Batman: The Long Halloween

 

Batman: The Long Halloween

Batman is like Cannabis: Batman is the gateway drug into superheroes. You start of with something pretty chill and cool like Batman The Animated Series when you were a kid, a socially acceptable but slightly rebellious way of spending a Saturday. Then you move on to something a bit stronger with the movies, all different in tone and flavour but ultimately gives you that same feeling. You get a bit more into it, you get the merchandise and start flying the flag more and more. Then you meet some people who are really into Batman… and they open your eyes to the wider, weird world of Gotham and beyond. Next thing you know you’re an addict with nothing in your wallet just craving for that next hit.

The Caped Crusader was my entry point into comics, but much later than you’d think. I didn’t start reading comics until my sixth form years, after playing the fantastic Rock Steady title Batman: Arkham Asylum. I always enjoyed the movies and TV shows before, but they never stuck with me. The hours spent on the Xbox 360 however did. As Kevin Conroy (bless his heart) so rightly said: “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!”. Being in control Bruce made the difference. After about my third playthrough, I decided to give the source material a spin. My very first two Amazon purchases were Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean, and Batman: Secrets by Sam Keith. The rest is history.

I now have two shelves of trade paper backs solely devoted to Gotham and her defenders. I’ve got a framed copy of the game and a 3D printed batarang hung up in my office. I’m now a bit of a bat-fanatic. However, this was my first read of The Long Halloween and I regret I didn’t read it sooner.

What am I reading? Batman: The Long Halloween, 1996-1997, Issues 1-13, Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.

What’s it about? Gotham is the plaything of one man, Carmine “The Roman” Falcone. Three men make a pact to do their utmost to bring down his criminal empire: Captain Jim Gordon, District Attorney Harvey Dent, and the Batman. These men must do what they can, bending the rules but without breaking them. They aren’t the only ones seeking to end Falcone’s grip on Gotham. A serial killer, dubbed “The Holiday” by the press, is systematically targeting the slimeball’s structure. Striking only on specific dates of note: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve… it’s a race against the calendar.  

What’s good about it? Its hard to deny the influence this story has had on the Batman mythos. Any layman who has only interacted with Bruce through the big or small screen would recognise aspects of this story. Most recently in The Batman (2022), which pulls liberally from this. Its iconic for a good reason. This is flat out brilliant. Loeb and Sale are both geniuses.

Sale’s style is impeccable. I adore the art in this. The colours are perfect, the framing is superb, and a touch I love the most are the transitions between points of view. I’m a big fan of a “Match cut” in comics, especially when combined with the visual character work between subjects. The colour shift between the Holiday and everyone else is simple and affective. The care and attention to the craft makes this a delight to read.

Loeb’s mystery had me second guessing throughout. I think my familiarity with The Long Halloween’s  contemporaries compounded my confusion, which made it more enjoyable for me.

What did I struggle with? Not a lot… some small things. I know it’s a relic of when this arc was serialised, but I think the character information balloons were overkill. You’re constantly being reminded of who’s who and why we are here in persistent blue boxes of exposition. Do us all a favour and free up the page.

There’s a famous image near the end of the story; a splash page showing a collection of rogues. Nearly all of whom have played significant role in the story so far… and the Penguin, for some reason? Cobblepot doesn’t feature in the book at all, besides this one image. Why is he here? Is this an editing issue? Was there once a section of the story that starred the Penguin that got excised? No clue… bit weird.  

Would I recommend?  I would even go so far as to say that The Long Halloween would make a great starting point for anyone new to reading comics. This is an absolute must read.