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DC Comics Absolute Edition
Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween
Don't miss the latest ABSOLUTE EDITION from DC, collecting the landmark, award-winning 13-issue miniseries written by Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: HUSH) with art by Tim Sale (SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS)! As the Dark Knight struggles to find an elusive, mysterious serial killer who strikes only on holidays, he discovers no shortage of suspects in a Gotham City beset by mobsters and freakish costumed criminals, any one of whom could be his prey.
This volume includes a host of extras, including an interview with Loeb and Sale, a section on the LONG HALLOWEEN action figure line, and a look at the series proposal, plus sketches by Sale! Also, this edition will feature a 4-page sequence cut from the original miniseries and previously released only in script/breakdown format!
400 pages, Hardcover
Published April 7, 2007
8 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Jeph Loeb
1,589 books1,375 followersJoseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an Emmy and WGA nominated American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a Co-Executive Producer on the NBC hit show Heroes, and formerly a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost.
A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner (see below), Loeb's comic book career includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale, who provides the comic art seen on Heroes.
A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner (see below), Loeb's comic book career includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale, who provides the comic art seen on Heroes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
October 28, 2019
It's time I admitted something, more to myself than anything. I don't like Batman as a character. Feels good to get off my chest. He just doesn't work for me as a superhero. He's a P.I. in a silly costume. And don't get me started on him in the justice League. "Hey Batman, we have a crime going on. Grab Superman's cape so you can get there too" Some of the movies work because he exists in a world without a Superman or Wonder Woman but in their world he doesn't work for me.
2nd review: Ok. I'm much farther along in my comic reading and my appreciation for the character of Batman has grown considerably. I still don't like him in the Justice League for the most part but his stand alone stuff can be outstanding! Tim Sale's art is a big plus in this one. I love how he draws Batman. All in all an excellent story!
2nd review: Ok. I'm much farther along in my comic reading and my appreciation for the character of Batman has grown considerably. I still don't like him in the Justice League for the most part but his stand alone stuff can be outstanding! Tim Sale's art is a big plus in this one. I love how he draws Batman. All in all an excellent story!
July 6, 2020
Aunque ya he leido cómics con anterioridad, The long Halloween fue mi primer acercamiento al mundo de los cómics "convencionales" en los que los heroes son los protagonistas, me mantenía alejado de las casas editoriales de Marvel y DC debido a la extensa colección de historias que sus personajes tienen, por las abrumadoras y confusas lineas de tiempo, los crossovers con personajes que apenas conozco, muertes y resurrecciones constantes, los cameos de heroes y villanos que pertenecen a otros comics, los universos alternativos y los reinicios, los eventos que cambian algo en la continuidad, etc la lista es larga y puedo seguir dando 1000 y más razones del porque yo prefería leer novelas gráficas con historias contenidas en pocos volúmenes y con un final concreto, pero cuando vi el tomo recopilatorio de The long Halloween a un precio de risa y con una edición tan bonita no pude resistirme a comprarlo y no me arrepiento de haberlo hecho.
Con Batman a diferencia de otros héroes se tiene una gran ventaja y es que al ser un personaje bastante conocido y con unos villanos tan emblemáticos no necesite de absolutamente ningun contexto para iniciar esta historia, el origen de Batman al igual que el de Spiderman (mi superheroe favorito) es bastante conocido y solo se necesita recordar que Batman hace lo que hace debido a que un criminal mató a sus padres y este hecho lo trastorna hasta el punto de volverse un vigilante. Solo esto me fue suficiente para entender el mundo de The Long Halloween, un gran acierto para el guionista porque creo que es una historia perfecta para iniciar con el caballero de la noche.
En este cómic se nos cuenta la historia de un asesino misterioso que solo mata mafiosos durante las fiestas que se celebran a lo largo de un año en Ciudad Gótica al que después por su modus operandi terminan llamandolo "FESTIVO", es por esto que Batman deberá emplear sus habilidades detectivescas además de colaborar con la policía y el fiscal de distrito para llegar al fondo del asunto y atrapar al asesino antes de que sea tarde y esto provoque una guerra entre familias de la mafia que lleven a Ciudad Gótica al caos y la anarquía.
Lo primero que quiero destacar es el guión, es maduro, bastante oscuro y tiende a romper a sus personajes de maneras bastante retorcidas, esta situación en las que todos son sospechosos y no se puede confiar en nadie crea una dinámica interesante en la que los creadores del cómic juegan con la mente del lector de manera constante invitandolo a resolver el caso con los elementos disponibles, algo que una vez terminado el libro comprobe que si es posible, las pistas estan colocadas ahi como si fuera una novela de Sherlock Holmes y un misterio de habitación cerrada y si pones atención el caso efectivamente se puede resolver, algo que le da varios puntos adicionales a The long Halloween por su narrativa que emula un thriller clásico.
El dibujo aunque no es de lo mejor que he visto en el medio, creo que es idóneo para el tipo de historia que se esta contando y la verdad no desentona para nada.
Y ya para concluir esta reseña quiero decir que mi debut leyendo a Batman fue tan satisfactorio que ya consegui mas historias del personaje y estoy emocionado por empezarlas, sigo creyendo lo que dije al principio de la reseña y creo que hay varios problemas para empezar a leer los cómics de superheroes, pero buscando en la extensa historia de Batman me di cuenta de que hay varios arcos autoconclusivos que al igual que con The Long Halloween, solo necesitas saber el origen del personaje y su motivación para entenderlos. Asi que si algo de lo que dije en esta reseña te llamó la atención, adelante, lee a Batman y si puedes inicia con este cómic que tiene todo lo bueno del personaje contenido en una sola historia: desde las escenas de acción y una amplia galería de sus villanos más conocidos hasta una historia estilo Noir muy oscura con Batman utilizando sus habilidades detectivescas al máximo, se los recomiendo bastante.
Con Batman a diferencia de otros héroes se tiene una gran ventaja y es que al ser un personaje bastante conocido y con unos villanos tan emblemáticos no necesite de absolutamente ningun contexto para iniciar esta historia, el origen de Batman al igual que el de Spiderman (mi superheroe favorito) es bastante conocido y solo se necesita recordar que Batman hace lo que hace debido a que un criminal mató a sus padres y este hecho lo trastorna hasta el punto de volverse un vigilante. Solo esto me fue suficiente para entender el mundo de The Long Halloween, un gran acierto para el guionista porque creo que es una historia perfecta para iniciar con el caballero de la noche.
En este cómic se nos cuenta la historia de un asesino misterioso que solo mata mafiosos durante las fiestas que se celebran a lo largo de un año en Ciudad Gótica al que después por su modus operandi terminan llamandolo "FESTIVO", es por esto que Batman deberá emplear sus habilidades detectivescas además de colaborar con la policía y el fiscal de distrito para llegar al fondo del asunto y atrapar al asesino antes de que sea tarde y esto provoque una guerra entre familias de la mafia que lleven a Ciudad Gótica al caos y la anarquía.
Lo primero que quiero destacar es el guión, es maduro, bastante oscuro y tiende a romper a sus personajes de maneras bastante retorcidas, esta situación en las que todos son sospechosos y no se puede confiar en nadie crea una dinámica interesante en la que los creadores del cómic juegan con la mente del lector de manera constante invitandolo a resolver el caso con los elementos disponibles, algo que una vez terminado el libro comprobe que si es posible, las pistas estan colocadas ahi como si fuera una novela de Sherlock Holmes y un misterio de habitación cerrada y si pones atención el caso efectivamente se puede resolver, algo que le da varios puntos adicionales a The long Halloween por su narrativa que emula un thriller clásico.
El dibujo aunque no es de lo mejor que he visto en el medio, creo que es idóneo para el tipo de historia que se esta contando y la verdad no desentona para nada.
Y ya para concluir esta reseña quiero decir que mi debut leyendo a Batman fue tan satisfactorio que ya consegui mas historias del personaje y estoy emocionado por empezarlas, sigo creyendo lo que dije al principio de la reseña y creo que hay varios problemas para empezar a leer los cómics de superheroes, pero buscando en la extensa historia de Batman me di cuenta de que hay varios arcos autoconclusivos que al igual que con The Long Halloween, solo necesitas saber el origen del personaje y su motivación para entenderlos. Asi que si algo de lo que dije en esta reseña te llamó la atención, adelante, lee a Batman y si puedes inicia con este cómic que tiene todo lo bueno del personaje contenido en una sola historia: desde las escenas de acción y una amplia galería de sus villanos más conocidos hasta una historia estilo Noir muy oscura con Batman utilizando sus habilidades detectivescas al máximo, se los recomiendo bastante.
November 12, 2020
I was not expecting the pure hugeness of this book when I ordered it. One could murder small animals with this and concuss large ones. (normal sized Sandman graphic novel for comparison)
December 23, 2012
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale... I swear, these guys should just rent a house in the middle of nowhere together and just produce Graphic Novels!
I had bought the original single issues of Batman: The Long Halloween, but when DC decided to publish them in their Absolute format, I couldn't resist but to double-dip... one of the best purchases I've ever made. This story is worth reading and looking at in the larger hardcover version and it is one of the books I will cherish until they pry it from my dead hands!
For those who may not know, you may also want to check out the three Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight - Halloween Specials by the same team with stories that loosely tie-in to The Long Halloween. In the 90s, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale collaborated on three Halloween specials that led them to create Batman: Haunted Knight: Choices (1993), Madness (1994) and Ghosts (1995). In the last, based on A Christmas Carol, Bruce is visited by three spirits on Halloween, that of Poison Ivy (the spirit of Halloween Past), The Joker (the spirit of Halloween Present), and a cloaked, skeletal version of Batman (the spirit of Halloween Yet To Come). Having been immersed so much in stopping crime for nearly two years (the time being Year Two in which the story takes place), Bruce undergoes a change, much like Ebenezer Scrooge, in which he is reminded what it is to be human.
I had originally given this book a 4-Star review, but upon further reflection, it is way than deserving of 5-Stars+.
I had bought the original single issues of Batman: The Long Halloween, but when DC decided to publish them in their Absolute format, I couldn't resist but to double-dip... one of the best purchases I've ever made. This story is worth reading and looking at in the larger hardcover version and it is one of the books I will cherish until they pry it from my dead hands!
For those who may not know, you may also want to check out the three Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight - Halloween Specials by the same team with stories that loosely tie-in to The Long Halloween. In the 90s, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale collaborated on three Halloween specials that led them to create Batman: Haunted Knight: Choices (1993), Madness (1994) and Ghosts (1995). In the last, based on A Christmas Carol, Bruce is visited by three spirits on Halloween, that of Poison Ivy (the spirit of Halloween Past), The Joker (the spirit of Halloween Present), and a cloaked, skeletal version of Batman (the spirit of Halloween Yet To Come). Having been immersed so much in stopping crime for nearly two years (the time being Year Two in which the story takes place), Bruce undergoes a change, much like Ebenezer Scrooge, in which he is reminded what it is to be human.
I had originally given this book a 4-Star review, but upon further reflection, it is way than deserving of 5-Stars+.
