Batman The Long Halloween TP Paperback – 18 Oct. 2011

Must have in your Batman collection with Dark Victory

Awesome book I see why thus book is a classic. Everything about the book is great the story, the artwork and characters are done incredibly.Gotham City has always been at war. Organised Crime lord Carmine "the Roman" Falcone runs the city. Until a murder of his nephew on Halloween. Subsequently every holiday after another murder is committed on one if his men. A year long chase that will include the costumed rouge gallery. Batman will need every ally he can get but who can he trust.The can't say anyway this book could have been improved. The organised crime was done perfectly, the costumed criminals are spot on and so 8s Batman. Reading this I definitely see how this inspired Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. It is a classic for many reasons.

This is great. I've loved superheros all my life, both in the silver age and now in the modern age. I like Batman, more when he isn't being camp and colourful, and this story is what made the Nolan films so great. Nolan was working from a cheat sheet the whole time.The story looks at Commissioner Gordon's first proper case with Batman that isn't solved in a night. The Joker is behind bars and criminals like Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter are dealt with too. This is about the mob. It dwells on Gordon as much as a Batman and even more on Harvey Dent. Three men all trying to fix Gotham and taking very different approaches. It is entirely around this conflict that everything can be seen. Each character is well fleshed out, their lives are shown at home, on the streets, at work, with their love interests. You don't want for any details except those surrounding the new and interesting killer that strikes every holiday. These of course come as the story unfolds and well I didn't see it coming (which is more than I can say for the new Sherlock series which I figure out twenty minutes into each episode so this has a good plot).I would very much get this, it is exceptional and my family wishes I would stop banging on about it

*Contains spoilers* I'll come right out and say it: I didn't like the ending. This is a who done it and I didn't like who did it. Despite that I really enjoyed reading this. The story has an epic feel and there's a serious exploration of actions and their consequences. We also get to meet a lot of interesting characters along the way. There's an interview at the beginning of this edition with Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer who discuss the influence of this story on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and you can really see that here (particularly on Batman Begins) in terms of theme. Also this book's Jim Gordon really does feel like the same character as the one in the Dark Knight trilogy. Well worth a read.

If you are looking for a more definitive Batman story you will be looking hard. Strong characterizations throughout. There are no weak characters in this story.Let's cover the story, briefly. Somebody in Gotham is picking off members of the Falcone and Maroni crime families, the caveat. Each murder occurs on the same day as a holiday, beginning on Halloween 🎃 and lasting a full calendar year.Batman, Jim Gordon and Gotham's highly driven DA Harvey Dent make a pact to end the reign of the so called "Holiday" killer.What makes this such an enthralling read is the pace of the story and the depth the characters is perfectly balanced.Firstly, Bruce Wayne/Batman and his (their) relationship with Semina Kyle/Catwoman. The dynamic between the four personas is what we've come to expect. The difference is the juxtaposition between Wayne/Kyle, who at times display unexpected vulnerabilities compared to Batman/Catwoman who are always in control. It's a quite striking thread that runs throughout the story.Harvey Dent's transformation from white knight DA to the conflicted Two-Face is excellently brought to life.Jim Gordon is a continuation of who we meet in Year One.The cameo appearances from Batman's rouge gallery is brilliant as each of their personalities are expressed perfectly.I would have given 5 stars were it not for two aspects.1. The portrayal of the Sullivan gang (who are of Irish extraction) is such an American stereotype of what an Irish person acts and sounds like. As an Irish person I was a little put off by it.2. The ending was a little loose. Not sure what the reason was for it. If it had ended a few pages sooner it would have been perfect.

Being relatively new to comics in general, I wasn't all too sure what to expect when I picked up The Long Halloween. Well, now I can safely say that out of the three batman comics I've read this one is by far the best. The story is gripping and dark with a surprising amount of nods towards The Godfather (compare the opening scene of this comic to the movie-you'll be pleasantly surprised). I would say that it is far more a crime drama than it is a superhero story, which isn't a bad thing. In fact it allows for some very gritty scenes that you wouldn't find in your average hero comic.The art is wonderful. The heavy use of shadow and the limited colour pallet emphasise how dark and foreboding Gotham is. The bat himself is bulky and imposing, the design of his cape almost coming off as unnatural. I liked this; it gave him a very moody and grim quality-you can definitely see why criminals find him so frightening. Other characters were drawn with a certain noir style that makes them very memorable, particularly the Joker.Overall it was a very impressive and well-drawn read. Worth every penny.

Excellent graphic novel.