The Batman has established himself as the protector of Gotham City and now it seems like his presence has attracted all of the costumed "freaks" to Gotham. On top of that, organized crime is still a major issue running wild. Batman is doing all he can, as is Commissioner James Gordon. Unfortunately it's not enough; however, they have another person ready and willing to fight for the soul of Gotham City. District Attorney Harvey Dent has now joined their team. The three of them are trading information and continuously fighting the good fight. With these three guys working together the streets should be clean in no time at all, but like always, things always go from bad to worse.
On Halloween night, a mobster is killed by a .22 pistol with a baby nipple over the barrel used as a silencer. While murder is a common thing in Gotham, there was a pumpkin left at the crime scene. Carmine Falcone assumes it's Dent and puts a hit out on him and hires the Irish mob to blow up Harvey Dent's house. Thankfully Harvey and his wife Gilda survive the explosion. The following Thanksgiving, the mob that blew up Harvey Dent's house was shot up while they were having dinner in a banquet hall. A Thanksgiving gourd was left at the crime scene. This leads to this killer being called "Holiday" since the killer left another holiday souvenier at the crime scene. Batman's instincts lead him to talk to a criminal in Arkham Asylum name Julian Gregory Day a.k.a. "Calendar". He tells Batman that "She" will kill again and she does it because "He" likes the attention. Batman passes this off as the rambling of a psychopath and continues his investigation.
August 2nd and none of the trio are any closer to finding Holiday, but Sal Maroni has agreed to testify in court to hopefully bring the mob down and Harvey Dent is more than happy to oblige. On the way to court, Maroni is handed a bottle of medication for his heart problems. Now in court on the stand, Maroni grabs his chest, and goes for the bottle of medication and throws the contents of the bottle in Harvey Dent's face. Maroni had acid in the bottle the whole time. This was the incident that turned District Attorney Harvey Dent into one of Gotham's most infamous criminals Two-Face.
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Writing: 8
This is what Batman is all about. Forget all of the memes that say he solves crimes because he's Batman. Jeph Loeb shows the work Batman has to put in every single day to get the job done, all while balancing his life as a playboy millionaire and head of Wayne Enterprises. Beyond the main story, Loeb does a masterful job of incorporating some of Bruce Wayne's past and even some of his father's into the story to help make what's going on with the mob a little more personal. The only flaw is knowing the story. We know that eventualy Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face whether you watched the cartoon, the movie, or happened to see a comic. So that takes away from the mystery a bit. That said, the twist towards the end was great.
Art: 7
The art is not bad by any means. This writer just isn't a big fan of older art. Tim Sale did an amazing job capturing the grit and grime of Gotham (say that five times fast) while also capturing the rare beauty. So why was this given a seven and not higher? Some of the images seemed a bit exaggerated. Yes, it is a comic book, but Joker's smile was over exaggerated and so were a few other characters in this book. Overall, it is really good, so don't be shocked if you rate the art more than a seve.
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In Conclusion:
This is a great read from start to finish. Unlike some books and comic books, "Long Halloween" is something that can be reread even after you know how it ends. Once you start reading, it will be difficult to put it back down.