September 22, 2021
I often hear grumbling that the comic book industry is dying, and unfortunately I see a lot of truth in that concern. As a fan of the genre and artistry that comes out of it, I’m generally worried about the apocalyptic writing on the wall. I do however think there is an easy fix, and it is demonstrated through books like this. Instead of worrying about matching your art with the social and political climate of the time, focus on telling a good story. Too many comic book writers today have a lot to say, but they are unable to escape the current social echo chambers of the world around them, and what you are left with is a soulless regurgitation of obvious motifs and tired commentary. Loeb’s work is not devoid of commentary, quite the opposite, but he has infused this work with the skill and panache of a classical painter and not the wrecking-ball abandonment of a modern day writer. The current world needs a lot of things, but in the world of comic books, the most pressing thing they need is a compelling story.
April 12, 2023
EL LARGO HALLOWEEN, obra de Jeph Loeb y Tim Sale, es probablemente la mejor historia sobre Batman, después de AÑO UNO Y Batman: El regreso del caballero oscuro (ambas obras de Frank Miller).
Y tú preguntarás ¿En qué se basa este sujeto para decir tal cosa? Pues bueno, soy un lector de Batman desde hace muchos años y he visto desfilar en sus páginas a muchos escritores, dibujantes y entintadores que han dejado su huella en el universo literario del hombre murciélago y pocas veces una historia es tan apasionante, compleja y entretenida como es el caso de ésta.
El largo Halloween está inspirada en gran parte por el trabajo de Frank Miller pero también recopila pequeños fragmentos de otros artistas, anteponiendo ante todo los orígenes NOIR que BOB KANE implementó en su personaje hace ya muchos años.
Una historia profunda, llena de misterio, asesinatos y una galería magnífica de villanos, tal vez en este aspecto BATMAN HUSH (Jeph Loeb y Jim Lee) sea una de las pocas que le compiten. Haciendo que estos y más factores la conviertan en uno de los clásicos modernos del noveno arte.
Y tú preguntarás ¿En qué se basa este sujeto para decir tal cosa? Pues bueno, soy un lector de Batman desde hace muchos años y he visto desfilar en sus páginas a muchos escritores, dibujantes y entintadores que han dejado su huella en el universo literario del hombre murciélago y pocas veces una historia es tan apasionante, compleja y entretenida como es el caso de ésta.
El largo Halloween está inspirada en gran parte por el trabajo de Frank Miller pero también recopila pequeños fragmentos de otros artistas, anteponiendo ante todo los orígenes NOIR que BOB KANE implementó en su personaje hace ya muchos años.
Una historia profunda, llena de misterio, asesinatos y una galería magnífica de villanos, tal vez en este aspecto BATMAN HUSH (Jeph Loeb y Jim Lee) sea una de las pocas que le compiten. Haciendo que estos y más factores la conviertan en uno de los clásicos modernos del noveno arte.
May 1, 2016
I am so disappointed in this book. I've been looking forward to reading this story for so long, I feel really let down. I like Jeph Loeb but I really don't think this is his best work at all. I also was not a fan of the art at all, so I couldn't even get excited about that. I felt that the way Batman/Bruce Wayne was portrayed was not in a way that I thought fit - the mothers day bit in particular. I felt the story was dragged out far longer than necessary and it would probably have benefited from being a lot shorter.
December 15, 2015
I had read "The Long Halloween" a couple of times recently, but a friend got me the Absolute Batman version as a gift and I passed through it again, and well worth the time it was.
For reference: the Absolute Batman version of the book is a larger format and printed on some type of special paper that really makes the colors jump. It seems a simple selling point, and I wouldn't have actually believed it, but I compared it to my older version and yes, the art is amazing and noticeably more vibrant. The larger format also increases what I call the "cinematic appeal" of the artwork, and while I've never been a huge fan of Tim Sale, his work on this book is extraordinary, and it is easy to imagine, while reading, that you're looking at the storyboards of a film.
Speaking of film, this book has a detailed introduction by Christopher Nolan, who cites it as a major influence on his very popular and critically-acclaimed Dark Knight films. I've long praised Nolan's films by saying that anything you need to know about Batman can be found there: if aliens came down from space and asked, "What is Batman?" - those three films would be my brief and simple answer. Along with this book.
"The Long Halloween" is a pretty straightforward murder mystery, as many great Batman stories are. It concerns itself with a serial killer on the loose in Gotham over the course of one year. Many iconic villains and friends are included, but the story focuses largely on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and District Attorney Harvey Dent - and Dent's relationship with Gotham itself. (When published in 1996-97, it was essentially a new, rebooted "origin" story for Two-Face. It quickly became THE origin story, though still lives somewhat in the shadow of the most well-known one, which was told brilliantly in the two-part episode "Two-Face" of the legendary "Batman: The Animated Series.")
The primary success of the book is in its highly cinematic art by Tim Sale and stunning script by Jeph Loeb (now the executive in charge of Marvel Television, so thank him for "Daredevil," if not "Agents of SHIELD.") Loeb's writing is charged, emotional, and the story blossoms quickly from comic book to crime novel - which is often, again, where one finds the best Batman stories.
"The Long Halloween" is not only a seminal work standing out against 75 years of Batman history - it is a terrific mystery (I didn't figure it out until the final panels of the book), studying the motivations of the Batman and his most well-known associates, a study of friendship, organized crime, and a shining example of what is possible in the world of comic story-telling. If you are a fan of the recent Batman films, you owe it to yourself to find a copy of this book and complete your education.
For reference: the Absolute Batman version of the book is a larger format and printed on some type of special paper that really makes the colors jump. It seems a simple selling point, and I wouldn't have actually believed it, but I compared it to my older version and yes, the art is amazing and noticeably more vibrant. The larger format also increases what I call the "cinematic appeal" of the artwork, and while I've never been a huge fan of Tim Sale, his work on this book is extraordinary, and it is easy to imagine, while reading, that you're looking at the storyboards of a film.
Speaking of film, this book has a detailed introduction by Christopher Nolan, who cites it as a major influence on his very popular and critically-acclaimed Dark Knight films. I've long praised Nolan's films by saying that anything you need to know about Batman can be found there: if aliens came down from space and asked, "What is Batman?" - those three films would be my brief and simple answer. Along with this book.
"The Long Halloween" is a pretty straightforward murder mystery, as many great Batman stories are. It concerns itself with a serial killer on the loose in Gotham over the course of one year. Many iconic villains and friends are included, but the story focuses largely on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and District Attorney Harvey Dent - and Dent's relationship with Gotham itself. (When published in 1996-97, it was essentially a new, rebooted "origin" story for Two-Face. It quickly became THE origin story, though still lives somewhat in the shadow of the most well-known one, which was told brilliantly in the two-part episode "Two-Face" of the legendary "Batman: The Animated Series.")
The primary success of the book is in its highly cinematic art by Tim Sale and stunning script by Jeph Loeb (now the executive in charge of Marvel Television, so thank him for "Daredevil," if not "Agents of SHIELD.") Loeb's writing is charged, emotional, and the story blossoms quickly from comic book to crime novel - which is often, again, where one finds the best Batman stories.
"The Long Halloween" is not only a seminal work standing out against 75 years of Batman history - it is a terrific mystery (I didn't figure it out until the final panels of the book), studying the motivations of the Batman and his most well-known associates, a study of friendship, organized crime, and a shining example of what is possible in the world of comic story-telling. If you are a fan of the recent Batman films, you owe it to yourself to find a copy of this book and complete your education.
December 31, 2016
So good, EVERY TIME.
August 29, 2021
Si si si, peco por no haberlo leído antes.
Chulada de historia, dibujos y narración.
Una de las mejores historias de Batsy.
Chulada de historia, dibujos y narración.
Una de las mejores historias de Batsy.
November 4, 2018
Let's be clear about something- anyone who has even the littlest interest in Batman will read The Long Halloween at some point in time. It has too big a reputation and too big an influence to ever be ignored, no matter who gives it a negative critique. As such, this review is for people who have read the graphic novel, and will subsequently contain spoilers. In general, it's harder to be spoiler-free for comic books given the extensive visual storytelling that goes on in them.
So that being said, you have been warned....
One of the things I've noticed about the Arrowverse shows is that some seasons work better when binge-watched, while others works better when viewed in a weekly format. For example, I found season 2 of Arrow, which is widely considered to be one of the best seasons of superhero television, to be somewhat lackluster and repetitive when viewed in bursts, while season 3 of Flash, which is widely considered to be one of the weaker seasons of the show, to actually be quite good when binged.
I've determined that this dichotomy exists because of how we expect a pay-off. When something is drawn out over the course of a few months to a year, we expect the endgame to be something more juicy. Because of this, creators are encouraged to employ a lot of thrills to keep interest in the endgame, while also balancing against the risks of falling into filler territory.
The results from these two factors speak for themselves:
-If elongated
-- If the finale is good and the middle part good = people love it
-- If the finale is bad but the middle part good = people enjoy it
-- If the finale is good but the middle part bad = people generally enjoy it
-- If the finale is bad and the middle part bad = people hate it
-If seen in bursts
-- If the finale is good and the middle part good = people love it
-- If the finale is bad but the middle part good = people dislike it
-- If the finale is good but the middle part bad = people generally dislike it
-- If the finale is bad and the middle part bad = people hate it
As you can see, it is harder to pull off an entertaining show when watched non-stop compared to the old weekly format model. Why is that? My theory is it comes down to two main factors: the cost-sunk fallacy and the perks of momentary satisfaction. Regarding the former, when someone is putting in weeks of their time investing into a show's storyline, their primary focus is on the pay-off. Therefore, even if you lose their delight in the middle, you can win them over with a grand finale. Momentary satisfaction adds to that because sprinkling in thrilling moments throughout a series that someone is seeing weekly can quell their weekly hunger just enough.
Compare this to a project that is available from start-to-finish from the get-go. A viewer could theoretically finish it within a couple of days (or even just a single day!), meaning they are focused on the enjoyment of the overall series. It doesn't matter if some entries are better than others or if the show has a kick-ass ending: if it isn't consistently good, you will see people get upset. A great example of this is Luke Cage s1- most agree that the first half was good, but that things fell apart in the second half, and that ended up having an impact on the second season where ratings were low enough for Netflix to cancel it.
I've gone into extensive detail about this because I feel the same logic applies to comic books. There are comics that have been widely acclaimed as individual monthly issues, but when the trade paperback came out, people realized that maybe it wasn't as good as it had been made out to be. Or maybe they think the same, and I'm alone in believing that a story that works in individual issues may lack the same impact in a collected format.
That is the crux of my issue with The Long Halloween. I'm under the impression that it gained this strong reputation because people read the individual issues, as they presumably fell on holiday releases, and got sucked up into a real-time, year-long mystery that Batman was facing. In my opinion, when you read The Long Halloween altogether, as provided by the DC Absolute imprint, it not only loses its power, but also has several glaring flaws exposed. That being said, there is a lot to like about it, and if I were to rate it on my own scale, I would give it a 2.5/4. As Goodreads doesn't have half-stars, I have decided to ultimately downgrade it to a 2/5.
