Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1 Preview + Interview
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1 Preview + Interview
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
I was pretty skeptical about Loeb and Sale returning to Batman after all these years, I didn't think it was possible to capture that magic yet again...but they pulled it off. The roof top conversations between Gordon and Batman are dramatic and moody, the villains colorful and energetic and the scene with Commissioner Gordon chaperoning Robin and Barbra Gordon going trick or treating was absolutely perfect. Some people still may not have forgiven Loeb for the perceived wishy-washy answer about who Holiday was but I've always loved the relationship between Gilda and Harvey so seeing more of it here was fantastic and with the way the issue ended with Gilda and Two Face escaping into the night I'm hoping we get even more in the not so distant future.
Sale hasn't lost a step in how he depicts Gotham and all of its inhabitants but I think the coloring here steals the show in a few places. Brennan Wagner(yes, son of THAT Wagner) has a fantastic grip on the bold primary colors that have always made the art of the Long Halloween so iconic, and his deft mix of warm and cool colors creates a stunning mood all its own. If there's more to come I surely hope that Wagner comes along as well as I can't wait to see more from him.
I'm almost all digital these days, but this book was really that good and the art was fantastic so I'll be double dipping here and tracking down a physical copy sooner rather than latter and you should too
Last edited by thwhtGuardian; 10-26-2021 at 06:45 AM.
Looking for a friendly place to discuss comic books? Try The Classic Comics Forum!
Looking for a friendly place to discuss comic books? Try The Classic Comics Forum!
I was able to get a 1 in 25 variant as well as the normal variant. I'm going back to get the normal cover because this book was awesome!!! The art was gorgeous , the colours were vibrant. This is easily the best one shot of the decade so far... I hope beyond all hope more is coming!!
Looking for a friendly place to discuss comic books? Try The Classic Comics Forum!
Looking for a friendly place to discuss comic books? Try The Classic Comics Forum!
I thought this was excellent. And was actually pretty startled to see words that could more or less be interpreted as "to be continued" at the end. I like that they kept it loose and not too promisey.
Anyway the story was really good. Quite a natural progression on from DV, frankly. Clean, brief, and tailored fairly well into the sort of "Year Three" timeframe of things. I still bristle whenever I see the Frank Millerification of Barbara to being a niece, but I'm not that picky about it, it's like the main thing I saw and was like "ah, still trying to make that work, continuity nevermind, I can work around this in my own head".
This could be the best Calendar Man story ever told.
Retro315 no more. Anonymity is so 2005.
retrowarbird.blogspot.com
I really loved it, they hadn't missed a beat, doesn't seem like it's been as long as it has since we last visited this world.
Pulls: Batman, Detective Comics, SiKtC, Catwoman, Nightwing, Titans, Godzilla, Wonder Woman, Batman & Robin, Brave and the Bold, No/One, Kill your Darlings, and Deviant.
My runs: Batman #230-, and Detective #420-
I really enjoyed this.
As others have said, Loeb and Sale don't miss a beat. The story and art are very nice. While the previous storylines incorporated many characters, this issue focused on only 6 characters (7 if you count Solomon Grundy) and still managed to make it fascinating.
I wish this would have been another multi-issue mystery, but as a stand-alone story, it was fantastic and managed.to connect to the two previous stories.
Last edited by caj; 11-14-2021 at 06:10 AM.
Do we get the sense this story will be revisited again? Or will it just continue to be left open-ended?