Laith
Batman: The Long Halloween thrusts the very best of Batman right in your face: grounded detective noir, a Godfather-esque crime plot, iconic art — all with the tragic origin story well in the rear-view. For the whole class of Batman fans who have never picked up a comic, this is the perfect place to start. Sure, there’s Batman: Year One, which Long Halloween continues, but I can’t bear to watch Martha Wayne’s pearl necklace clatter across Crime Alley for the millionth time, and I’m sure fans of the films and TV shows feel the same.
Long Halloween features a grounded detective-noir plot that blends Batman’s traditional rogues gallery with a Godfather-esque Italian mafia crime story. We join Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and DA Harvey Dent in their quest to capture “Holiday”, a mysterious serial killer whose crimes fall on major holidays and target the Falcone crime family. If you’ve seen Nolan’s The Dark Knight, or particularly the newer Reeves/Pattinson The Batman, you will find the root of so many of their story beats here. The origins of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, the complex relationship between the Falcones and the Waynes, Batman’s identity as a detective — it’s all coming from Long Halloween.
Something I particularly appreciated, as a devoted fan of the animated series, is the art of Tim Sale. Long Halloween is a perfect blend of the iconic gothic/art deco style of the animated series and the high-contrast visuals of classic cinematic noir. Sale’s character designs are nothing short of iconic: the bulky, over-masculine, intimidating silhouette of Batman; the uncomfortable level of detail given to Harvey’s scarred half; the grotesque, disturbing proportions of the Joker’s smile. There are also seemingly endless visual nods to classic Hollywood crime and noir, from The Maltese Falcon to The Godfather; something that tickled the film nerd in me and evokes a distinct 1940s silver-screen atmosphere.
The story continues in Batman: Dark Victory and later Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween (a complete mouthful); the latter a little too rogues-gallery-focused for my taste, but the former an absolutely fantastic sequel. If you want to read a few Batman comics but aren’t sure where to start, this is the perfect entry point to bridge the gap from the films.
Batman: The Long Halloween thrusts the very best of Batman right in your face: grounded detective noir, a Godfather-esque crime plot, iconic art — all with the tragic origin story well in the rear-view. For the whole class of Batman fans who have never picked up a comic, this is the perfect place to start. Sure, there’s Batman: Year One, which Long Halloween continues, but I can’t bear to watch Martha Wayne’s pearl necklace clatter across Crime Alley for the millionth time, and I’m sure fans of the films and TV shows feel the same.
Long Halloween features a grounded detective-noir plot that blends Batman’s traditional rogues gallery with a Godfather-esque Italian mafia crime story. We join Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and DA Harvey Dent in their quest to capture “Holiday”, a mysterious serial killer whose crimes fall on major holidays and target the Falcone crime family. If you’ve seen Nolan’s The Dark Knight, or particularly the newer Reeves/Pattinson The Batman, you will find the root of so many of their story beats here. The origins of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, the complex relationship between the Falcones and the Waynes, Batman’s identity as a detective — it’s all coming from Long Halloween.
Something I particularly appreciated, as a devoted fan of the animated series, is the art of Tim Sale. Long Halloween is a perfect blend of the iconic gothic/art deco style of the animated series and the high-contrast visuals of classic cinematic noir. Sale’s character designs are nothing short of iconic: the bulky, over-masculine, intimidating silhouette of Batman; the uncomfortable level of detail given to Harvey’s scarred half; the grotesque, disturbing proportions of the Joker’s smile. There are also seemingly endless visual nods to classic Hollywood crime and noir, from The Maltese Falcon to The Godfather; something that tickled the film nerd in me and evokes a distinct 1940s silver-screen atmosphere.
The story continues in Batman: Dark Victory and later Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween (a complete mouthful); the latter a little too rogues-gallery-focused for my taste, but the former an absolutely fantastic sequel. If you want to read a few Batman comics but aren’t sure where to start, this is the perfect entry point to bridge the gap from the films.