This is because of a number of reasons. The Long Halloween is an interesting concept, but it is one that needed to be realistically-executed. The idea of Batman, the World's Greatest Detective, taking AN ENTIRE year to solve a crime is hard to grasp, but it was absolutely possible for this to be believable if Loeb had pulled it off brilliantly.
However, he doesn't, and that comes down to one main factor- we never see Batman actually doing any investigative work. Nor do we even see the aftermath of alleged off-screen (off-panel?) investigative work. This is incredibly disappointing because if you're going to have Batman spend an entire year falling to catch a simple criminal, then at least show why he falters. Even Identity Crisis, a comic that I abhorred, provided a small letter showing Batman having conducted a forensic sweep of Sue Dibny's crime scene.
And this is made more infuriating when it's revealed that all three of the potential Holiday Killers were regular humans, and not some meta who was capable of hiding their tracks from the Caped Crusader (ironically a similar problem to Identity Crisis). Seriously, 13 shootings and not one of them leaves something that can lead Batman to the shooter's identity? Again, if you want to go down that path just to justify a year-long story arc, fine- at least give us something to chew on.
The second issue that comes up is Loeb's sloppy execution of an intriguing theme that has been a constant in several Batman comic books: this idea that Batman is making things worse. Loeb chooses to depict this by having The Long Halloween set as the transition period between the mobsters seen in Year One with the rogues gallery commonly seen in the post-Crisis canon. Not only are these mafia-style criminals losing power, but they are finding that they have to turn to freaks when put in desperate situations.
Unfortunately, two problems come up in this regard. One, a number of rogues were already established at this point in time, so to act like the shift in power has only now begun seems strange when characters like Poison Ivy, Joker, Riddler, and Grundy all exist (though at the same time, I do contend that none of these villains have gained a foothold in Gotham City yet). And two, Loeb falters to his inherent problem of stuffing stories with too many characters, no matter if they work or not.
Maybe it's cause I read Hush and Public Enemies long before I read The Long Halloween, but I've always said that Loeb is capable of executing this trait of his properly. However, he just isn't successful here. Riddler, Joker, Mad Hatter, and especially Grundy feel forced into the narrative. Scarecrow and Poison Ivy at least serve story purposes, so I could forgive their inclusion.
And then there's Catwoman. Loeb has a great hold of the dynamic between Batman and Catwoman (and by extension, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle), as he more than proved in Hush, so here the relationship is fine and makes for some entertaining banter. What doesn't make sense, though, is Catwoman's role in the story. She literally doesn't do anything substantial other than interrupting Batman whenever he is interrogating someone, which only makes her presence annoying. There is a part where she saves Bruce from being mind-controlled by Poison Ivy, but that role could very well have been relegated to Alfred.
And that brings me to my third point, which is how incompetent they make Batman. I already pointed out his lack of detective skills in a mystery-driven comic, but there's more to it than that. For starters, are we expected to believe that he hasn't created an antidote or counter to Ivy or Scarecrow's toxins? Seems like something he would have done. Not only that, but he literally gets hit by Harvey point-blank in one of the end chapters as well, which allows Dent to escape quickly (Batman, a top martial artist!). There's also the fact that he comes to the premature conclusion that Harvey Dent is Holiday based on circumstantial evidence. Seriously, isn't this guy supposed to be the definitive detective? As in not rushing to judgment? And why is he over-relying on Calendar Man? I get that the Arkham logs could be wrong (Loeb insists on that in multiple issues), but I never bought that this guy actually wanted to escape from his cell (and wouldn't cameras have shown otherwise if we can't trust the logs?
Speaking of Calendar Man, I understand that a lot of people have praised The Long Halloween for reinventing the character as a Hannibal Lecter-type figure by providing Batman with mysterious clues about who Holiday is. And I agree, this was a great way of darkening a character without turning them into an edge lord. What doesn't make sense is how Julian Day even knows about Holiday's identity. In Silence of the Lambs, it was at least noted that Lecter had met Buffalo Bill at some point in the past. Day, on the other hand, never met Alberto, Linda, or Dent in the story. It's possible that he did beforehand or off-panel, but when a reader is forced to make assumptions about integral story beats, it doesn't bode well for the narrative work.
The next critique is on the Holiday Killer itself. The multiple reveals were so poorly handled, and honestly reminded me of The Usual Suspects (considering the movie came out 1-2 years before the graphic novel was finished, I wouldn't be surprised if it had an influence on Loeb and Sale). Let's be clear about one thing- Alberto is the only person who makes sense to be Holiday. His motivation of being ignored/belittled by his father is sound, his "death" is framed ambiguously enough that the fake-out works, him being a top Falcone member means it made sense that he could get in close and kill members of his father's gang without them suspecting, and that his birthday falls on Valentine's Day makes his holiday-themed motif have some grounding in reality.
Why Loeb chooses to add a dumb shock value twist at the end in the form of Linda and/or Harvey being involved is beyond me. Linda, in particular, makes no sense. If she was so desperate to help Harvey move past the Falcone case, why does she limit herself to holidays? Spacing yourself out is one thing, but doing a holiday-themed killing spree was ridiculous. And how was she able to get in close to the members she claims responsibility for? Being a dame is one thing, but I sincerely doubt the Falcone Family guards would let anyone in close. And it's never even stated whether she got weapons training and or had some law enforcement background that would make her easy killings and lack of remorse more believable. All these flaws apply to Dent as well.
My last major criticism has to do with Tim Sale's penciling. I get that he and Loeb wanted to showcase the freak elements of Gotham and its inhabitants, but he went overboard in this department. All the characters look like something out of Dick Tracy, and it's evident that Sale was reusing the same male model for all the "normal" men in Gotham, differentiated only by the facial hair (there's literally a panel where I couldn't tell the difference between Harvey and Maroni in the prelude to the court scene).
Some miscellaneous problems I had with the book:
-Holiday is repeatedly stated as causing terror in Gotham. Except, not only is this not shown, but it doesn't make sense- why would regular folks care if someone is offing mobsters?
-Partly going off of that, I never understood why Maroni was getting so hysterical about Holiday to the point where he was willing to cooperate with Dent at some point. Doesn't Falcone losing guys help him in the long-run?
-Harvey and Linda surviving a bomb that blows up their entire house without any permanent damage (and Harvey is apparently unscathed)? Nonsense.
That being said, I did say that there were positives and there are. I liked how Sale depicted Batman's cape as having this shadowy presence of his own, as well as his character model of Poison Ivy where she seems to be made of plants. And to Sale's credit, his inking is incredible. He really knows how to do noir/neo-noir shading in the book, and it gives Gotham this nice moody aesthetic. The real props, however, have to go to colorist Gregory Wright. He brings out the true shades of Batman's world, adding gorgeous hues, tints, and layers depending on what the scene requires.
The concept of Gotham moving away from a crime haven and to a freakshow was also interesting, and while I do think the execution was flawed (The Dark Knight did a much better job of showing this), I think Loeb deserves credit for taking a stab at it.
There were nice emotional beats strewn throughout the book, between character pairs like Bruce and Alfred and Harvey and Linda. In particular, I really liked the revelation that part of Bruce's PTSD over his parents' deaths ties back to asking his mother to wear pearls and Joe Chill targeting the Waynes because of her pearls. It was very well done.
And as I said above, Loeb has a good handling of the Catwoman/Bats relationship. Though my reservations about the use of the character come into play, I can't deny that it was fun to read the panels of them together.
But overall, there were just too many flaws in The Long Halloween for me to recommend it. Of course, recommendations don't matter here because this is a Batman comic that everyone will read and want to judge for themselves (as should be the case with any piece of fiction/non-fiction to be honest). I just hope that future reviewers of this text look upon with less awe than predecessors.
Given that I bought and read the Absolute Edition, I'll also give a quick review of the other material present in it, which isn't much but still something. For starters, the AE does reportedly come with a few extra pages that were removed during the final edit of the original Long Halloween, like Falcone holding his son's decayed "body". So that's nice.
The intro features a conversation between Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer explaining why they love The long Halloween. It's interesting to see them talk about its influence, given that the interview takes place before principal photography even began on The Dark Knight (which bore the most influence from The Long Halloween out of Nolan's trilogy). So it's kind of interesting to read, though the constant praise from the two filmmakers I found to be meh given my own opinion of the text.
Next we have a look at a limited action figure toy line that ran based on the Long Halloween. The toys do look beautiful, but a photo of them can only do so much.
Next there's an interview with Loeb and Sale hosted by TLH letterer Richard Starkings. I found this to be an intriguing thing to read.
Next is a printed copy of Loeb's original pitch/layout for TLH. I guess it's cool to read how things originally went, and comic book fans will enjoy this the most.
And finally, you have a Loeb and Sale breaking down each of the individual monthly covers. The insight given by the two adds to the previous interview in terms of value, but it only goes so far.
Overall, I don't know if I can recommend getting the Absolute Edition of TLH. As I said, I personally didn't enjoy the story, and the extras that come with the AE don't add much. That being said, AE reprints are, of course, gorgeous to look at and read, and it's nice to see comic book images projected on a larger, thicker paper. That's why I try and get them personally. But if you're a casual reader, you're probably better off sticking with the regular TPB, though I will point out that TLH's AE is cheaper compared to other DC Comics' AEs, so there is that to consider.
So that being said, you have been warned....
One of the things I've noticed about the Arrowverse shows is that some seasons work better when binge-watched, while others works better when viewed in a weekly format. For example, I found season 2 of Arrow, which is widely considered to be one of the best seasons of superhero television, to be somewhat lackluster and repetitive when viewed in bursts, while season 3 of Flash, which is widely considered to be one of the weaker seasons of the show, to actually be quite good when binged.
I've determined that this dichotomy exists because of how we expect a pay-off. When something is drawn out over the course of a few months to a year, we expect the endgame to be something more juicy. Because of this, creators are encouraged to employ a lot of thrills to keep interest in the endgame, while also balancing against the risks of falling into filler territory.
The results from these two factors speak for themselves:
-If elongated
-- If the finale is good and the middle part good = people love it
-- If the finale is bad but the middle part good = people enjoy it
-- If the finale is good but the middle part bad = people generally enjoy it
-- If the finale is bad and the middle part bad = people hate it
-If seen in bursts
-- If the finale is good and the middle part good = people love it
-- If the finale is bad but the middle part good = people dislike it
-- If the finale is good but the middle part bad = people generally dislike it
-- If the finale is bad and the middle part bad = people hate it
As you can see, it is harder to pull off an entertaining show when watched non-stop compared to the old weekly format model. Why is that? My theory is it comes down to two main factors: the cost-sunk fallacy and the perks of momentary satisfaction. Regarding the former, when someone is putting in weeks of their time investing into a show's storyline, their primary focus is on the pay-off. Therefore, even if you lose their delight in the middle, you can win them over with a grand finale. Momentary satisfaction adds to that because sprinkling in thrilling moments throughout a series that someone is seeing weekly can quell their weekly hunger just enough.
