Batman turned 75 years old earlier this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Bat… and focusing on the blockbusters, the smaller films, the comics and the video games that feature the Dark Knight.
Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This 13-issue series (collected in one graphic novel) by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale is a nearly perfect comic in every way. In fact, maybe the only thing that keeps it from being truly perfect is a few too many Godfather references – they’re everywhere.
The series was released from 1996 to 1997 chronologically comes after Batman: Year One, building off of the former’s focus on the early days of Batman’s career as he moves from battling gangsters to more colorful foes.
The influence of The Long Halloween on the greatest of all Batman movies, The Dark Knight, is undeniable. It is frequently cited as source material for Batman Begins, but TDK really channels it most. Three crusaders against crime meet on a rooftop to plan to take down the mob just as a new class of villain emerges and threatens organized crime from the opposite direction. It’s an absolutely impeccable story, breathing new life into the superhero genre by creating a conflict between the old world and the new and looking at what the emergence of all these caped and costumed opponents means to real people.
The plot of the story concerns the arrival of a serial killer in Gotham whose murders coincide with holidays. At first gangsters are the victims, but the targets begin to vary as the search narrows and soon no one feels safe. The lineup of characters features nearly everyone from Batman’s Rogues Gallery with each installment adding new players to the mix, and as these “freaks” move up in importance the mob struggles to survive.
The Long Halloween manages the neat trick of being a murder mystery while in the end the solution of whodunit isn’t really that important. It’s the chain of events set into motion by the killer that will upend Gotham. The mystery is very interesting, but the brilliant writing of Loeb ensures that it isn’t the only thing that is. Beyond highly recommended.
