Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1: Calendar Men

For fans of a particular vintage, Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequel, Dark Victory, are pretty sacrosanct. Sure, the hype was real, but it was legit, too. It made a superstar out of writer Jeph Loeb and cemented already-legendary artist Tim Sale to untouchable status. So, for these two to return to that tale, so many years later, was on the one hand a no-brainer — but it just as easily could have backfired horribly. Too often, creators (of any medium) are tempted to rehash past glories by dabbling with them again, because of course, there’s a certain level of cache to be had (not to mention nostalgia value). And even more often than that, the end results are far less than the sum of their parts and stink of cash grab.

Somehow, though, Batman: The Long Halloween Special manages to avoid this pattern.

Loeb and Sale reuniting is a godsend for both creators. The latter has taken a lower profile in recent years, mostly sticking to cover work; the former has mostly turned to running Marvel’s burgeoning TV corner of their empire and while turning out comics work that’s less than he’s capable of. This return to old stomping grounds has both creators (plus revolutionary lettering pro Richard Starkings and legacy colorist Brennan Wagner) turning out their best work since Dark Victory wrapped over twenty years ago.

The plot, too, isn’t some cheap contrivance: picking up a loose plot thread left over from Long Halloween, Special sees the return of Gilda Dent and her reunion with her husband Harvey, now hopelessly lost as Two-Face. Readers of Long Halloween know that Gilda’s true role in that epic was famously unresolved (or was it?); this one-off not only offers to at last bring closure to that dangling plot thread but does so in a way that invites further storytelling, should either creator be game. That being the case, though, that means Special isn’t exactly new reader friendly, as it assumes without much exposition or explanation that readers remember the details of a story that was published over two decades ago. And while both Long Halloween and Dark Victory are very constant fixtures in collected form, it’s a bit presumptive to assume everyone has read them. Therefore, this comic is very specifically tailored to older fans, which by default excludes newer readers who might not have read the original source material. On the other hand, it could very well entice them to check it out, so perhaps that was by design.

Loeb’s Batman is a dark avenger first and foremost, and an actual human being second. Throughout Long Halloween and Dark Victory, the author played very heavily with broad archetypes (particularly in the villains), often deliberately reducing them to one-note versions of themselves for maximum impact. That’s not an approach that would work in most instances, but it allowed for Loeb to utilize them like chess pieces, each with specific roles to fill without any other distractions. Scarecrow speaks only in nursery rhymes. Mad Hatter only quotes Alice in Wonderland. Solomon Grundy only says the folk song that bears his name, and so on. It’s a very, very deliberate tactic, and Batman falls under its spell too. Loeb’s Batman is cold and calculating, a creature of pure logic. Beneath that icy exterior, though, beats the heart of a man who was grievously injured by the betrayal of a man who was once his friend: Harvey Dent. And Batman already has perishingly few friends… Loeb shows us this through Batman’s actions; circumstances dictate he must extend Two-Face an olive branch and therefore a level of trust by default. As much as he wishes differently, as much as the rationale he so desperately clings to tells him this is wrong, Batman still can’t bring himself to believe that Harvey Dent, his friend, is completely irredeemable.

Another sticking point is the shoehorned inclusion of Batgirl, who doesn’t serve any particular story function and seems to exist for fan service alone. She’s a distraction — at least for now. Robin, too, is given very little to do, which is a shame since Dark Victory was at least in part about setting him up as a light-hearted foil to serve as Batman’s anchor to humanity. For a comic that ostensibly serves to resolve a plot point from Long Halloween, it sure as heck acts like it’s setting up a third act…

Tim Sale’s art is magnificent and beyond reproach. The man simply hasn’t lost a step throughout his entire career, despite his shrinking from the spotlight in recent years (look, he’s been doing this since the ’80s, so anybody who says he hasn’t earned a respite doesn’t know what they’re talking about). Brennan Wagner’s coloring complements his art flawlessly, bringing a less muted palette than previous series’ colorist Gregory Wright did but accentuating Sale’s pencils and inks beautifully nonetheless. The icing on the cake is Richard Starkings’ old-school lettering, which brings a particular level of gravitas to the whole thing. Anybody else’s letters just wouldn’t have looked right. The whole team feels inspired and invigorated, and this comic is genuinely exciting to read. Turns out, you can go home again.