Compare this to a project that is available from start-to-finish from the get-go. A viewer could theoretically finish it within a couple of days (or even just a single day!), meaning they are focused on the enjoyment of the overall series. It doesn't matter if some entries are better than others or if the show has a kick-ass ending: if it isn't consistently good, you will see people get upset. A great example of this is Luke Cage s1- most agree that the first half was good, but that things fell apart in the second half, and that ended up having an impact on the second season where ratings were low enough for Netflix to cancel it.
I've gone into extensive detail about this because I feel the same logic applies to comic books. There are comics that have been widely acclaimed as individual monthly issues, but when the trade paperback came out, people realized that maybe it wasn't as good as it had been made out to be. Or maybe they think the same, and I'm alone in believing that a story that works in individual issues may lack the same impact in a collected format.
That is the crux of my issue with The Long Halloween. I'm under the impression that it gained this strong reputation because people read the individual issues, as they presumably fell on holiday releases, and got sucked up into a real-time, year-long mystery that Batman was facing. In my opinion, when you read The Long Halloween altogether, as provided by the DC Absolute imprint, it not only loses its power, but also has several glaring flaws exposed. That being said, there is a lot to like about it, and if I were to rate it on my own scale, I would give it a 2.5/4. As Goodreads doesn't have half-stars, I have decided to ultimately downgrade it to a 2/5.
This is because of a number of reasons. The Long Halloween is an interesting concept, but it is one that needed to be realistically-executed. The idea of Batman, the World's Greatest Detective, taking AN ENTIRE year to solve a crime is hard to grasp, but it was absolutely possible for this to be believable if Loeb had pulled it off brilliantly.
However, he doesn't, and that comes down to one main factor- we never see Batman actually doing any investigative work. Nor do we even see the aftermath of alleged off-screen (off-panel?) investigative work. This is incredibly disappointing because if you're going to have Batman spend an entire year falling to catch a simple criminal, then at least show why he falters. Even Identity Crisis, a comic that I abhorred, provided a small letter showing Batman having conducted a forensic sweep of Sue Dibny's crime scene.
And this is made more infuriating when it's revealed that all three of the potential Holiday Killers were regular humans, and not some meta who was capable of hiding their tracks from the Caped Crusader (ironically a similar problem to Identity Crisis). Seriously, 13 shootings and not one of them leaves something that can lead Batman to the shooter's identity? Again, if you want to go down that path just to justify a year-long story arc, fine- at least give us something to chew on.
The second issue that comes up is Loeb's sloppy execution of an intriguing theme that has been a constant in several Batman comic books: this idea that Batman is making things worse. Loeb chooses to depict this by having The Long Halloween set as the transition period between the mobsters seen in Year One with the rogues gallery commonly seen in the post-Crisis canon. Not only are these mafia-style criminals losing power, but they are finding that they have to turn to freaks when put in desperate situations.
Unfortunately, two problems come up in this regard. One, a number of rogues were already established at this point in time, so to act like the shift in power has only now begun seems strange when characters like Poison Ivy, Joker, Riddler, and Grundy all exist (though at the same time, I do contend that none of these villains have gained a foothold in Gotham City yet). And two, Loeb falters to his inherent problem of stuffing stories with too many characters, no matter if they work or not.
Maybe it's cause I read Hush and Public Enemies long before I read The Long Halloween, but I've always said that Loeb is capable of executing this trait of his properly. However, he just isn't successful here. Riddler, Joker, Mad Hatter, and especially Grundy feel forced into the narrative. Scarecrow and Poison Ivy at least serve story purposes, so I could forgive their inclusion.
And then there's Catwoman. Loeb has a great hold of the dynamic between Batman and Catwoman (and by extension, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle), as he more than proved in Hush, so here the relationship is fine and makes for some entertaining banter. What doesn't make sense, though, is Catwoman's role in the story. She literally doesn't do anything substantial other than interrupting Batman whenever he is interrogating someone, which only makes her presence annoying. There is a part where she saves Bruce from being mind-controlled by Poison Ivy, but that role could very well have been relegated to Alfred.
And that brings me to my third point, which is how incompetent they make Batman. I already pointed out his lack of detective skills in a mystery-driven comic, but there's more to it than that. For starters, are we expected to believe that he hasn't created an antidote or counter to Ivy or Scarecrow's toxins? Seems like something he would have done. Not only that, but he literally gets hit by Harvey point-blank in one of the end chapters as well, which allows Dent to escape quickly (Batman, a top martial artist!). There's also the fact that he comes to the premature conclusion that Harvey Dent is Holiday based on circumstantial evidence. Seriously, isn't this guy supposed to be the definitive detective? As in not rushing to judgment? And why is he over-relying on Calendar Man? I get that the Arkham logs could be wrong (Loeb insists on that in multiple issues), but I never bought that this guy actually wanted to escape from his cell (and wouldn't cameras have shown otherwise if we can't trust the logs?
Speaking of Calendar Man, I understand that a lot of people have praised The Long Halloween for reinventing the character as a Hannibal Lecter-type figure by providing Batman with mysterious clues about who Holiday is. And I agree, this was a great way of darkening a character without turning them into an edge lord. What doesn't make sense is how Julian Day even knows about Holiday's identity. In Silence of the Lambs, it was at least noted that Lecter had met Buffalo Bill at some point in the past. Day, on the other hand, never met Alberto, Linda, or Dent in the story. It's possible that he did beforehand or off-panel, but when a reader is forced to make assumptions about integral story beats, it doesn't bode well for the narrative work.
The next critique is on the Holiday Killer itself. The multiple reveals were so poorly handled, and honestly reminded me of The Usual Suspects (considering the movie came out 1-2 years before the graphic novel was finished, I wouldn't be surprised if it had an influence on Loeb and Sale). Let's be clear about one thing- Alberto is the only person who makes sense to be Holiday. His motivation of being ignored/belittled by his father is sound, his "death" is framed ambiguously enough that the fake-out works, him being a top Falcone member means it made sense that he could get in close and kill members of his father's gang without them suspecting, and that his birthday falls on Valentine's Day makes his holiday-themed motif have some grounding in reality.
Why Loeb chooses to add a dumb shock value twist at the end in the form of Linda and/or Harvey being involved is beyond me. Linda, in particular, makes no sense. If she was so desperate to help Harvey move past the Falcone case, why does she limit herself to holidays? Spacing yourself out is one thing, but doing a holiday-themed killing spree was ridiculous. And how was she able to get in close to the members she claims responsibility for? Being a dame is one thing, but I sincerely doubt the Falcone Family guards would let anyone in close. And it's never even stated whether she got weapons training and or had some law enforcement background that would make her easy killings and lack of remorse more believable. All these flaws apply to Dent as well.
My last major criticism has to do with Tim Sale's penciling. I get that he and Loeb wanted to showcase the freak elements of Gotham and its inhabitants, but he went overboard in this department. All the characters look like something out of Dick Tracy, and it's evident that Sale was reusing the same male model for all the "normal" men in Gotham, differentiated only by the facial hair (there's literally a panel where I couldn't tell the difference between Harvey and Maroni in the prelude to the court scene).
Some miscellaneous problems I had with the book:
-Holiday is repeatedly stated as causing terror in Gotham. Except, not only is this not shown, but it doesn't make sense- why would regular folks care if someone is offing mobsters?
-Partly going off of that, I never understood why Maroni was getting so hysterical about Holiday to the point where he was willing to cooperate with Dent at some point. Doesn't Falcone losing guys help him in the long-run?
-Harvey and Linda surviving a bomb that blows up their entire house without any permanent damage (and Harvey is apparently unscathed)? Nonsense.
That being said, I did say that there were positives and there are. I liked how Sale depicted Batman's cape as having this shadowy presence of his own, as well as his character model of Poison Ivy where she seems to be made of plants. And to Sale's credit, his inking is incredible. He really knows how to do noir/neo-noir shading in the book, and it gives Gotham this nice moody aesthetic. The real props, however, have to go to colorist Gregory Wright. He brings out the true shades of Batman's world, adding gorgeous hues, tints, and layers depending on what the scene requires.
The concept of Gotham moving away from a crime haven and to a freakshow was also interesting, and while I do think the execution was flawed (The Dark Knight did a much better job of showing this), I think Loeb deserves credit for taking a stab at it.
There were nice emotional beats strewn throughout the book, between character pairs like Bruce and Alfred and Harvey and Linda. In particular, I really liked the revelation that part of Bruce's PTSD over his parents' deaths ties back to asking his mother to wear pearls and Joe Chill targeting the Waynes because of her pearls. It was very well done.
And as I said above, Loeb has a good handling of the Catwoman/Bats relationship. Though my reservations about the use of the character come into play, I can't deny that it was fun to read the panels of them together.
But overall, there were just too many flaws in The Long Halloween for me to recommend it. Of course, recommendations don't matter here because this is a Batman comic that everyone will read and want to judge for themselves (as should be the case with any piece of fiction/non-fiction to be honest). I just hope that future reviewers of this text look upon with less awe than predecessors.
Given that I bought and read the Absolute Edition, I'll also give a quick review of the other material present in it, which isn't much but still something. For starters, the AE does reportedly come with a few extra pages that were removed during the final edit of the original Long Halloween, like Falcone holding his son's decayed "body". So that's nice.
The intro features a conversation between Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer explaining why they love The long Halloween. It's interesting to see them talk about its influence, given that the interview takes place before principal photography even began on The Dark Knight (which bore the most influence from The Long Halloween out of Nolan's trilogy). So it's kind of interesting to read, though the constant praise from the two filmmakers I found to be meh given my own opinion of the text.
Next we have a look at a limited action figure toy line that ran based on the Long Halloween. The toys do look beautiful, but a photo of them can only do so much.
Next there's an interview with Loeb and Sale hosted by TLH letterer Richard Starkings. I found this to be an intriguing thing to read.
Next is a printed copy of Loeb's original pitch/layout for TLH. I guess it's cool to read how things originally went, and comic book fans will enjoy this the most.
And finally, you have a Loeb and Sale breaking down each of the individual monthly covers. The insight given by the two adds to the previous interview in terms of value, but it only goes so far.
Overall, I don't know if I can recommend getting the Absolute Edition of TLH. As I said, I personally didn't enjoy the story, and the extras that come with the AE don't add much. That being said, AE reprints are, of course, gorgeous to look at and read, and it's nice to see comic book images projected on a larger, thicker paper. That's why I try and get them personally. But if you're a casual reader, you're probably better off sticking with the regular TPB, though I will point out that TLH's AE is cheaper compared to other DC Comics' AEs, so there is that to consider.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2021
"Such a small gun. And yet it caused so much destruction."
~ Batman, Chapter 13
I read the Absolute edition of this series. One thing that this collection has going for it that it's handsomely produced on thick, matte paper, which means that the black-colored pages don't capture fingerprints in the same way that glossy pages often do. The oversized printing helped me enjoy Sale's artwork, which conveyed a consistently noirish feel. Clear, logical paneling helped me flow through the crisply written dialogue.
