'Batman: The Long Halloween' by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
A serial killer haunts Gotham's underworld; plus, maintaining our vampire tradition.—Review #243
I was going to review a different book this week, but my reading experience didn’t go well, so I switched gears at the last minute. I hate not finishing a book. I want to give every title a fair shake, so I invested a lot of time trying to push through the vampire novel ‘The Orange Eats Creeps,’ but after a week and change I had completely lost interest. I felt I couldn’t write a review that would be fair to the work, and to try wouldn’t be fair to you. Not good. Traditionally, we feature a vampire novel at Halloween, but now that I had abandoned the one I was reading: What to do? I asked my friend
, and she suggested I resend my ‘Dracula’ review from two Halloweens ago. I liked that idea. It’s one of my favorite reviews, and I’ve added new subscribers since it was published in 2022. But I couldn’t figure out how to resend it (more on this below). So I needed a backup plan to the backup plan. Then, an idea came to me, like:
‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale had been on my graphic novel shelf forever. I didn’t know much about it when I bought it, other than it’s a highly regarded classic and that it had been influential for Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies (an interview with Nolan is included). Graphic novels, like ‘Sabrina’ by Nick Drnaso and 'My Boyfriend Is a Bear' by Pamela Ribon and Cat Farris, had been more regularly featured in Books on GIF’s early days, but I hadn’t reviewed one since ‘Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations’ by Mira Jacob in 2020. Although I meant to return to the format, some other book always took precedence, so they got pushed further and further back. But that meant ‘The Long Halloween’ was available in my hour of need. Thank you for saving me, Batman.
Here’s the book’s cover:
A serial killer is on the loose in Gotham, and the city is freaking out. The shadowy assassin strikes on holidays—the first murder is on Halloween night—and targets the beleaguered city’s organized-crime figures. As the bodies pile up on Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and so on, the tabloids dub the killer, ‘Holiday.’ Gotham’s criminal element calls the spree ‘the long Halloween,’ and everyone from Batman to the cops to the mob to Gotham’s rogue’s gallery of costumed maniacs is hunting Holiday like:
Batman is early in his crime-fighting career and has not yet achieved the status of world’s greatest detective. He’s teamed up with (not-yet-commissioner) Jim Gordon and (not-yet-turned-into-the-villain-named-Two-Face) District Attorney Harvey Dent, but their investigation is going nowhere. Batman is so desperate for clues about Holiday, he pulls a ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and visits weirdo-villain Calendar Man in Arhkam Asylum for insights from another docket-demented criminal. Gotham’s mob also is grasping at straws. They’ve brought in extra muscle, but that hasn’t stopped Holiday. They’re so desperate, they ask The Riddler to use his super-riddling powers to deduce the killer’s identity. You know who else is on the case? This guy:
The Joker’s plan to stop Holiday is to kill everyone in Gotham; he hijacks a crop-duster airplane to spread a deadly poison across the city. Batman’s like:
Catwoman also is running around, turning up at key moments in Batman’s investigation. Could she be the killer? Is she using the Holiday chaos to mask some scheme of her own? Or is she just trying to flirt with Batman, like:
‘The Long Halloween’ has some unexpected and exciting twists and turns that make it a riveting read. Jeph Loeb has written a great detective story that kept me guessing about Holiday’s identity until the very end. Catwoman? Joker? Dent? Someone else? I won’t spoil it. But I also enjoyed how Loeb gave the characters interesting depth and interior lives. For example, it was fascinating to see Batman struggle not only with the unresolved guilt and grief over the death of his parents, which we all know about already, but also with the thought that his presence as a costumed vigilante might inspire more crime than it deters. Catwoman is also delightful. She’s sassy as always and one step ahead of Batman, coming to his rescue and even figuring out his secret identity (he doesn’t figure out hers, despite her heavy hints; like I said, he’s not yet the world’s greatest detective). Even Batman’s more ridiculous antagonists, like Calendar Man, feel grounded and like real people. Tim Sale’s illustrations perfectly capture the dark action and noir-ish mood. I’d love to see more of his artwork. Loeb and Sale have apparently teamed up again for a sequel to this series that’s currently being published. I’ll have to check that out. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a quick and satisfying read, check out ‘The Long Halloween.’
My rating:
‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale was originally published by DC Comics as a 13-issue series in 1996 and 1997. The graphic novel collection was published in 2011 and has been reprinted at least 14 times. $29.99 at Forbidden Planet.
Because I could not leave you without any vampires this Halloween, I have resurrected our reviews from years past. While I couldn’t figure out how to resend them entirely, these promo cards give you a taste of our takes on ‘Dracula’ and ‘Carmilla.’ I hope you’ll check them out. Enjoy!
'Dracula' by Bram Stoker
Dracula is an idiot. Everybody knows the first rule of real estate is location, location, location. There’s no excuse for a centuries-old evil being not to know this as he looks for a second home. Castle Dracula, his primary residence, is perfect. It’s safe (for him), it’s close to everything he needs (human victims), and he has good r…
'Carmilla' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Roughly a year ago, after I told you about ‘Dracula’ and his idiotic real-estate decisions, a reader reached out to recommend another vampire novel, ‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Specifically, the edition edited and with an introduction by author Carmen Maria Machado. I hadn’t heard of the book, but I like Ma…
What’s next:
Next week, we’ll feature a roundup of books from independent publishers. The following week’s newsletter will feature the novel you voted for in our most recent poll:
Before you go:
ICYMI: Review #242
Read this: If you’re looking for a mystery to read before spooky season ends, check out these awesome recommendations from Books on GIF subscribers.
Read this, too: Are you someone who loves book-related gossip, but doesn’t have the time to keep track of it all? Then you should check out the new-to-me newsletter called Lady Whistlethreads, which breaks down the latest drama on Threads and elsewhere. Since I’m a well-known lover of gossip, this newsletter has become a must-read for me!
If you enjoyed this review:
Thanks for reading, and thanks especially to Donna for editing this newsletter!
Until next time,
MPV
Happy Halloween! I am not a superhero reader or movie watcher - I have only watched Batman, the TV show, but I appreciated your review and glad you found your way back to a graphic novel. I subscribed to Lady Whistlethreads; I love literary gossip as well. Have a great Halloween week (not my favorite, but don’t hate it)! Hi to Donna!!
Super fun review! 🦇🦇