Customer Reviews

Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween

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4 star:		(2)
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Released in 1996 to 1997, Batman The Long Halloween was one of DC's most popular titles in the year the mini-series was released in monthly installments. I vividly recall Wizard Magazine's enthusiasm as they ran many articles speculating on who "Holiday" was.

Now ten years after it's initial run, DC has given the story the "Absolute" treatment. The result is what you can expect from the Absolute editions. A first rate production, the color is crisp, the pages thick, the extras include an interview with creators Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Again, it would have been nice to see some of Loeb's scripts, but the inclusion of the series proposal and their discussion of the series striking covers makes up for the lack of scripts (for me it does anyway). If you are a fan of The Long Halloween, or Tim Sale's art, this is a must have. I wonder what the next Absolute Edition will be...Dark Victory perhaps?

For any Batman fan - I needn't write this, but you should have it. It's amazing!
For those of you unfamiliar with the story, just a few words on that later on. But, to be honest, who is new to this?! It was one of the best Batman storylines ever, with the most awesome artwork. Tim Sale to me is the most "European" of the American artists, his images - each and every cell - can be framed and studied for ages for perfect composition, lighting, pencilling, inking and coloring. So much style and class, woooow!!!
I already read the series as it came out, then waited for the HC back in 98. So why bother? Man, am I happy that I got this. The printing is fabulous! Thick paper, not glossy but matt like the original, deep wonderful colors almost like serigraphies (a huge compliment to the folks at DC! You can see that to them it has also been a work of love to get this out to us)
Now to those unfamiliar with Batman (?!?!) or comics(?!?!?!) Buy this, please, just to get a feel for what is is that all these others are enjoying so much year after year after year.
Unlike many other Batman stories you don't need to know who is who. You can read it as the series' introduction. All the villains are present.
For those of you familiar with the usual suspects, don't worry, the storyline never gets boring. The introductions are perfectly woven into the tale without pausing it for a second.
It's a murder mystery to be read and watched over and over again.
Without spoiling anything, I'm just giving you the original DC introduction from 98:
A costumed hero learning he can trust no one.
A serial killer using the holidays to mark his handiwork.
A crime lord trying to hold onto a crumbling empire.
A city beset by gangsters becoming a haven for freaks.
An honest district attorney hiding a terrible secret.
A dark woman tempting the Dark Knight detective.
And a friendship that would be shattered forever.

P.E.R.F.E.C.T. !!!!! Buy this!!!!! And enjoy for ages.

Absolute Batman - Long Halloween is an amazing hardcover set of a great Batman story. I really enjoyed the overall packaging of the book - it features oversized art, a beautiful cardboard book cover, and a ribbon placer. This graphic novel contains 13 issues and a decent amount of bonus materials. I found myself reading this 100+ page comic in one night because I was glued to it. I really enjoyed Tim Sale's art - it has a simplistic stylized look to it. One thing I didn't like about this is the fact that it is missing the entire 2nd half of the crime drama, Dark Victory, but it is a great story in its self. The story is a great crime drama / detective story. It really brings back Batman to his detective work that was present in earlier Batman comics. Overall I'd highly recommend Absolute Batman - Long Halloween to anyone looking for a great detective comic or anyone who is a fan of Batman.

This is a terrific story with a solid mystery, great writing, beautiful artwork, clever dialogue, and rich characters. Highly recommended for both Batman/cominc book fans and anyone looking for a fun read! Entertaining and interesting--a classic. All the Batman villians in one story--what more could you ask for? And a spooky whodunit theme. Buy it for yourself or your friends. One of the best graphic novels of the last 20 years.

This is an amazing batman comic so pick up if you are a diehard fan of not only Batman, but Jeph Loeb or Time Sale. The story is amazing and I can't wait until they release the Absolute Batman Dark Victory...which is the sequel to this amazing comic. I suggest you pick this up if you are a fan.

Peace...

I had just started reading comics when I came across Long Halloween. The book acts as a self-contained, complete story with no reliance on the rest of the DC Universe. The story is highly engaging with a mystery that makes it difficult to put the book down. The characters are deeply developed and their relationships even more so. I highly recommend this book.