The story is where this fell down for me. Fiction requires a willing suspension of disbelief, and the narrative world of comic books requires more of that than most genres, with superpowered, super-skilled, and super-rich beings fill the pages. Even so, comics should be internally consistent, balancing a sense of logic with the inherently illogical; human emotion and motivation need to co-exist in harmony with beings that can fly, wear tights, and shoot laser beams out of their eyes. The fact that such stories need to be grounded in something real and relatable is probably more true of any story set in Gotham, because one of the appeals of Batman's world is that he is more believably (and comfortingly) human than naturally superhuman. Too many times, comic book writers seem to think that because there are superheroes in this world, anything goes.
Loeb falls into this trap. For the first 100 pages, I was willing to accept certain things for the sake of the set up. Mobsters, Catwoman, Harvey Dent, Solomon Grundy; I thought that maybe this is going somewhere interesting and was willing to push any doubt aside. Indeed, at its best moments, TLH seems to build up the two-sided nature of Dent, which starts (in this telling) before his scarring by acid. The series thus could be seen as a refreshing Two-Face origin story.
But then the Joker shows up. I have sometimes suspected that when the Joker makes an appearance, especially mid-way through a series like this, without much reason, the writer has lost his way, or sales are flagging, and nothing makes readers grab an issue like putting Joker on the cover. Indeed, the Joker seems to appear and then disappear for not much reason at all. What was especially jarring was that he murders a co-pilot, navigator, and stewardess, all to steal a single-seater crop duster. Oddly, too, the plane has gas canisters installed and a Joker-like engine cowling. None of this makes much sense, and this incident started to erode my suspension of disbelief.
Another scene continued this decline. Somehow, a horse is running loose on the grounds of Arkham Asylum and no one notices. Batman, without any other visible means of conveyance than his legs, is able to catch up to the horse and tackle the rider.
Logic continued to intrude, and a central problem was the nature of the murders themselves. For starters, the title doesn't make much sense to me, as I always thought it had to do with one Halloween night where a lot of bad stuff happens; an interesting premise, but not for this. Instead, it's about a series of holiday-related murders that are book-ended (sort of) by two Halloweens over the course of a year. While certain holidays, like Halloween, lend themselves to mood and theme, the holiday hook stumbles and becomes forced and awkward, such that by the end a killing happens on one of the most prosaic and colorless holidays of the year: Labor Day.
What's striking is that Batman and the other characters don't seem to have a sense of urgency about stopping the next murder before the next holiday. They find very little, if any, clues, that would put them on the trail of the murderer, which would mean a climax building up to the final issues. Loeb builds none of that expected tension. If "The Long Halloween" was meant to imply a long string of terror and horror, none of that comes through in the book and its seemingly random string of murders. I was particularly struck by the murder of the coroner, which seems to have little to do with anything and didn't even make much sense to me after it's explained.
Instead, the "mystery" has to do with clues that we, as readers see, but not necessarily the characters themselves. Batman thinks Dent's involved, Dent accuses Bruce Wayne, Falcone accuses Moroni, and so on, without any real evidence for any of this finger pointing. There may be three murderers, but the ending on that score is kind of murky. Loeb throws out some false leads, like showing a baby bottle nipple in Jim Gordon's house; the murderer uses a bottle nipple as a silencer, so maybe Jim is the killer! This is an obvious red herring, and there are several moments like this where Loeb seems to think he can create a sense of mystery by resorting to such clumsy tricks.
Then, details about the murder weapon and the murderer's calling card made little sense. The believability of this is crucial to the whole story, because it forms the central motif of the holiday murders themselves. However, here as elsewhere, comic book creators once again betray a lack of basic understanding about firearms. The chief problem is that the killer uses a .22 caliber handgun. At times, this offered Loeb the option to play up the fact that the murderer liked the number 2 (so, tipping the reader toward Dent), but then Loeb also suggests that it's a lightweight weapon (perfect for one of several possible female suspects).
While this seems to suit Loeb's purposes for creating false tension, it's actually a poor choice in real-world terms. I find it hard to believe that this kind of pistol could easily penetrate thick doors, as it does in one scene, or even car windows, as it does in another (and, presumably, mob guys might want to invest in some custom bullet-proof windows). Sometimes, the .22 is able to kill as easily as a 9 mm or .45, when multiple shots from the smaller-caliber pistol would likely be required. And yet the killer expresses surprise when the rounds are stopped by quite visible Kevlar body armor. The milk bottle nipple doesn't make sense as a silencer, because after one shot, it's useless.
Too, the killer has the habit of collecting shell casings and leaving them in a neat pile (along with other crime scene signatures); this would be time consuming and difficult to do in the dark, in a garden, and so on. The murderer's modus operandi was already straining credibility when, by pages 236-237, the following happens. The killer shoots through a bush, shoots someone who attempts to shoot back, is chased by dogs, and runs away. Yet, he or she till somehow manages to leave a signature holiday murder pile -- a pistol, a busted bottle-top silencer, a tie (in an open box, so readers can see it), and (least likely of all) two shell casings. All of this is positioned neatly by the guy the killer just murdered, despite being chased and what not. Incredibly, the pistol-armed survivor also doesn't witness the shooter, despite the time taken to leave the calling card there, all in plain sight. This doesn't make sense even within the very scene that readers are watching unfold, and it raises questions about whether Loeb thought through the killer's signature or just made it fit as he went along, hoping attentive readers wouldn't notice. Similarly, the shooting literally around the Riddler raises similar questions, mainly why the Riddler couldn't see and thus identify the shooter during the long process that that particular shooting would have required.
These are the most obvious flaws, but other details didn't add up. Batman is able to track someone down because the nails used in a bomb have serial numbers. I don't think most nails have serial numbers, even though other parts of the bomb would; why Loeb chose nails here is a bit baffling. Poison Ivy takes over Wayne Manor but Alfred doesn't do anything (nor is he shown being poisoned by Ivy, which would be the logical explanation here). Batman goes into a dive bar and beats up everyone, while the person he's looking for, the Riddler, was simply sitting in the corner the whole time. Toward the end, Two-Face has a chance to shoot Batman at point-blank range but punches him instead. The Holiday murderer shoots 4 mobsters and then blows up their car, which apparently has enough force to act as a car bomb; in any case, why the killer simply didn't blow up the car with the mobsters inside it is puzzling.
Batman talks to the Calendar Man on numerous occasions, and continues to go to him, without getting much help from him. Loeb's choice here was probably to remind latecomers to the series that the Holiday killer can't be Calendar Man, because he's locked up; although it's interesting to note how other villains so easily break out of Arkham when the plot requires them to, and someone like Calendar Man remains incarcerated because, well, the plot requires him to.
And among the numerous all-star villains who show up, Catwoman's purpose was poorly explained, except she's needed to save Batman at one point; otherwise, there's little motivation for her to simply spy on Batman, when she could just as well read about the murders in the paper and use all of the Holiday distraction to rob jewelry stores or something. In any case, I don't know how stealthy she could be wearing a stack of bangles on each wrist; while this looks great, it seems like it would make unnecessary noise for a thief. Batman, also a night-prowler, doesn't wear jewelry; why would Catwoman? Catwoman and all of the A-list villains for some reason decide to work together near the end, which makes for a great-looking 2-page spread but otherwise comes out of nowhere.
By the end, I didn't care very much about the killer and their motivations. This is mainly because Loeb invested so little effort in making readers care about them. What's strange is that Loeb makes us believe that one of the murderers was actually killed, and so that person doesn't even appear in most of the story and so is kind of ruled out as a suspect. The other is such a mouse that I'm not even sure that I believe that they could do anything like that, let a lone a string of gangland killings. "My dad works too hard and forgets my birthdays" and "My husband works too hard and leaves me at home" may make for sad and empathy-worthy characters, to be sure, but these hardly seem like strong, compelling drives to commit serial murder. Too, it's hard to know which of the three characters committed which murders, making each killer's motivations for specific killings ill-defined. It's also difficult to see what the killers gained in the process, which could be interpreted as irony but instead just makes the whole narrative feel pointless.
What's worse is to step back and think about Batman's role in all this. Indeed, his role is largely passive, acting as narrative glue for all of this mayhem and confusion to occur. The Dark Knight Detective doesn't seem to solve anything, which underscores that Loeb wasn't able to piece together a suspenseful mystery story throughout any of this. Instead, one of the killers is revealed in a rather hamfisted way, maybe because by the last issues Loeb felt forced to do so. Batman happens to be in disguise, the killer happens to be lurking in the shadows of Gotham City jail, at just the right spot at just the right time to ambush a prisoner transfer. And thus, by pure happenstance, the killer is revealed. I guess the Calendar Man did provide a crucial insight here, but what's strange is that Batman didn't come to this realization on his own, after months of these murders. It also comes far too late in the story to be meaningful, lending credence to the idea that Loeb simply had to wrap this up soon and so made everything come together.
In a similar way, the other killer essentially gives up, making that ending neat and tidy. At the same time, there's apparently a third killer who got away with it (for now). Thus, Batman is given two thirds of these arrests and misses the third. None of this feels earned through his characteristic vigilant surveillance, careful crime scene investigations, and painstaking detective work that would build a case over time.
It's also worth noting that Batman stopped none of the murders shown, which most writers would have Batman do in any other story. Maybe that's because most of the victims are criminals themselves. Indeed, it's hard to escape the feeling that Gordon and Batman may be fundamentally lackadaisical about all this mass slaughter because the entire "Roman Empire" is essentially wiped out in the process. This weakens readers' connection to the story; if the heroes themselves don't seem to care very much, why should we? Or, if we do care, why don't the heroes?
Thus, while The Long Halloween has some interesting artwork and a different take on Two-Face, it's hard to consider this a grand work worthy of its reputation. At worst, it leaves a lingering question: if the killer could get away with it, what does this say about Batman as the World’s Greatest Detective?
~ Batman, Chapter 13
I read the Absolute edition of this series. One thing that this collection has going for it that it's handsomely produced on thick, matte paper, which means that the black-colored pages don't capture fingerprints in the same way that glossy pages often do. The oversized printing helped me enjoy Sale's artwork, which conveyed a consistently noirish feel. Clear, logical paneling helped me flow through the crisply written dialogue.
The story is where this fell down for me. Fiction requires a willing suspension of disbelief, and the narrative world of comic books requires more of that than most genres, with superpowered, super-skilled, and super-rich beings fill the pages. Even so, comics should be internally consistent, balancing a sense of logic with the inherently illogical; human emotion and motivation need to co-exist in harmony with beings that can fly, wear tights, and shoot laser beams out of their eyes. The fact that such stories need to be grounded in something real and relatable is probably more true of any story set in Gotham, because one of the appeals of Batman's world is that he is more believably (and comfortingly) human than naturally superhuman. Too many times, comic book writers seem to think that because there are superheroes in this world, anything goes.
