Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (graphic novel review)
I’ve been hearing about ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ a lot recently and how much of an influence it had on Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman’ films that he even did an introduction to this graphic novel containing all its thirteen issues. Quite where it fits into the ‘Batman’ mythology of whichever reality, I was trying to work out as I read. I mean, Bruce Wayne is chairman of the Gotham City Bank and Lester Dent is still one-faced. Carmine ‘The Roman’ Falcone is head of the local Mafia. Tim Sale’s art is rather stark with a limited colour selection but it does work.
There is an odd flaw in this book. Although I get the use of significant days of the year as a means to encase the story, using it to jump the plot doesn’t make sense. In December, Lester Denter points out that there is a connection between Bruce Wayne and Carmine Falcone and yet it isn’t until Valentine’s Day, two months later, they visit Wayne Manor and then Alfred tells them Bruce Wayne isn’t at home. Speaking of which, Wayne gets poisoned by Poison Ivy and comes under her spell, doing what she requests for a month. There is no sign of Alfred at Wayne Manor or he would surely have realised there was something wrong considering both of them dine there. Throughout all of this, Falcone’s family and gang are being systematically being killed by an assassin called Holiday, who seems to have a regular supply of the same gun. Then there is the matter of Harvey Dent. When he gets acid thrown in his face in a courtroom and hospitalised, he ‘escapes’ and lives in the sewer but on what for so long? Writer Jeph Loeb seems to forget basic human normalities like sleep, eating and defecation. I know some of this is forgotten in any story because it can get in the way of the plot but there is so much emphasis on the passage of time in this story that this story has a lot of superficial elements and an unbelievable time scale.
I can’t go too spoiler here but the ending has all the elements of ‘And Then There Were None’ with distractions as to who was the killer and then a slew of alternative who contributed as if Loeb couldn’t make his mind up on one definitive one but have a lot of other candidates who must have access to the MO to know how to imitate each other.
The title, ‘The Long Halloween’, is more to do with the length of time after the execution of Falcone’s son but, really, it could have gotten done over a shorter period without any loss of that conception.
GF Willmetts
February 2026
(pub: DC Comics, 2011. 384 page graphic novel softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-4012-3259-7)
check out website: www.dc.com
