A most pleasuring detective novel

books:

	• Batman: The Long Halloween Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale DC Comics, 1999 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 158 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Absolutely perfect!

***It would be a good idea to have read Batman: Year One before reading this graphic novel.***
Batman: The Long Halloween is a master piece of literary and artistic craftsmanship from Jeph Loeb (Batman: Dark Victory, Batman: Hush, Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies) and Tim Sale (Batman: Haunted Knight, Catwoman: When in Rome (Batman), Superman for All Seasons) that served as the inspiration for the 2008 billion-dollar-grossing box office blockbuster The Dark Knight.
A conservative estimate places this story about a year after "Batman: Year One"; Batman is an established crime fighter feared by the mob, James Gordon is an honorable GCPD Captain, and Harvey Dent is the crusading district attorney. All three of these men want the same thing: to rid Gotham City of organized crime and its master crime lord Carmine "the Roman" Falcone, and the three decide to form a pact to bring down the "Roman Empire". Caught up in the madness of this seemingly impossible task are a host of what the cops and mob call "freaks" (costumed criminals) including: The Joker, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, The Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, and Catwoman (who between her double life as Selina Kyle, the on-again-off-again main squeeze of Bruce Wayne, and her nights playing catch-me-if-you-can with Batman, has set her own interests in the "Roman Empire" (for reasons not fully explained until "Catwoman: When in Rome")).
However, in the midst of the good guys versus the bad guys, a new player has arisen. Known only as Holiday (because he strikes on holidays), this serial killer is stalking all persons affiliated with the Roman Empire and Falcone's chief rival Salvatore "Boss" Maroni. The original story took place over 13 issues for 13 months from Halloween to Halloween, during which time both Falcone and Maroni have suffered incalculable losses and a blow is delivered to the three key players that may threaten to destroy them all as the newest as most conflicted of freaks arises to join Batman's Rogues Gallery.
This is a phenomenal story that was originally adapted from "Batman Annual #14: Eye of the Beholder" which cataloged the downfall of Harvey Dent into the villainous Two-Face; TLH simply elaborates upon this same concept in a way that is far more satisfying. The fun of this story is trying to figure out the main mystery: Who is Holiday? There are a row of suspects put forward throughout the story, among whom include: Catwoman, Harvey Dent, even Falcone and Maroni themselves! While the mystery is revealed at the end, there still remains the question as to whether or not they were the only only one acting as Holiday (for more on this go to: ). Do not miss this masterpiece or its companions "Haunted Knight" and "Dark Victory".

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Review of Loeb's Long Halloween

In my review of Frank Miller's 'Batman: Year One,' I longed for more material; I complained that the work was too short. Loeb's 'Long Halloween' is a perfect fulfillment of Miller's source work. It carries forward with the characters as they are revealed in the original work, and works especially to develop the personalities of the Gotham City crime families and Harvey Dent. It also features appearnces by a whole host of classic Gotham villains. Not to be missed.

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Amazing

Batman Th Long Halloween is probably one of the best batman graphic novels I have ever read. I love the artwork. And the story line is brilliant especially the the fact that it includes Gotham's crime lords in the story.

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A most pleasuring detective novel

The way Loeb & Sale blended in the bas-fonds of Gotham's mafia with Bruce/Batman is so delightful that even the "clowns" just seem to fall in place and leave the stage in a natural way.

A great Batman story

I was blown away on how good this story was. I am a big Marvel fan, but have been thinking about breaking out into mainstream DC books. I was not disappointed with this read. It combines Batman's dark precence and a great murder mystery to make a great story. The art also contributes to this as well. This is a great start for anyone who wants to read more Batman, and I am sure I will buy more Batman books in the future.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

It's refreshing when you find a Batman story that both is epic and successfully explores the core of a resolutely explored character. Taking as its catalyst a sub-plot from the seminal Batman: Year One, the story revolves around murders occurring on national holidays, the victims connected to Mob boss "The Roman." Dubbed "Holiday," the killer uses an untraceable handgun and leaves small trinkets at the scene. Plenty of suspects are available, but the truth is something the Dark Knight never suspected. This series scores two major coups: it brilliantly portrays the transfer of Gotham rule to the supervillains and charts the horrific transformation of Harvey Dent from hardened D.A. to the psychotic Two-Face. Both orbit around the sharply portrayed relationship between Dent, Commissioner Gordon, and Batman: a triumvirate of radically different perceptions of Justice. It is always great to see the formative incarnation of Batman, drenched in noir here.Jeph Loeb's writing is keenly aware that Batman is a detective, and Tim Sale portrays a Gotham that is a fertile breeding ground for corruption and madness. Here, Batman is coming to terms with the potent image he projects and the madness it attracts. There are many fine Batman stories, but the ones that capture the spirit with extreme clarity are few. On this alone, The Long Halloween comes highly recommended. Masterfully executed, this is an excellent chance to revisit the world of Batman as fresh as in the summer of 1939. --Danny Graydon

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