Loeb falls into this trap. For the first 100 pages, I was willing to accept certain things for the sake of the set up. Mobsters, Catwoman, Harvey Dent, Solomon Grundy; I thought that maybe this is going somewhere interesting and was willing to push any doubt aside. Indeed, at its best moments, TLH seems to build up the two-sided nature of Dent, which starts (in this telling) before his scarring by acid. The series thus could be seen as a refreshing Two-Face origin story.
But then the Joker shows up. I have sometimes suspected that when the Joker makes an appearance, especially mid-way through a series like this, without much reason, the writer has lost his way, or sales are flagging, and nothing makes readers grab an issue like putting Joker on the cover. Indeed, the Joker seems to appear and then disappear for not much reason at all. What was especially jarring was that he murders a co-pilot, navigator, and stewardess, all to steal a single-seater crop duster. Oddly, too, the plane has gas canisters installed and a Joker-like engine cowling. None of this makes much sense, and this incident started to erode my suspension of disbelief.
Another scene continued this decline. Somehow, a horse is running loose on the grounds of Arkham Asylum and no one notices. Batman, without any other visible means of conveyance than his legs, is able to catch up to the horse and tackle the rider.
Logic continued to intrude, and a central problem was the nature of the murders themselves. For starters, the title doesn't make much sense to me, as I always thought it had to do with one Halloween night where a lot of bad stuff happens; an interesting premise, but not for this. Instead, it's about a series of holiday-related murders that are book-ended (sort of) by two Halloweens over the course of a year. While certain holidays, like Halloween, lend themselves to mood and theme, the holiday hook stumbles and becomes forced and awkward, such that by the end a killing happens on one of the most prosaic and colorless holidays of the year: Labor Day.
What's striking is that Batman and the other characters don't seem to have a sense of urgency about stopping the next murder before the next holiday. They find very little, if any, clues, that would put them on the trail of the murderer, which would mean a climax building up to the final issues. Loeb builds none of that expected tension. If "The Long Halloween" was meant to imply a long string of terror and horror, none of that comes through in the book and its seemingly random string of murders. I was particularly struck by the murder of the coroner, which seems to have little to do with anything and didn't even make much sense to me after it's explained.
Instead, the "mystery" has to do with clues that we, as readers see, but not necessarily the characters themselves. Batman thinks Dent's involved, Dent accuses Bruce Wayne, Falcone accuses Moroni, and so on, without any real evidence for any of this finger pointing. There may be three murderers, but the ending on that score is kind of murky. Loeb throws out some false leads, like showing a baby bottle nipple in Jim Gordon's house; the murderer uses a bottle nipple as a silencer, so maybe Jim is the killer! This is an obvious red herring, and there are several moments like this where Loeb seems to think he can create a sense of mystery by resorting to such clumsy tricks.
Then, details about the murder weapon and the murderer's calling card made little sense. The believability of this is crucial to the whole story, because it forms the central motif of the holiday murders themselves. However, here as elsewhere, comic book creators once again betray a lack of basic understanding about firearms. The chief problem is that the killer uses a .22 caliber handgun. At times, this offered Loeb the option to play up the fact that the murderer liked the number 2 (so, tipping the reader toward Dent), but then Loeb also suggests that it's a lightweight weapon (perfect for one of several possible female suspects).
While this seems to suit Loeb's purposes for creating false tension, it's actually a poor choice in real-world terms. I find it hard to believe that this kind of pistol could easily penetrate thick doors, as it does in one scene, or even car windows, as it does in another (and, presumably, mob guys might want to invest in some custom bullet-proof windows). Sometimes, the .22 is able to kill as easily as a 9 mm or .45, when multiple shots from the smaller-caliber pistol would likely be required. And yet the killer expresses surprise when the rounds are stopped by quite visible Kevlar body armor. The milk bottle nipple doesn't make sense as a silencer, because after one shot, it's useless.
Too, the killer has the habit of collecting shell casings and leaving them in a neat pile (along with other crime scene signatures); this would be time consuming and difficult to do in the dark, in a garden, and so on. The murderer's modus operandi was already straining credibility when, by pages 236-237, the following happens. The killer shoots through a bush, shoots someone who attempts to shoot back, is chased by dogs, and runs away. Yet, he or she till somehow manages to leave a signature holiday murder pile -- a pistol, a busted bottle-top silencer, a tie (in an open box, so readers can see it), and (least likely of all) two shell casings. All of this is positioned neatly by the guy the killer just murdered, despite being chased and what not. Incredibly, the pistol-armed survivor also doesn't witness the shooter, despite the time taken to leave the calling card there, all in plain sight. This doesn't make sense even within the very scene that readers are watching unfold, and it raises questions about whether Loeb thought through the killer's signature or just made it fit as he went along, hoping attentive readers wouldn't notice. Similarly, the shooting literally around the Riddler raises similar questions, mainly why the Riddler couldn't see and thus identify the shooter during the long process that that particular shooting would have required.
These are the most obvious flaws, but other details didn't add up. Batman is able to track someone down because the nails used in a bomb have serial numbers. I don't think most nails have serial numbers, even though other parts of the bomb would; why Loeb chose nails here is a bit baffling. Poison Ivy takes over Wayne Manor but Alfred doesn't do anything (nor is he shown being poisoned by Ivy, which would be the logical explanation here). Batman goes into a dive bar and beats up everyone, while the person he's looking for, the Riddler, was simply sitting in the corner the whole time. Toward the end, Two-Face has a chance to shoot Batman at point-blank range but punches him instead. The Holiday murderer shoots 4 mobsters and then blows up their car, which apparently has enough force to act as a car bomb; in any case, why the killer simply didn't blow up the car with the mobsters inside it is puzzling.
Batman talks to the Calendar Man on numerous occasions, and continues to go to him, without getting much help from him. Loeb's choice here was probably to remind latecomers to the series that the Holiday killer can't be Calendar Man, because he's locked up; although it's interesting to note how other villains so easily break out of Arkham when the plot requires them to, and someone like Calendar Man remains incarcerated because, well, the plot requires him to.
And among the numerous all-star villains who show up, Catwoman's purpose was poorly explained, except she's needed to save Batman at one point; otherwise, there's little motivation for her to simply spy on Batman, when she could just as well read about the murders in the paper and use all of the Holiday distraction to rob jewelry stores or something. In any case, I don't know how stealthy she could be wearing a stack of bangles on each wrist; while this looks great, it seems like it would make unnecessary noise for a thief. Batman, also a night-prowler, doesn't wear jewelry; why would Catwoman? Catwoman and all of the A-list villains for some reason decide to work together near the end, which makes for a great-looking 2-page spread but otherwise comes out of nowhere.
By the end, I didn't care very much about the killer and their motivations. This is mainly because Loeb invested so little effort in making readers care about them. What's strange is that Loeb makes us believe that one of the murderers was actually killed, and so that person doesn't even appear in most of the story and so is kind of ruled out as a suspect. The other is such a mouse that I'm not even sure that I believe that they could do anything like that, let a lone a string of gangland killings. "My dad works too hard and forgets my birthdays" and "My husband works too hard and leaves me at home" may make for sad and empathy-worthy characters, to be sure, but these hardly seem like strong, compelling drives to commit serial murder. Too, it's hard to know which of the three characters committed which murders, making each killer's motivations for specific killings ill-defined. It's also difficult to see what the killers gained in the process, which could be interpreted as irony but instead just makes the whole narrative feel pointless.
What's worse is to step back and think about Batman's role in all this. Indeed, his role is largely passive, acting as narrative glue for all of this mayhem and confusion to occur. The Dark Knight Detective doesn't seem to solve anything, which underscores that Loeb wasn't able to piece together a suspenseful mystery story throughout any of this. Instead, one of the killers is revealed in a rather hamfisted way, maybe because by the last issues Loeb felt forced to do so. Batman happens to be in disguise, the killer happens to be lurking in the shadows of Gotham City jail, at just the right spot at just the right time to ambush a prisoner transfer. And thus, by pure happenstance, the killer is revealed. I guess the Calendar Man did provide a crucial insight here, but what's strange is that Batman didn't come to this realization on his own, after months of these murders. It also comes far too late in the story to be meaningful, lending credence to the idea that Loeb simply had to wrap this up soon and so made everything come together.
In a similar way, the other killer essentially gives up, making that ending neat and tidy. At the same time, there's apparently a third killer who got away with it (for now). Thus, Batman is given two thirds of these arrests and misses the third. None of this feels earned through his characteristic vigilant surveillance, careful crime scene investigations, and painstaking detective work that would build a case over time.
It's also worth noting that Batman stopped none of the murders shown, which most writers would have Batman do in any other story. Maybe that's because most of the victims are criminals themselves. Indeed, it's hard to escape the feeling that Gordon and Batman may be fundamentally lackadaisical about all this mass slaughter because the entire "Roman Empire" is essentially wiped out in the process. This weakens readers' connection to the story; if the heroes themselves don't seem to care very much, why should we? Or, if we do care, why don't the heroes?
Thus, while The Long Halloween has some interesting artwork and a different take on Two-Face, it's hard to consider this a grand work worthy of its reputation. At worst, it leaves a lingering question: if the killer could get away with it, what does this say about Batman as the World’s Greatest Detective?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2015
I remember reading Batman: The Long Halloween years ago, and really liking it. It was one of my first real Batman experiences (along with Batman: Shaman). I'm glad to see that it holds up pretty well (for the most part).
The story, which is set after the events of Batman: Year One, follow another year in the career of Batman, as he tries to track down a serial killer picking off members of one of Gotham's most notorious crime families. Batman, Gordon, and Dent form a pact to bring down the family and bring the killer to justice. Meanwhile, Batman has to deal with the increase in freaks who are showing up to cause problems in his city.
All in all, this is a solid Batman entry, especially in the "Year One Era". Batman is still young, but is starting to hit his stride. He's got a handle of his caped identity and is still developing his methods. His relationship with Gordon is starting to stabilize, despite their different methods. He's still not completely used to the more outlandish members of his cast of characters, but he's getting there.
Loeb really nails Gordon, here. This is Gordon, still struggling with the nature of Gotham, still struggling with the graft and corruption that infects the department, and still not 100% comfortable with Batman. Seeing the little slices of his personal life helped breathe a lot of life into his character.
It's impossible to talk about The Long Halloween without mentioning Sale's artwork. Not to state the obvious, but it's not for everyone. I like a lot of Sale's work, and there are some truly fantastic panels here, but his work is very stylized. His Batman is... not my favorite. There's something about the horns and how... lumpy his Batman is. Likewise, Catwoman. I'm not really sure what's going on with her torso. Sale depicts her with muscles on top of muscles on top of muscles... I think they're, unfortunately, the weakest elements of Sale's visuals here (especially unfortunate, since it's a Batman book, and Catwoman makes frequent appearances).
But some of his designs are fantastic. His Joker is among my favorites; he's all weird angles and teeth. So many teeth. Even when he's just sitting reading a newspaper, he's clearly the Joker, and he's clearly a creepy, malevolent creature.
Personally, Sale's artwork (as much as I don't particularly like his Batman or Catwoman designs) really works for me. His subdued color palette and expressionistic layouts help give the book a very strong noir sensibility. I also appreciate how much he lets the characters designs do the work of characterization.
