Batman: The Long Halloween

a great bat-tale

Every writer of Batman for the past fifteen years or so has been living in the shadow of Frank Miller. With both Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, Miller nailed down a reputation as one of the best creators to ever tackle the mythos surrounding the caped crusader, at the same time setting a standard for quality stories that, to be honest, few have even come close to reaching since. But much as in recent months Brian Michael Bendis has finally been able to live up to Miller's reputation over in Daredevil, one writer in recent years has been able to match the pure excellence of Miller's work with Batman, a writer named Jeph Loeb. His seminal miniseries with artist Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, stands out as the best story involving the character in the past fifteen years and one of the greatest Batman tales told of all time. A mystery told in 13 parts, The Long Halloween spans over three hundred pages and not a one of them is wasted. Taking place over the course of one year in the life of Batman, the story follows shortly after the events of Batman: Year One, when Batman first arrived on the scene in Gotham City. It even involves a few of the minor characters seen in Miller's work, as it details Batman's hunt for a serial killer who strikes each month on a major holiday at major crime figures in Gotham. As each month the bodies pile up, Batman becomes more and more driven to find the killer's true identity and end the bloodshed. Loeb uses the whodunit aspect of this story to keep readers guessing until the very last page, and even beyond the book's end. But far more than being a tale of the mob in Gotham or a simple murder mystery, The Long Halloween is an in-depth character study of those people that populate the world in which Batman operates, not the least of which is Bruce Wayne himself. Through his narration we are given such incredibly deep insight into his motivations that, when he acts, we see the logic behind each action from his point of view. We see him gradually driven to the point of obsession in finding Holiday, and we realize that he could not have behaved in any other way. Those characters usually relegated to minor status are also allowed to come out in full force. Selina Kyle, Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon-all have been a part of Batman's life for years, but here we get to see how these relationships started, what molded them into the shape they are today. Even Johnny Viti, one of those minor mafiosos Miller threw into Year One, Loeb gives a chance to shine in this tale, although his time on the page is almost as brief. The characters draw readers in, truly engaging them in the narrative much more so than a mere four-color fistfight or a soap opera in tights can. The art too is absolutely exquisite. Tim Sale is an artist who can really make characters breathe, and his action sequences truly come to life. Too often comic artists make many of their characters look the same, but Sale really makes his characters stand out from one another. Harvey Dent is not just Bruce Wayne with lighter hair; he has a look all his own, created not only through facial expressions but posture as well. When Alberto Falcone and his father The Roman stand side by side, we can see a family resemblance, but they are not carbon copies of each other. Sale is sometimes criticized for over-using the splash page and the two-page spread, but here the images deserved the treatment they got and every picture is worth thousands upon thousands of words. Thematically the book transcends the conventions of either the superhero or crime genres and ends up meaning so much more than a typical tale of good versus evil. By the end of this story, everyone has suffered from being a part of it; in the end, no one wins. This concept is a constant in Batman's life, that his crusade is not actually spawned by the death of his parents, but by the consistent losses he has felt in his life ever since that fateful day. For Bat

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Awesome batman book!

This book was awesome! It was pretty righteous because it was also like a mafia film noire story with a sort of Godfather feel to it. The story tells of a mystery killer who murders on the holidays. I involves just about every supervillain and makes you try to figure out right up until the end who the killer (killers?) is and still makes you wonder even after the pages close. Jeph Loeb is an awsome writer. Tim Sale, the artist, definitely makes an awesome sidekick to Loeb (wish i could say the same about the little kid who wears tights and runs around with batman in some less esteemed comics) therefore make a perfect writing duo. A must read!!

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Among the Ranks of the Best of Batman

'The Long Halloween' is one of the novels that the upcoming film 'The Dark Knight' will be based off of. It features the origin of the Harvey Dent character and tells the story of Batman's alliance with Jim Gordon to stop a mysterious killer. While keeping the viewer entertained, it also shows several interesting looks at justice through each character's point of view. As a wonderful mystery and a powerful story, this book is a must-read for any Batman fan and will provide interesting insight into the new Batman film to be released in 2008.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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The LONG HALLOWEEN IS GREAT

This story is great. Jeph Loeb's best work. This details Batman in his early days. Most of the great villians are in this. I love it... A must for any bat-fan!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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"Batman: The Long Halloween" Book Review

I've been a Batman fan ever since I was about 5 years old, and since then I've read every graphoc novel and comic book and seen every movie or cartoon I could get my hands on, and "Batman: The Long Halloween" remains to be the greatest Batman story I've ever read. Jeph Loeb tells this story as if it were actually award- winning literarure ( which it qualifies as, by the way ) and Tim Sale's art is like an oil painting, not just enhancing the story but actually adding to it, something very few comic book artists have ever done. The story reads like one of those "Dateline" episodes that you watch in the dark and try to convince yourself that you're not scared by, but you are. It's a story of tragedy and about fallen heroes. The greatest thing about the story is that it makes you care about the other characters, besides Batman. It is for this reason that "Long Halloween" remains to be the greatest Batman story ever told, in my opinion.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Wow..

'Batman: The Long Halloween' keeps you guessing until the very end. If your a fan of Batman then you need to read this.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Battastic

Another amazing Batman story. READ IT

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Batman is a bad ass

This is AWSOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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Excellent Choice

Amazing plot and drawing if you want a great graphic novel to add to your collection do it.

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awesome!

good timing for the holiday season!

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Awesome

A great batman tale. I believe in harvey dent.

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Review

One of the finest Batman multiple murder mysteries ever told.

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Best Bat-Tale ever

This is the best batman story ever!!! Everything is just great art, story, characters, and writing!!! Just great!

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Highly Recommended - you must check it out!!

Highly Recommended - you must check it out!!

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Great Novel

Great Novel, builds off the Batman: Year One, awesome pacing, I loved the ending, and the building of suspense. The art was good, but the story was better.

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Another Dark Knight Mystery Classic by Jeph Loeb

In this twisting and turning story by Jeph Loeb, a killer is on the loose killing people on holidays beeing named the "Holiday Killer" or "Holiday". Taking place in the early years of Batman, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent (yes folks, thats right: Two Face) this is another masterful story by Jeph Loeb.

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Best Batman Tale ever told

I never heard of this bookk before. Then I just saw it and I had nothing better to do so I told my grandman to buy for me. After I was done my 5th grade techer wanted to borrow it.

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Definitely one of my favorites!

The Long Halloween is an absolutely absorbing read; I really could not put the book down. The story line is well-structured and the novel itself is filled with a great amount of suspense. This is an ultimate must-read for any Batman fan! Chris Nolan's Batverse was based off of this.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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This is Batman at his finest!

This is without a doubt my favorite Batman story. Loeb & Sale throw so much action into this amazing mystery without any overkill. Fantastic from panel to panel. A+

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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this is batman at his best!

perfect from beginning to end.loeb and sale are one of the best teams ever to work in comics!the two face origin story is spectactular.the villians are at their best in this one. the whole concept of alberto falcone as the hangman is great.well worth the money and it keeps you on the edge every time you read it.

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