I'll say it up front, Batman: The Long Halloween
is one of the best Batman stories I have read. The Long Halloween is a 13-issue comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale and originally published by DC Comics in 1996 and 1997. Even if you aren't a comic fan, chances are you'll have seen some of Loeb's work on television, as he is a Co-Executive Producer on the comic inspired NBC show "Heroes", and was formerly a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost. The Long Halloween has been collected in trade paper back and you can also find it as a DC Comics "Absolute Editions" version.
At its core, the Long Halloween is a detective story, with Batman on the trail of a serial killer known as Holiday, due to his habit of killing his victims on public holidays. Like Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween is set in the early days of Batman's career, pre-Robin. Like Year One, The Long Halloween also focuses on the early day's of Harvey Dent and his eventually transformation into Two-Face.
The Long Halloween is described as "noir-ish" which I guess is a fair way to describe it. Many of the mob gangsters that appeared in Year One return, but Gotham is slowly being over run by the "freak" element, with villains such as Two-Face, The Joker, Scarecrow, Mr Freeze and the Mad Hatter, all having surfaced in the six or so months that have past since Year One.
The story begins with mob boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone holding Gotham city in his grip. Batman, District Attorney Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon, are working together to bring down the mob, and in particular Falcone. The three men debate the lengths they will go to bring the Roman to justice, and enter a pact, agreeing to bend the rules if necessary, but never to break them.
Not long after, one of the Roman's hitmen is murdered, on Halloween. The killer leaves behind the murder weapon, a distinctive .22 calibre pistol with the nipple of a baby bottle used as a silencer, as well as a jack-o-lantern. This is the first known victim of the serial killer that would come to be known as Holiday.
As the months roll on, the body count rises, with the list of suspects narrowing after each holiday. At first it appears the killer is targeting the Falcone family, however, the killers scope widens to include members of the rival Maroni family. Harvey Dent begins to emerge as a prime suspect, but whether or not he is the Holiday killer or not is a matter of conjecture.
How far will Batman, Dent and Gordon go to put an end to the Falcone family? Will any one be left alive to see in the next Halloween? Is Holiday actually Harvey Dent? Is Holiday acting alone? Well you'll have to read the book to find out. It's too good a story to spoil.
The Long Halloween should be on everyone's 'must read' list of Batman stories. Reading through it, you won't be surprised to find a number of similarities between it and the film The Dark Knight. Both are as much about the origin of Two-Face and the relationship between the three would-be saviours of Gotham City as they are about traditional "BIFF", "WHACK" and "SMASH" Batman action. In fact, take Batman out of the equation and you'd still be left with a cracking good detective yarn.
One of the key differences between the comic, and the film The Dark Knight, is the events surrounding the creation of Two-Face. If you've seen the film, you'll know that Harvey Dent's disfigurement was the result of severe burns, and his kidnapping by the Joker. In the Long Halloween, the Joker has nothing to do with Harvey's downfall. His disfigurement is the result of him being dossed with acid while prosecuting Falcone's rival Maroni.
The Dark Knight also adopted the concept of the "freaks" (such as the Joker, the Scarecrow and Two-Face) taking over control of Gotham from the mob as well as the central relationship between Batman, Gordon and Dent.
What did I learn?
Well, I shouldn't have waited so long to read this for one! Second, Batman stories are at the best when they are grounded in at least some semblance of reality, and not concerned with the supernatural or "super powers".
Overall I'd give the Long Halloween a 9.5 out of 10. It's a real page turner, and the story is a lot 'meatier' than you may expect to find in a comic. At 368 pages this book is well worth the $13 or so bucks you can pick it up for on Amazon or eBay in trade form. The Long Halloween is the perfect companion to Batman: Year One.
04 Oct 08
1:33 pm
[...] also just finished up reading Batman: The Long Halloween which I would highly recommend, especially to you [...]