A reoccurring theme in the book is the changing nature of Gotham and the criminal element there. Dual natures are constantly being brought up and explored. Organized crime vs. "the freaks." Crime vs. Law. Chaos vs. Order. The whole book is essentially the origin of Two-Face, so it makes sense that Sale and Loeb would play around with the theme throughout. Sale's artwork helps visually represent the change in Gotham; the Roman and his family (indeed, most of the "normal" characters) are depicted with generally human features that are, if exaggerated at times, still well within the norm for humans in a comic book.
Compare them to Batman's rogues, though. The rogues are depicted in positively freakish, grotesque forms. They're depicted as severely distorted and outlandish, some of them barely human at all:
So, like I said... not for everyone.
And, as much as I like this book, even I can admit... the mystery isn't perfect. The plot is a little bit of a mess, and there's a feeling that even Loeb and Sale weren't completely sure who the killer was supposed to be, or made changes at the last minute.
Loeb does cheat a bit on the story side. The final revelations don't have as much impact as they probably should, and there aren't really enough real clues to definitively say who the killer was (and Loeb and Sale refuse to clarify). Batman narrates parts of the story, but there are many scenes that are shown to the reader that Batman can't have seen. And, seriously, why doesn't Riddler just tell everyone who Holiday was? Tsk.
Despite that, it's still a very entertaining romp through the Dark Knight's world, and it functions well as an origin story. I really enjoyed rereading it, despite the flaws.
The story, which is set after the events of Batman: Year One, follow another year in the career of Batman, as he tries to track down a serial killer picking off members of one of Gotham's most notorious crime families. Batman, Gordon, and Dent form a pact to bring down the family and bring the killer to justice. Meanwhile, Batman has to deal with the increase in freaks who are showing up to cause problems in his city.
All in all, this is a solid Batman entry, especially in the "Year One Era". Batman is still young, but is starting to hit his stride. He's got a handle of his caped identity and is still developing his methods. His relationship with Gordon is starting to stabilize, despite their different methods. He's still not completely used to the more outlandish members of his cast of characters, but he's getting there.
Loeb really nails Gordon, here. This is Gordon, still struggling with the nature of Gotham, still struggling with the graft and corruption that infects the department, and still not 100% comfortable with Batman. Seeing the little slices of his personal life helped breathe a lot of life into his character.
It's impossible to talk about The Long Halloween without mentioning Sale's artwork. Not to state the obvious, but it's not for everyone. I like a lot of Sale's work, and there are some truly fantastic panels here, but his work is very stylized. His Batman is... not my favorite. There's something about the horns and how... lumpy his Batman is. Likewise, Catwoman. I'm not really sure what's going on with her torso. Sale depicts her with muscles on top of muscles on top of muscles... I think they're, unfortunately, the weakest elements of Sale's visuals here (especially unfortunate, since it's a Batman book, and Catwoman makes frequent appearances).
But some of his designs are fantastic. His Joker is among my favorites; he's all weird angles and teeth. So many teeth. Even when he's just sitting reading a newspaper, he's clearly the Joker, and he's clearly a creepy, malevolent creature.
Personally, Sale's artwork (as much as I don't particularly like his Batman or Catwoman designs) really works for me. His subdued color palette and expressionistic layouts help give the book a very strong noir sensibility. I also appreciate how much he lets the characters designs do the work of characterization.
A reoccurring theme in the book is the changing nature of Gotham and the criminal element there. Dual natures are constantly being brought up and explored. Organized crime vs. "the freaks." Crime vs. Law. Chaos vs. Order. The whole book is essentially the origin of Two-Face, so it makes sense that Sale and Loeb would play around with the theme throughout. Sale's artwork helps visually represent the change in Gotham; the Roman and his family (indeed, most of the "normal" characters) are depicted with generally human features that are, if exaggerated at times, still well within the norm for humans in a comic book.
Compare them to Batman's rogues, though. The rogues are depicted in positively freakish, grotesque forms. They're depicted as severely distorted and outlandish, some of them barely human at all:
So, like I said... not for everyone.
And, as much as I like this book, even I can admit... the mystery isn't perfect. The plot is a little bit of a mess, and there's a feeling that even Loeb and Sale weren't completely sure who the killer was supposed to be, or made changes at the last minute.
Loeb does cheat a bit on the story side. The final revelations don't have as much impact as they probably should, and there aren't really enough real clues to definitively say who the killer was (and Loeb and Sale refuse to clarify). Batman narrates parts of the story, but there are many scenes that are shown to the reader that Batman can't have seen. And, seriously, why doesn't Riddler just tell everyone who Holiday was? Tsk.
Despite that, it's still a very entertaining romp through the Dark Knight's world, and it functions well as an origin story. I really enjoyed rereading it, despite the flaws.
December 24, 2025
Loved this so much. Gruesome, gritty gotham is always a treat :)
October 6, 2018
Batman: The Long Halloween a thirteen-issue miniseries that has Batman in one of his earlier cases where he hunts down a criminal Holiday that only murders during holidays – one each month. In addition, Batman teams up with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Captain James Gordon to bring down two crime families, while trying to settle the crime war between them.
This particular trade paperback, Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween collects all thirteen issues in the 1996 mini-series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. With extras including an interview with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, a section on the Long Halloween action figure line, sketches from Sale, the series proposal, and a four-page sequence that was cut out from the original miniseries.
The story has Batman, District Attorney Harvey Dent, and Captain James Gordon conspiring to bring down two of Gotham City's biggest crime families – the Maroni and Falcone. Things get in the way as a serial killer named Holiday threatens to crime war between them. With Gotham City being in the middle of their crime war, it is up to Batman to find the serial killer and stop the feud between the families.
Holiday or the Holiday Killer is a criminal unique to Batman: The Long Halloween miniseries. The character is a serial killer who kills members of Gotham City's mobsters and corrupt officials on major holidays. His signature weapons are a .22 pistol (using a rubber baby bottle nipple as a silencer) with the handle taped and the serial number filed off, which is left at the crime scene along with a holiday trinket repetitive of the holiday.
Holiday's crime spree occurs for thirteen months, with the only holidays without a murder being April Fools' Day, where the killer confronts the Riddler, but leaves him alive in the spirit of the holiday, and New Year's Eve where the so-called victim later turns up alive.
Jeph Loeb penned the entire series and for the most part, it was written extremely well. It deals with one of Batman's earliest cases and perhaps the longest since it has taken thirteen months to solve. It has a detective noir feeling to it and was well paced with a gripping mystery intermix between a growing gang war between two crime families. Holiday is a rather interesting and inventive criminal, however it is difficult to use in a mainstream story considering that he only commit crimes during the holidays.
Tim Sale penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the main penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I rather liked his penciling, despite the simplistic nature of the illustrations. It adds to the detective noir feeling of the text extremely well as it brought life to that noir feeling.
All in all, Batman: The Long Halloween is conceived and illustrated extremely well. It is an interesting story dealing with a case rather early in Batman's career and laid the transformative steps that would eventually transform Harvey Dent into Two-Face.
This particular trade paperback, Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween collects all thirteen issues in the 1996 mini-series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. With extras including an interview with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, a section on the Long Halloween action figure line, sketches from Sale, the series proposal, and a four-page sequence that was cut out from the original miniseries.
The story has Batman, District Attorney Harvey Dent, and Captain James Gordon conspiring to bring down two of Gotham City's biggest crime families – the Maroni and Falcone. Things get in the way as a serial killer named Holiday threatens to crime war between them. With Gotham City being in the middle of their crime war, it is up to Batman to find the serial killer and stop the feud between the families.
Holiday or the Holiday Killer is a criminal unique to Batman: The Long Halloween miniseries. The character is a serial killer who kills members of Gotham City's mobsters and corrupt officials on major holidays. His signature weapons are a .22 pistol (using a rubber baby bottle nipple as a silencer) with the handle taped and the serial number filed off, which is left at the crime scene along with a holiday trinket repetitive of the holiday.
Holiday's crime spree occurs for thirteen months, with the only holidays without a murder being April Fools' Day, where the killer confronts the Riddler, but leaves him alive in the spirit of the holiday, and New Year's Eve where the so-called victim later turns up alive.
Jeph Loeb penned the entire series and for the most part, it was written extremely well. It deals with one of Batman's earliest cases and perhaps the longest since it has taken thirteen months to solve. It has a detective noir feeling to it and was well paced with a gripping mystery intermix between a growing gang war between two crime families. Holiday is a rather interesting and inventive criminal, however it is difficult to use in a mainstream story considering that he only commit crimes during the holidays.
Tim Sale penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the main penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I rather liked his penciling, despite the simplistic nature of the illustrations. It adds to the detective noir feeling of the text extremely well as it brought life to that noir feeling.
All in all, Batman: The Long Halloween is conceived and illustrated extremely well. It is an interesting story dealing with a case rather early in Batman's career and laid the transformative steps that would eventually transform Harvey Dent into Two-Face.
October 27, 2025
3.5/5 Rounded up
August 31, 2017
'Batman: The Long Halloween' was originally published as a self-contained, 13-issue limited series between 1996 and 1997. It was a follow up to three stand alone "themed" Legends of the Dark Knight specials.
It takes place early in Batman's career, in the "post crisis" modern era. Using Miller's 'Year One' as a setting, The Long Halloween continues the story of Bruce Wayne's earlier years. Batman has gained an ally in Jim Gordon, but has yet to establish others. The story bridges the gap between Year One's mob bosses and gangsters, to Gotham City's illustrious super villains and Batman's infamous rogue's gallery. The story is essentially a 'murder-mystery' with the villain, dubbed 'Holiday' by the media, murdering (mostly) family members of a mob gang specifically on public or well known holidays, leaving a trinket representing the special day. Without spoiling the ending, there are several red herrings, and most readers will be surprised at least once by the end of the book.
The story is notable for displaying Harvey Dent's transformation to the legendary Two Face, as well as cementing Batman's relationship with Jim Gordon following Year One, exploring the early romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle and presenting Batman and Catwoman's early ambiguous interactions.
Tim Sale's art did not appeal to me when I first discovered this book, as some of his portrayals look almost caricaturish, but after reading some of his books I soon came to truly appreciate the genius behind his work. As usual, the 'Absolute Edition' format does not disappoint at all and is the perfect platform to truly appreciate the artwork. A4 in size, rather than the typical ten inches tall books that are normally released. Jeph Loeb, now more famous for his foray into television with such projects as Lost, heroes and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., reaches the pinnacle of his comic writing career within this book.
Highly, highly recommended.
It takes place early in Batman's career, in the "post crisis" modern era. Using Miller's 'Year One' as a setting, The Long Halloween continues the story of Bruce Wayne's earlier years. Batman has gained an ally in Jim Gordon, but has yet to establish others. The story bridges the gap between Year One's mob bosses and gangsters, to Gotham City's illustrious super villains and Batman's infamous rogue's gallery. The story is essentially a 'murder-mystery' with the villain, dubbed 'Holiday' by the media, murdering (mostly) family members of a mob gang specifically on public or well known holidays, leaving a trinket representing the special day. Without spoiling the ending, there are several red herrings, and most readers will be surprised at least once by the end of the book.
