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‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ Offers Readers Tricks and Treats

For someone who had never read, nor even heard of Batman before, The Long Halloween is the best introduction to the Caped Crusader. Unlike Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns, this masterpiece by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale is an epic. It’s not as boring as Year One nor is it as retrospectively over-the-top and self-gratifying as TDKR. Everything that readers want in a Batman comic is found within the pages of The Long Halloween: an intriguing murder mystery, justified appearances by memorable villains, elements of The Godfather, character examinations, and a strong emotional core centered on one of Batman’s most important villain. From the Vito Corleone inspired Carmine Falcone to the Joker reciting lines from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as he breaks into a house, The Long Halloween presents Batman and his accompanying universe at its most concentrated and seamless. Simply put, The Long Halloween is a perfect comic. It should be at the very top of any Batman fan’s “Must Read” list, and for those who’ve already read it, The Long Halloween deserves to be read and enjoyed again and again.

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Top 10 “Batman Year One” Moments

Batman Year One was the first Batman (and DC) comic I read back in 2010. The things that stood out to me were the poetic nature of Frank Miller’s writing (mainly the caption boxes), the parts that Batman Begins homaged, and how Jim Gordon seemed to have more page time than Batman. After rereading this story a few times over the year, I realized that Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli could have named this story “Jim Gordon Year One” and his ups and downs as he goes from a do-gooder cop from Chicago to an overworked Gotham policeman who has an affair with one of his co-workers to an ally of Batman. His character arc is just as compelling and more down to earth than Batman’s. Letterer Todd Klein shows this more grounded story by using more traditional letters in contrast with the fancy cursive script he uses for Batman’s caption boxes. However, both characters have their share of great moments in “Batman Year One”, which is also a little bit of an origin story for Selina Kyle’s Catwoman too. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this highlight reel of the best parts of “Batman Year One” in chronological order.

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