Batman: Venom [Paperback]

Dennis O'Neil (Author), Trevor Von Eeden (Author), Russell Braun (Author), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Author), Willie Schubert (Author), Steve Oliff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

A young Batman must use his developing skills as a detective to track down a murderous impersonator and is led down a trail filled with Native North American mysticism. This hair-raising adventure reveals the genesis of Bruce Wayne's identity as Batman and the origin of the Bat Cave.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil is a comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s. His best works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Mike Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan, all of which were hailed for sophisticated stories that expanded the artistic potential of the mainstream portion of the medium. As an editor, he is principally known for editing Batman. His 1970s run on Batman is perhaps his most well known endeavour, turning Batman from the campiness of the 1960s TV show, to "The Batman", getting back to the character's darker roots and emphasizing his detective skills. This grimer and more sophisticated Dark Knight, as well as new villians such as Ra's Al Ghul, brought back Batman from the verge of pop culture oblivion. His work would influence later incarnations of Batman, from the seminal comic "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller, to the movie Batman Begins in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Dc Comics (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563891018
• ISBN-13: 978-1563891014
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dark Knight - Broken, January 19, 2000

By 

Ramon Varela "pcrossland" (Panama City, Panama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Venom (Paperback)

The reason why Batman is one of the most fascinating characters in comics is because his has always been the most human of environments. No super powers of any kind. Only a man guided by his values, intellect, strength and will power. And it is this last trait that becomes the critical element in "Venom," a work that shows us why Michael Keaton never would have donned the cape and cowl if Denny O'Neil had never existed.

"Venom" shows us that the Batman is only as strong as the Bruce Wayne beneath the cowl. When the latter weakens, the former disappears. Bruce becomes addicted to venom, a sort of super-steroid, and must go through hell and back to once again become the man he was. This is made even more difficult due to the fact that Bruce's self-righteousness and stubbornness only give rise to an enormous feeling of self-loathing.

This is one of the Batman books that best illustrates what it takes to be a hero. All human beings are flawed, and everyone falls at one time. But it takes a true hero to summon up the best in his/her humanity to rise again. Beyond leaping tall buildings in a single bound or clinging to walls, "Venom" shows that the true nature of a super-hero lies closer to home than we'd expect, and that no character in comics exemplifies it like Batman.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even a Batman has faults..., May 27, 1998

By 

B. L. Wooldridge (Barry, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Venom (Paperback)

Truly the best of the Legends of the Dark Knight series, Venom is the frightening story of Batman's lapse into performance-enhancing drugs, and how he must literally climb his way back into rehabilitation. Batman's human side is displayed with such realism that you actually hate what he becomes and then feel the pain he goes through. An interesting sidenote is that the drug, Venom, used in this story is also the substance that Bane, the villain who breaks the Batman in Knightfall, uses as a steroid and strength-builder.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a five; a great story, August 15, 2005

By 

Corum Seth Smith (Hendersonville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Batman: Venom (Paperback)

"Batman: Venom" is a story that compels the Batman reader in a very different manner. Much like "Knightfall," one must endure a period of helplessness with Bruce. As someone whose confidence is so important, because he lacks powers, Batman has lost his central strength.

The story begins as Batman has trailed kidnappers to an abandoned mine. In a heavy rain, the mine is flooding, with a little girl trapped inside. Frantically searching, Batman finds the girl behind a rock. He moves each rock and finally approaches the largest, nearly a boulder. The space behind the rock is filling and in desperation, Batman cannot move it. Before his very eyes, the spark of innocence is extinguished as the girl succumbs to death.

Though Batman has had his back broken, been injected with the world's deadliest poisons, and endured psychological torture, watching the girl die struck him still more deeply. Assuming the guilt that belongs to the kidnappers, Batman tries to gain strength. The father of the girl is a pharmacist who has perfected the ultimate "performance enhancer."

Batman accepts the package of pills and finally decides to take them. What Batman doesn't know, however, is that the drugs harbor addictive properties. The rest of the story is primarily a struggle within Batman to beat a foreign substance that threatens to take over his own body and mind.

The struggle within is masterfully told, and Batman has never seen so desperate an hour. The reason I don't give a five is twofold: First, Batman putting it in his system without analyzing it at the Batcave? The writers explain that some, but still it is unbelievable. Second: He has his utility belt, and I am surprised nothing in there would have been useful to save the girl.

However, the death of the girl is the first necessary tragedy in a string of brutal losses and sorrowful events. This is one of the saddest Batman stories I have ever read, with the possible exception of "Night Cries." Can Batman conquer demons when they are his own?