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Rating:  -
Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb are best known for exploring the early years of superheroes--they've covered the Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil and Superman, with fantastic results. However, BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN remains not just their best collaberative effort, but also one of the best superhero stories of its decade.
LONG HALLOWEEN is a sequel of sorts to Frank MIller's BATMAN: YEAR ONE, but neither Loeb or Sale seemed pre-occupied with re-hashing that tale. LONG HALLOWEEN is gritty, all right, but more in the vein of classic 30s gangster films than Miller's "Dirty Harry" approach.
This book primarily focuses on Batman's developing relationship with Commisioner Gordon and then-DA Harvey Dent as they try to take down the Falcone crime family. This overlaps with a murder mystery that seems to lead back to Calendar Man, an uber-lame Silver Age Batman foe who gets a Hannibal Lecter makeover.
Like Loeb's over works, including HUSH, THE LONG HALLOWEEN is very easy to pick up and read, whether you've followed Batman's comic book history or not. Heck, you don't even have to read YEAR ONE to enjoy this book--its a very self-contained piece, and because of that LONG HALLOWEEN is highly accessible. However, if you are a Batman enthusiant, keep an eye out for appearces by nearly every villian Batman has ever encountered, from Selina Kyle to the Joker to Solomon Grundy.
I cannot suggest this book highly enough--anyone who likes graphic novels will love THE LONG HALLOWEEN. And when you're done, check out Loeb and Sale's superb follow-up, DARK VICTORY.
Rating: -
Probably one of the best Batman comics I've ever read. The art is superb and the writing is amazing as well. Loeb and Sale are truly a match made in heaven and it shows in there work not just here but in the other two books of the series. I recommend this to all lovers of Batman. Though a bit more adult, and therefore more graphic, than some earlier Batmans the spirit is still there and burning bright.
Rating: -
The Long Halloween was Jeph Loeb's tout de force on Batman. It is recounted in 13 chapters (which is how the tale was originally told 13 issues). This and Frank Miller Batman: Year one should be read together.
Loeb's take on the early Bat legend is classic. A one man, no power superhero who uses his brain. It is also a crime drama of a mafia family bring murder with Bat's rogue gallery thrown it for measure
So is it worth it to get? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD
Rating:  -
With Frank Miller's blessings, scribe Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale went ahead and spun a mystery entrenched firmly within the time frame of BATMAN: YEAR ONE. This DC graphic novel's first incarnation was in the format of a limited 13-issue maxi-series back in 1996 and narrated the Darknight Detective's exhausting, year-long effort to capture the media-dubbed "Holiday," a serial killer whose first victim is slain on Halloween.
Thru the course of the year, Holiday continues to execute his victims but solely on national holidays, every time leaving in his wake an untraceable .22 pistol and the appropriate holiday memorabilia. His victims predominantly seem to be mob-affiliated, either close relations or upper-echelon members of the Falcone syndicate. The killings threaten the eruption of a mob war between Carmine "the Roman" Falcone and Salvatore "the Boss" Maroni, the Roman's chief rival and the second most powerful mobster in Gotham. Meanwhile, Batman, Police Captain Jim Gordon, and D.A. Harvey Dent make a solemn pact to end the mob tyranny on Gotham.
So I've heard all the hype and I finally got a chance to read BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN - and it's pretty darn good. The hype is a bit overblown because this one's not exactly up there in the rarified atmosphere of BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Some negatives: I just can't believe that this mystery is so perplexing that it couldn't be solved by Batman in under a year's time (I know, this is his first year, but it's friggin' Batman here) - and, really, what's so disappointing is that he doesn't even solve it. And, as much as I enjoy film noir and noir novels, I couldn't get in sync with the crime syndicates as derivatively depicted by Loeb. The only remotely diverting mob character is Falcone's gargantuan daughter and enforcer, Sofia Falcone Gigante.
Loeb's use of Batman's gallery of rogues smacks of being perfunctory and arbitrary, as the writer flings haphazard costumed villains into the fray seemingly because it's expected in a superhero comic book. His characterizations of the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, and Poison Ivy are half-hearted and cardboard. And, while I could see why the Calendar Man is given a more-or-less pronounced role in the goings-on, he is definitely no Hannibal Lechter.
A key element to the success of the BATMAN: YEAR ONE mythos was the refreshing portrayal of Jim Gordon as an aggresively honest and very capable cop who will brook no nonsense from his crooked fellow law enforcers. In many ways, Frank Miller wrote him in such a way that I immediately thought of Wyatt Earp taming Tombstone. Gordon fully shared and earned the star billing with Bats in BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Here, he takes a back seat to Batman and Harvey Dent and comes closer to resembling the Commissioner Gordon we've all known for so long. I didn't like it.
That was the vinegar part of the review; now, here's the sugar. On the positive side, the Joker, Catwoman, and especially Two-Face are fleshed out and made three dimensional here, or as three-dimensional as these wacky nut jobs can get. I could actually see the logic of the insane Clown of Crime becoming insanely jealous of Holiday ("The town isn't big enough for two homicidal maniacs") and thus going on his own murder spree. Catwoman is nicely ambivalent, occasionally abetting Bats but not about to give away her underlying motivations. Long time readers of Batman are treated to the nuances of the devolution of Harvey Dent, who starts out here as being crusadingly on the side of the righteous but, thru the course of THE LONG HALLOWEEN, descending into what he ultimately will become. That he, Jim Gordon, and Bruce Wayne are friends lends a particularly bittersweet element to the book. Batman, of course, remains Batman.
A dominant selling point for BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN is Tim Sale's artistic contribution. His excellent pencil and inks, combined with Gregory Wright's muted colors, with an occasional foray into full-out black and white renderings, lend a stark and somber tone to the proceedings, evocatively realizing Gotham and its shadowy residents. Echoes of Frank Miller's style abound in Tim Sale's efforts, especially in several gorgeous, full page lay outs. His Batman is depicted as having the same brawny mass as Miller's version, if more defined muscularly. BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN is a handsome product, encumbered with some flaws but showcasing competent writing and some truly solid artwork. And I guarantee you will not see the killer's identity coming (it's a little murky, although there are clues interspersed throughout). On the same level as BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE and BATMAN: YEAR TWO, BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN is vintage Batman and is a worthy addition to the Caped Crusader's canon. So, I'm giving this one 3 and a half stars.
Rating: -
Jeph Loeb as writer and Tim Sale as artist make an amazing team. No one can write about the Gotham mob like Loeb, and no one can draw Catwoman like Sale. The Long Halloween spans one year, from Oct. 31st during one of Batman's earlier years fighting crime (although come to think of it he looks older and gritty) to the following Halloween. A killer dubbed "Holiday" by the media is picking off high-ranking members of the Falcone crime family. Batman and Police Commissioner James Gordon (shown here with brown hair, first wife, and baby Barbara) are completely baffled by the killer's ability to get so close to the targets. Could it be someone within the Falcone empire itself? Or could it be Catwoman? Or Harvey Dent, whose wife Gilda was the victim (she survived) of an attack on their home because of Dent's efforts to prosecute the mob? Harvey has been hanging by a thread, lately.
Gotham's supervillians are not pleased by Holiday's appearance, either. Some are frustrated at having attention taken away from them. Others are hired by Falcone for reasons unknown. Some villians featured are the Riddler, Joker, Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, and Solomon Grundy.
The art is fantastic. Gotham was never drawn and colored better. Highly, highly, highly recommended as one of the best Batman graphic novels I have ever read.
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