The Long Halloween

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.  In my book, they’re the Lennon and McCartney of comics.  Their work on quasi-origin story Superman: For All Seasons, a four-issue series that uses the themes of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, gives readers a look into the life of Superman when he is not wearing the cape.  The Marvel “color books” (Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, and Hulk: Grey) are stories to which I direct any reader looking for a comprehensive look at any of those three characters.  Loeb, who already had a background in film and television, went on to become Executive Producer of the superhero-based television series, Heroes, for which Sale was also a frequent collaborator, providing artwork for the first season of the show.  All of those works came after The Long Halloween.

In the early 90’s, Loeb and Sale had done three Halloween-themed stories for DC Comics, each starring Batman.  Based on the popularity of those three stand-alone stories, DC Comics Editor (he is also a comics LEGEND and, like myself, a Tulsa native and Will Rogers High School alum) Archie Goodwin approached the duo at the 1995 San Diego Comic Convention.  Goodwin stated that he enjoyed their portrayal of mobsters in their Batman work and wondered if they would be interested in doing more of the sort.  As Loeb describes it, Goodwin and Sale went on to have an entire conversation while he was “stuck with this black-and-white dream of a Gotham City that was controlled by Guys with guns, Dolls with lipstick, and Shadows who had shadows.” 

Continuing Frank Miller’s work from Batman: Year One, the story sees a young Batman working closely with Captain (not-yet-Commissioner) Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to take down Carmine “The Roman” Falcone and his criminal empire.  Falcone is played as a typical mob leader who very well could have been called The Godfather and we wouldn’t have known the difference (if it ain’t broke, right?), but sports three scars on his right cheek.  We might learn where those came from later on.  First appearing in the aforementioned Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, Falcone has a penchant for wearing carnations on his jacket lapel.  Mass murder and general unsavoriness, sure.  Bad taste?  Not even close.

 

'The Roman' as he appears in The Long Halloween.

I’ve often theorized that Christopher Nolan took about six or seven Batman stories, threw them in a blender, strained it, and called it The Dark Knight Trilogy, but it is undeniable the influence (at least on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) that The Long Halloween has.  Take the Batman-Gordon-Dent relationship for example.  This story is built on the backbone of that triumvirate working together to defeat crime in Gotham City.

Loeb employs the use of “triplets”- repeating the same, or a variation on the same, line of dialogue- in his writing style.  When Falcone is able to secure the ability to launder money through a bank, Batman’s internal monologue reads, “Somewhere in this city, I know ‘The Roman’ is smiling.”  When the bank official that tried to stop him is killed, the monologue continues, “Somewhere in this city, I know ‘The Roman’ is laughing.”  And, after Batman and Dent set ablaze the hidden stockpile of cash that Falcone is hiding (another image used in The Dark Knight, albeit the money burning was performed by The Joker in the film), the monologue ends with “Somewhere in this city, ‘The Roman’ isn’t laughing anymore.”

The more identifiable “triplet” is the statement of believing in something.  Throughout the series (all thirteen issues), I’m not sure how many variants on the phrase are used, but the most lasting are by Batman: “I believe in Jim Gordon.  I believe in Harvey Dent.  I believe in Gotham City.”  Many will recognize the second version from, you guessed it, The Dark Knight.  In the comic, it is used as a sentiment from Batman, whereas in the film, it is part of Harvey Dent’s re-election campaign.

Now, like I said, the genesis of The Long Halloween is Batman, Gordon, and Dent teaming to take down a criminal empire.  The true plot, however, is a murder mystery.  Over the course of the story, which takes place from June of one year to Halloween night the following year (so about 17 months), the Caped Crusader investigates Holiday, a murderer who (initially) has been killing members of the Falcone Crime Family, but only on various holidays.  As the story continues, Batman and Gordon begin to suspect Dent of being Holiday.  The various crime families turn their attention to Dent as well, with one of the mobsters throwing acid in his face, disfiguring the District Attorney.

The artwork in the book is criticized at times, but I think that it’s brilliant.  Sale’s use of shadows and minimalism on characters like Batman, Catwoman, and The Roman works in stark contrast to some of the more detailed figures such as The Joker, Poison Ivy, and District Attorney Dent’s alter-ego.

Probably my favorite image in the entire book.

My biggest complaint about the story is that there isn’t enough of it.  A continuation, I mean.  Loeb and Sale did go on to do a sequel titled Dark Victory, which I will most definitely write about in the future, but I love stories about gangsters, so I would have loved to see more of The Roman in this same style.  My wish has slightly come true in that Carmine Falcone, looking a little more contemporary, recently made a return to comics in the current weekly series Batman: Eternal.

 

'The Roman' returns in Batman: Eternal (2014).

In my last post, I stated that this is possibly my favorite Batman comic of all.  As I do a lot, I jumped the gun.  The Long Halloween isn’t my favorite (don't worry, you'll find out what is soon enough).  It’s definitely in the top three, though.  It’s a detective story, it’s true to the character, it’s an origin for my second favorite villain, so it’s got all of the necessary pieces.  It served as inspiration for one of the most critically acclaimed superhero films of all time, The Dark Knight.  If I haven’t convinced you to go out and pick up a copy, I don’t know what will.  Maybe flip a coin?

Check back on Friday for a look at Mark Waid’s “twilight of the superheroes”, Kingdom Come. 

Thanks for reading!

-Josh

Sources: excerpts from primary source interviews; Wikipedia

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