Batman: The Long Halloween may be the crowing achievement of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's career. It may be the crowning achievement of the Batman universe, depending on whom you ask. It is such an absolutely fantastic snapshot of the character of Batman, his rogues gallery, and storytelling that it's no wonder Christopher Nolan drew heavily from it in creating his universe for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

That alone makes it a book worth picking up nowadays for movie fans who want to learn more about where the character came from. More than that, it's just a fantastic story, with brilliant art, which has never looked greater than in DC Comics' Absolute release of the title.

For those unacquainted, Batman: The Long Halloween takes place in the early days of Bruce Wayne's time as Batman, in the Year: One universe, as it has become known. He is confronted by a criminal mastermind known only as Holiday, who murders on a holiday each month. At the same time, each of the 13 chapters brings in classic Batman villains, keeping things fresh throughout.

But at the core of the story, which is where The Dark Knight took from the most, is the three-way relationship between Batman, Lieutenant (and later Commissioner) James Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent. The tragedy of the story comes in Harvey Dent's transformation into the villain Two-Face. And the Falcone crime family also plays a large role in the story. At the same time, Long Halloween is a noir-ish crime tale, with an archetypal Batman arc.

The Absolute edition is a perfect fit for any hardcore collector's bookshelf. Like the Absolute editions before it, Long Halloween comes in a hardcover slipcase, featuring a great Tim Sale Batman on a blue background, with an orange bar down one side for the title. Under the slipcase is a beautifully oversized hardcover. On the front, a matted section features the same Tim Sale illustration, but with an orange background. The back of the book has a more traditional hardcover feel, and is totally black save for a white stencil of Batman.

Inside, it's got the usual bookmark attached to the binding. But it is what's just under the cover that might be the most impressive. Over a two-page spread, readers get to see the Batman shot from the cover, but from left to right, it changes from early sketch material to full-blown color, finished product. Then comes a conversation between Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer about the influence the book had on them.

Over the course of the book, the oversized pages do incredible justice to the entire book and its art, but especially to the fantastic covers that were created for this series. The end of the book features two pages on the DC Direct figure concepts, an interview with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, the original proposal for the book, and an incredible gallery depicting the progression of cover art.

Batman: The Long Halloween is one of the best Batman comics ever written, an essential for any fan, presented in one of the best Absolute editions DC Comics has released to date.

-- William Jones

I loved this book back when I read it a couple of years ago. I got the paperback edition. I consider it a lovely edition with thick pages and all. I had no reason to upgrade it at all.

...I did upgrade it anyway.

I got this Absolute Edition last year but I just read it this past weekend, and I think it was great!. Huge book, thick pages, lovely slipcase, cool hardback art. It seems like it have it all.

I loved the Introduction by Chris Nolan and David Goyer. They were telling about how the book worked for Batman Begins, and they were just a few weeks from shooting The Dark Knight, and they were telling how again this book is even more relevant now for this new movie.

Indeed The Long Halloween was crucial for The Dark Knight.

The end also have the amount of extras you were looking for. I could use more sketches from Tim Sale, but I guess the cover gallery commets were it.

Loeb and Sale talk at the end about how TLH came to be, and is all good.

If you have the money for it, get this. If you haven't read ever TLH, I suggest you to give it a read. Is a great detective story and the art, although kind of stiff, works perfectly for Loeb's writing.

Magnificent Absolute Edition, and because of the price, this is a MUST for collectors.

Just adding to the perfect review scores! I couldn't be happier with this book. My favorite feature is the pages! Quite heavy stock and so beautifully matte, each page is like an artist' lithograph with colors appearing incredibly bold and sharp. You cant go wrong at $50 for this book (did i mention its massive, the size of an Xbox). I may as well mention it is also one of the best written and illustrated comics out there.

A classic batman story. The absolute treatment, with its foreword by Chris Nolan, its artwork discussion and various interviews...paired with the quality of the story and hardcover presentation.... whats not to love