The story is notable for displaying Harvey Dent's transformation to the legendary Two Face, as well as cementing Batman's relationship with Jim Gordon following Year One, exploring the early romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle and presenting Batman and Catwoman's early ambiguous interactions.
Tim Sale's art did not appeal to me when I first discovered this book, as some of his portrayals look almost caricaturish, but after reading some of his books I soon came to truly appreciate the genius behind his work. As usual, the 'Absolute Edition' format does not disappoint at all and is the perfect platform to truly appreciate the artwork. A4 in size, rather than the typical ten inches tall books that are normally released. Jeph Loeb, now more famous for his foray into television with such projects as Lost, heroes and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., reaches the pinnacle of his comic writing career within this book.
Highly, highly recommended.
June 9, 2020
The Long Halloween is a classic Batman story that often is recommended to readers looking for special story arcs.
This absolute edition features the thickest paper I have ever seen in any comic book and it is glorious. It has a completely matte surface which makes the colours less offensive and more subtle. This fact alone makes me consider getting one of the other Jeph Loeb / Tim Sales publications: The Haunted Knight or The dark Victory.
The story has clearly influenced the Movie The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan and begins with a pact of three. Commissioner Jim Gordon, District Attorney Harvey Dent and Batman swear to bring down the crime lord Falcone when a series of curious murders takes place, each of them committed on a holiday of the year. There are crime elements with very pleasing moments, both narratively and visually in this story.
It takes a few twists and turns with Batman -unfortunately- barely having any effect on its outcome. Batman pounds on a few criminals to get some answers but without results (another leading example for the Nolan Batman), creating a sense of futileness. In a bad way. This is not a story about a helpless hero struggling but an ineffective one, it seems.
The art is outright strange at times. Batmans muscles have muscles. His six-pack is so pronounced, his ribcage has two separate six-packs on each side. He looks positively in-human.
The cape of our crusader, spawn-like, clearly has a mind of its own with its ends constantly slithering around like snakes without any conceivable reason.
The colours, on the other hand, are sublime and work exceptionally well with the matte choice of paper. With well placed Noir passages and good color scheme throughout.
For me, the book is a solid Good. However, Batman stories that are better than good are hard to come by. So this is still a recommendation, especially if you like the art style
This absolute edition features the thickest paper I have ever seen in any comic book and it is glorious. It has a completely matte surface which makes the colours less offensive and more subtle. This fact alone makes me consider getting one of the other Jeph Loeb / Tim Sales publications: The Haunted Knight or The dark Victory.
The story has clearly influenced the Movie The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan and begins with a pact of three. Commissioner Jim Gordon, District Attorney Harvey Dent and Batman swear to bring down the crime lord Falcone when a series of curious murders takes place, each of them committed on a holiday of the year. There are crime elements with very pleasing moments, both narratively and visually in this story.
It takes a few twists and turns with Batman -unfortunately- barely having any effect on its outcome. Batman pounds on a few criminals to get some answers but without results (another leading example for the Nolan Batman), creating a sense of futileness. In a bad way. This is not a story about a helpless hero struggling but an ineffective one, it seems.
The art is outright strange at times. Batmans muscles have muscles. His six-pack is so pronounced, his ribcage has two separate six-packs on each side. He looks positively in-human.
The cape of our crusader, spawn-like, clearly has a mind of its own with its ends constantly slithering around like snakes without any conceivable reason.
The colours, on the other hand, are sublime and work exceptionally well with the matte choice of paper. With well placed Noir passages and good color scheme throughout.
For me, the book is a solid Good. However, Batman stories that are better than good are hard to come by. So this is still a recommendation, especially if you like the art style
December 7, 2013
The first thing I noticed when I read The Long Halloween is that it feels dangerous. Dangerous, in a way that not all that many adventures of the Dark Knight can lay claim to.
I appreciate the book's willingness to throw so many supporting characters into the meat grinder as a result of the Holiday Killer's actions, as a way to truly up the stakes. Not only that, but the number of interesting character moments that are peppered throughout the book - especially between the various villains - really helps it stand apart from other Batman tales of the era.
So why does this only get three stars? Up until the final reveal, I was hooked, line and sinker. The setpieces were great, there were some really iconic panels and the murder-mystery vibe of the whole thing was generally engrossing and page-turning...
...and then it hits you with the last-minute reveal that Harvey Dent's wife is the Holiday Killer. A woman who's barely 90 pounds soaking wet somehow manages to assassinate mob associates and leaders gets away without being caught.
!!!
Not only does it throw a clear "Karma Houdini" lesson into the story for no real reason, but the villain gets away scot-free at the end and Batman is no further along in solving the crime. This has been a chief complaint of Jeph Loeb, in that he starts with brilliant situations, characters and dialogue and resorts to hamfisted twists at the eleventh hour to throw off the viewer.
You're better off not reading the last three pages of the book. Otherwise, the book is a clear 4-star candidate. The Absolute Edition includes some concept art, an afterword and script treatment, but none of this extra material is really necessary to enjoy the book, and comes across more as a cash grab than anything.
I appreciate the book's willingness to throw so many supporting characters into the meat grinder as a result of the Holiday Killer's actions, as a way to truly up the stakes. Not only that, but the number of interesting character moments that are peppered throughout the book - especially between the various villains - really helps it stand apart from other Batman tales of the era.
So why does this only get three stars? Up until the final reveal, I was hooked, line and sinker. The setpieces were great, there were some really iconic panels and the murder-mystery vibe of the whole thing was generally engrossing and page-turning...
...and then it hits you with the last-minute reveal that Harvey Dent's wife is the Holiday Killer. A woman who's barely 90 pounds soaking wet somehow manages to assassinate mob associates and leaders gets away without being caught.
!!!
Not only does it throw a clear "Karma Houdini" lesson into the story for no real reason, but the villain gets away scot-free at the end and Batman is no further along in solving the crime. This has been a chief complaint of Jeph Loeb, in that he starts with brilliant situations, characters and dialogue and resorts to hamfisted twists at the eleventh hour to throw off the viewer.
You're better off not reading the last three pages of the book. Otherwise, the book is a clear 4-star candidate. The Absolute Edition includes some concept art, an afterword and script treatment, but none of this extra material is really necessary to enjoy the book, and comes across more as a cash grab than anything.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
4.5 ✨
September 15, 2025
Reading this felt less like a typical superhero comic and more like diving into a noir crime novel—except filtered through Tim Sale’s grotesque, haunting art. The duality of the visuals is striking: grounded and grim when it comes to the mob families like Falcone and Maroni, but twisted and surreal when the “freak villains” like Joker step onto the page. That contrast makes Gotham feel alive in a way few books do.
The rise and fall of Harvey Dent is handled beautifully. You can feel the slow unraveling, and the ending not only lands, but suggests so much more beneath the surface. It’s one of those rare Batman stories where the atmosphere and mood are as important as the plot itself.
And honestly, reading this in the Absolute format elevates everything. The oversized art makes Tim Sale’s work explode off the page. There are spreads and panels here that belong in a museum—he captures Gotham’s ugliness and elegance in equal measure.
This is more than a Batman comic; it’s a story about Gotham’s soul, caught between the old world of crime families and the rise of the rogues. Dark, stylish, and unforgettable.
The rise and fall of Harvey Dent is handled beautifully. You can feel the slow unraveling, and the ending not only lands, but suggests so much more beneath the surface. It’s one of those rare Batman stories where the atmosphere and mood are as important as the plot itself.
And honestly, reading this in the Absolute format elevates everything. The oversized art makes Tim Sale’s work explode off the page. There are spreads and panels here that belong in a museum—he captures Gotham’s ugliness and elegance in equal measure.
This is more than a Batman comic; it’s a story about Gotham’s soul, caught between the old world of crime families and the rise of the rogues. Dark, stylish, and unforgettable.
October 10, 2019
Timeless in every sense of the word, The Long Halloween has influenced so much within the current canon of the Dark Knight detective. This Absolute edition is the perfect vehicle to showcase Tim Sale's unique artwork, and offers a new introduction from Christopher Nolan and David Goyer detailing the story's influence on Nolan's Batman films. No Batman story better depicts the relationship between Batman, Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent and why they all need each other, and what can happen when one of the essential pieces to a puzzle is missing. This is essential reading for any Batman fan, and will also play well with readers who also enjoy crime stories, as the goings-on within the Falcone syndicate borrow from other major tales of the American psyche, including The Godfather.
July 11, 2017
"Long" is definitely right, the reason I'm not giving it a better rating is because it drags in the middle. The book goes through a year where people die on a holiday every month but there's no sense that Batman and the cops are piecing the clues together. There's hardly any clues at all and it just feels like they're retreading the same ground, every theory is voiced over and over again by different characters, and every chapter (every month/holiday) they re-introduce you to the characters (everyone except Batman) using the same words, verbatim (maybe it's less noticeable when it's been serialized, but to me it was just annoying). All in all, not my favourite.
August 7, 2008
Visually Stunning. With huge single panel pages, this is how this story was meant to be enjoyed (in Absoulte Edition format). Its a great whodunnit with loads of twists and turns. The only slight flaw is that Loeb goes out of his way to include as many Batman villans as possible, just for the visual and not to advance the plot. Still though its interesting to see Loeb and Sale's take on Batman's major villans. This is a great read. Maybe not as good the second or third time, but then what mystery novel is?
March 15, 2012
Easily the best Batman story I've read, with art to match. It's hard to go back to these comics having seen the Nolan films because he took so much from these materials, it feels like the comics ripped off the movies, even though obviously it's the other way around. But "Long Halloween" is superior to anything Frank Miller's done for Batman, even though it might not exist without Miller's original work. THIS is the Batman we've all come to know and love through the Nolan films. Highly recommended.
June 30, 2014
Easily one of the best Batman stories ever written. Written as a sequel to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One, elements of both of these stories were incorporated into the first 2 Nolan Batman movies.
December 25, 2013
The last DC property I will purchase or ask for unless the company does a total 360 turnaround on its nonstop campaign of misogyny and other grotesqueries, but boy, was it a doozie I had never read the Long Halloween arc, and I spent three hours today just sitting on the couch and absorbing it. Totally fantastic.
February 7, 2017
This is a must read for any Batman fan! One of the top 5 all time favorite stories lines in the Bat-mythos. Jeph Loeb's story is epic & plays out better than any drama. There are so many references the were used in Chris Nolan's "The Dark Knight" movie. I owe this story in almost every format published & is a timeless classic.
June 20, 2009
I had to reread this series yet again before 'The Dark Knight' came out....Jeph really hits it on the head with his Batman stories and what can be said about Tim Sales art which looks even more amazing in this oversized volume ! waiting on Absolute Dark Victory now!
December 3, 2010
The story still stands. This will be a timeless/classic Batman story for the ages. The absolute edition cranks the experience up to 11. The art is exposed perfectly and I felt like a kid reading it.
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