The Long Halloween is one of those Batman comic runs that makes the diehard fans sit up and take notice. I’m not sure this is what I am, unfortunately. This story is by no means bad, but it’s grim, the color scheme is dark, and it tends towards the melodrama. The best Batman is Batman with a small amount of humor alongside it. The DC Animated Universe gives us a stern and serious Batman, but it also gives us a horny Wonder Woman for him to bounce off of. I’m of the opinion this is necessary (the bounce, not the horny (not necessarily at least)).
In The Long Halloween, Bruce Wayne grapples with allegations of complicity with Carmine Falcone. Harvey Dent works his way through a brutal case that jeopardizes his lifelong friendships, and oh by the way someone is killing organized criminals, once per holiday. The organization of the story is great, the plot is quality, and the themes work well.
So why don’t I like it more? I think it’s because of the art style, in part. It’s that highly stylized art where everything looks a little grotesque, there’s very little depth, and the color palette is like… teenage emo. I like a dark color palette in the DC animated Batman, but that also feels more thematically consistent to me. I’m probably being unfair and biased, but blah.
Definitely worth a read all the same!