Batman The Long Halloween (1996) 1

Chapter One: Crime

Like a scene from the Godfather, Batman the Long Halloween opens with a wedding acting as a backdrop rather than the focus of the scene.

Crime Lord Carmine Falcone wishes to enlist socialite Bruce Wayne in helping him launder money. The pillar of Gotham refuses, taking his leave to allow Falcone to ponder the future of the organization.

Batman The Long Halloween (1996) 1

Later, Batman returns to investigate the house where he finds Catwoman pilfering the safe. They are able to evade guards who discover their presence, each going their separate ways.

Batman joins Police Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent as they agree to take down Falcone. Through underground intelligence Dent personally destroys a Falcone warehouse safekeeping millions of dirty dollars.

His civic diligence is met with a package bomb sent to his house on Oct. 31, Halloween. It detonates when Dent attempts to open it, leaving a raging house fire and the reader wondering what’s to come as the first chapter closes.

The opening storyline clocks in at 48 pages, setting the stage, though the remainder of the run, less the final issue, is a standard 23 pages.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale authored the maxi series as the monthly holidays were observed during the 13-issue journey.

The series is said to be an indirect sequel to Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. Batman and his contemporaries are all starting out, early in their careers. The city is as much a character as it was in Miller’s story. Batman’s rogue’s gallery can be seen graduating from evil doers to the villains they are today.

Though released 25 years ago, the story is still highly regarded, finding its way into other sections of the Batman mythos. The Long Halloween is credited with influencing Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as well as portions of the final season of Gotham.

Currently a direct-to-video film adaptation of the series is in the works. It has been decided to make it a two parter the way Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was.

It has been collected in trade paperback, Absolute Edition and graphic novels.

Return for Thanksgiving as we review the series during the finish of this and the coming year as we count down the holidays and books.