who oppose or do not contribute to his campaign, must die. Toss in Two-Face in one of his worse appearances as a mad criminal who has himself cloned in hopes that the process can separate his two halves and we have simply one of the worst Batman stories I have ever read.
Or does it go to show just how far the writing has come in recent years.
June 13, 2024
The Joker makes a homicidal bid to be elected Governor, Scarecrow deploys a new delayed-action fear toxin and Two-Face dabbles in cloning. Meanwhile Batman's personal life is also thrown into disarray by the return of his one-time love Silver St Cloud.
This book from the early 2000s reunites a creative team that used to work on Batman stories in the 1970s... and sadly that pedigree is VERY evident.
This really does feel like a Dark Knight story plucked from a different age of comic storytelling, wherein supervillains run for Governor and clone themselves every other Thursday. It's lacking in sophistication and self-awareness in a way that could've been forgiven if it was genuinely from the 70s but for which there's no excuse for in the 21st Century.
For a moment, near the end, it looked like the book might explore some very dark territory which wouldn't have been touched in the 1970s, but then it veers away from it at the last minute, leaving the whole reading experience feeling shallow and lacking in conviction.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
This book from the early 2000s reunites a creative team that used to work on Batman stories in the 1970s... and sadly that pedigree is VERY evident.
This really does feel like a Dark Knight story plucked from a different age of comic storytelling, wherein supervillains run for Governor and clone themselves every other Thursday. It's lacking in sophistication and self-awareness in a way that could've been forgiven if it was genuinely from the 70s but for which there's no excuse for in the 21st Century.
For a moment, near the end, it looked like the book might explore some very dark territory which wouldn't have been touched in the 1970s, but then it veers away from it at the last minute, leaving the whole reading experience feeling shallow and lacking in conviction.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
June 10, 2018
I thought this was going to be horrible given the premise that it's about Joker wanting to be the governor so I was pleasantly surprised with this arc. I really love Silver St. Cloud (have to track down Strange Apparitions) and how the Joker was portrayed in this story. The only weak villain in this story was Two Face but I'm not really a fan of his. Marshall Rogers art was also great.
July 27, 2018
I really wanted to read another Englehart/ Rogers story so I ran down this book. It read much better than I originally recalled when I read it back in 2006. The story is solid and the art is some of Marshall Rogers best in a long time. It was a fine return to this character for both writer and artist.
February 12, 2023
You can go home again. The team of Englehart, Rogers and Austin take up where the left Batman in the late 70s. We get to see one of the best Batman leading ladies of all time Silver St. Cloud (right up there with Selina Kyle and Talia). We have some of the great villians in the mix. We are in for a great ride.
January 7, 2021
Perfectly solid, even quite good and interesting. The one woman of the story getting uninteresting, outraged handling didn't help. My 2 star is most people's 3. If you read it you will probably quite enjoy it but not think much about it afterwards.
August 23, 2018
Stilted dialogue felt like a throwback to a pre-80's, pre-Dark Knight Returns style of Batman, which some may appreciate; me, not so much.
September 13, 2018
I liked this book, I always loved comic books ever since I was 7, I still do, they always been a part of my life. The art in the book was awesome.
July 10, 2021
Why did they do this. Way too much recapping why Batman came to be and so much inner dialogue. On the plus side, Bruce got laid.
January 28, 2022
Just some good old-fashioned Batman. Not as revolutionary or foundational as Englehart's Strange Apparitions was but three decades after that book, this still feels fresh in a different way.
March 25, 2023
It's Batman! So of course it's good!
December 1, 2025
One star for the art. Very nicely drawn. Shame that they sexualised the only female character -_-
August 10, 2026
This is pretty much a continuation of Englehart's and Rogers's Batman run from the 70s which you can read in Batman: Strange Apparitions. Silver St. Cloud is back and her fiance is running for governor. The Joker, Two-Face and Scarecrow all show up. It's OK. Rogers's art is still really strong.
March 9, 2017
The plot is a bit of a mess. The art is meh. However, taking into account the current political spectrum, the sub-plot of the Joker running for higher office is poignant and prescient.
April 13, 2008
This read as a Batman story for people who only have heard of Batman but don't really know anything about him. Even though this was the first Batman comic I have ever read, there was far too much explanation and trying to fit every aspect of Batman, including 4 villains, into one story. Just having watched 'Batman: The Animated Series', I felt that I knew more than what the author expected.
While I guess the idea is that in "real life" Batman doesn't deal with one bad guy at a time (as is often portrayed) and has to keep up with multiple villains at once, it appeared jumbled and with storylines that were not entirely fleshed out.
Also, I don't like Batman being in love...not really what I am looking for in a Batman story.
And finally, the "timely" references to President Bush ('not being on speaking terms with reality') and the Florida elections were quite disagreeable to me. Gotham City and is not real...don't try and mix it with reality.
While I guess the idea is that in "real life" Batman doesn't deal with one bad guy at a time (as is often portrayed) and has to keep up with multiple villains at once, it appeared jumbled and with storylines that were not entirely fleshed out.
Also, I don't like Batman being in love...not really what I am looking for in a Batman story.
And finally, the "timely" references to President Bush ('not being on speaking terms with reality') and the Florida elections were quite disagreeable to me. Gotham City and is not real...don't try and mix it with reality.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews