This month for the Galactic Comics and Collectibles Book Club we read Batman: The Long Halloween published by DC Comics.
The Long Halloween was written by Jeph Loeb (Spider-Man: Blue) with artwork from the late Tim Sale (Superman). It’s original run lasted from 1996 to 1997 over 13 total issues. The series takes place place during Batman’s early days of crime fighting and involves a killer who strikes only on holidays. Working with Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Gordon, Batman races to discover who Holiday is! The trade paperback collects the original 13-issue series.
The consensus is The Long Halloween is the epitome of stories when it comes to Batman. When someone wants to get what Batman is all about, The Long Halloween is the place to start.
However, I was a little less in love with the book. This likely comes from me not being a big Batman or DC Comics fan and had preconceived notions before opening the book.
A big takeaway from The Long Halloween was the work of Sale in the art department. The number of 1990s comic books in which I was not the biggest fan of the artwork is astounding, but Sale does it for me in this Batman story. His use of simple lines and color schemes gives you a great feel on the book but doesn’t over do it.
I joke and say The Long Halloween is the best Batman book I have ever read, but it is also the worst Batman book I have read. However, that is because it is the only Batman story I have read.
The book was well worth the read as it is a historical Batman story, but it still is in the the world of DC Comics and didn’t convert me to the universe which includes Batman, Superman and more. It was nice to see where a lot of the current Batman movies have sourced their storylines from and get more context on that side of the comic book movies.
Batman: The Long Halloween on Screen
The two-part animated direct-to-video film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment released in June 22, 2021 and July 27, 2021 respectively.
The Long Halloween stars the voice talents of Jensen Ackles as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke as James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian as Calendar Man, Troy Baker as Joker, Amy Landecker as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid as Alberto, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy, Jim Pirri as Sal Maroni, Alastair Duncan as Alfred and Naya Rivera in her final film role as Catwoman.
The comic book series has been the base for a few Batman big screen adaptations including the recent Matt Reeves The Batman release.
Join Us In The Book Club
Galactic Comics and Collectibles hosts a book club each month to read and discuss one trade paperback. Each month a group of individuals reads the same book and meets to discuss. Follow along as we discuss these books here as well. Next month we will read I Hate Fairyland, Volume 1: Madly Ever After.
