The Comicologist » Two-Face

Batman: Face the Face

The Comicologist — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:57:50 +0000

Before I begin, I need to say up-front that when it comes to the big DC Infinite Crisis event, I'm relatively clueless. From what little I do know, Infinite Crisis was a big deal, that concluded with the big name DC drawcards, including Batman, jump forward a year in their continuity. Batman: Face the Face was written by James Robinson with art by Leonard Kirk and Don Kramer. The trade paperback collects a total of eight issues, taken from Batman #651-654 and Detective Comics #817-820, which were originally released May - August 2006. This story-line is sometimes referred to as "One Year Later", and basically serves as the relaunch of the Batman titles.

Batman: Face the Face marks the return of Batman, and Robin, following their one year sabbatical. Prior to taking the year off, Batman left a reformed, and no longer deformed, Harvey Dent to fill the role of protector of Gotham City. From all reports, the twelve months without Batman passed relatively smoothly, and Dent appeared to have handled the challenge well. When Batman and Robin return to Gotham, and take up their crime fighting responsibilities, things start to turn pear shaped. A 'mysterious vigilante' begins dispatching some of the lower level (read crap and unpopular) super villains, such as KGBeast and Orca. When all the evidence points toward Dent, and "Two-Face", as the mastermind behind the murders. All of this is set on the backdrop of an unseen player attempting to take control of the Penguin's empire, as well as Dent growing increasingly resentful of the Dark Knight's return.

So Batman has some tough questions that need answers. Has Dent returned to the Two-Face persona? Is Dent being framed? Who is trying to take over the Penguin's operation? Well if I answered those questions for you, you would need to read the book!

BATMAN FACE THE FACE DC Comics Robinson Kramer Kirk TPB

US $11.25

2d 20h 13m

Face the Face is important if for no other reason than it re-establishes James Gordon as Gotham's police commissioner and reveals that Detective Harvey Bullock is once again a member of the G.C.P.D. The collection also end with Bruce Wayne offering to adopt Tim Drake (the current Robin) as his son.

There is a real effort in this collection to reposition Batman as the detective. He is less a "super hero" in this story and more a "super detective". The whole feel of the book is one of "back to basics". Which is good and bad. It's good because it restores the character of Batman back to the ball park of where he is at his best, but bad because at the same time, there's nothing new going on that hasn't already been done before.

Overall, while the artwork in this book is solid, the story-line is more than a little disappointing. The twist in the tail is telegraphed from very early on, and from then on in it's more a case of going through the motions. For what is essentially a 'relaunch' I found Batman: Face the Face to be a let down.

Overall I'd give Batman: Face the Face 4 out of 10.

BATMAN FACE THE FACE DC Comics Robinson Kramer Kirk TPB

US $11.25

2d 20h 13m

BATMAN FEATURING TWO-FACE AND THE RIDDLER DC Comics TPB

US $9.75

3d 9h 39m

Batman: # 518 "Black Mask: The Spidered Face"(May 1995)

0 Bid

US $.29

3d 14h 50m

BATMAN # 68..1952..'' THE NEW CRIMES OF TWO-FACE ! ''

US $89.95

3d 15h 35m

BATMAN: FACE THE FACE TPB Dark Knight Detective Movie

US $11.99

4d 3h 33m

Batman Logo w/ Glow In The Dark Joker Face Mens Shirt

US $22.74

4d 7h 52m

Batman: The Dark Knight TWO-FACE Head Knocker Series 2

US $17.95

5d 5h 30m

Batman Face The Face TP

US $9.74

5d 9h 27m

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Issue #28, Faces

US $2.50

5d 15h 12m

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Issue #28, Faces 2

US $2.50

5d 15h 12m

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Issue #28, Faces 2

US $2.50

5d 15h 12m

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Issue #30, Faces 3

US $2.50

5d 15h 12m

Batman Face The Face TPB

US $18.95

5d 18h 18m

Batman Shadow of The Bat 63,1997,Two-Face,e56

US $.99

6d 18h 30m

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT "FACES" #28-30 VF-NM

0 Bid

US $2.99

6d 20h 14m

Batman Featuring Two Face and The Riddler TP

US $8.42

8d 9h 33m

1992 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT. FACES COMIC

US $6.99

9d 12h 2m

Batman Face The Face TP James Robinson/DC Comics

US $8.99

10d 18h 28m

Batman #223 VG+ Face Danger Around The World

US $12.99

12d 15h 17m

Brave & The Bold #130 VF- Batman Joker Two Face & Atom

US $9.99

12d 21h 24m

Batman: The Long Halloween

The Comicologist — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:28:19 +0000

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.