Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Alongside Wonder Woman and Superman, Batman is perhaps arguably D.C. Comics’ greatest hero and certainly lucrative money spinner in an ever increasing market for film adaptations. The films, especially the darker and grittier Dark Knight series starring Christian Bale were mesmerising and brutal and aside from perhaps the first two Batman films of the 1980s with the excellent Michael Keaton in the role, were the epitome of graphic novel/adaptions from the D.C. universe.
The graphic novels and comic books though never seem to get the praise they deserve, they sometimes get bashed by supposed well-meaning teachers, especially to anyone growing up in the 1960s and 70s as a poor substitute for the indulgence required for a book. The graphic novel can spur on as much imagination as 300 or so pages of the best of novels, not only does it give a springboard into the appreciation of art but a picture, the odd line of graphite and splash of colour can say more in a heartbeat that much of what can pass for prose.
This is especially true when it comes to arguably Bob Kane’s greatest creation, Bruce Wayne also known as Batman. In Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween, the stirring passion that captured the inventiveness of generations of artists and story-tellers to come came tumbling out in a 13 part epic that saw Batman take on both Carmine Falcone’s crime family and the murderer known as The Holiday Killer. It tells the dramatic retelling of Harvey Dent’s decent into madness and the origin of what would become his alter ego Two Face and the continuing fascination between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle’s Cat Woman.
The story might come as a disappointment to those well versed in the origins of Gotham City’s favourite crime fighter and those that have pitted themselves against the Dark Knight, the fluidity of an origin series not being high in the list of purists most valued moments. However, the way to keep a comic book or graphic novel fresh is by returning every so often to these junctures in time and playing around with them. In a world that runs in no time, in which the boundaries are forgotten and the ageing process skipped over lest it shows the hero to be mortal and have an ending which has to be consummated by both writer/artist and reader, to be fluid is the only answer. Perhaps it is better to tweak a story every so often, to reset the comic universe so that the character remains relevant to each new generation of fan and they can see him in their eye fighting foes in a world that is shaped by their thoughts, not those of their grandparents.
The Long Halloween makes the most of this and never forgets the large debt it owes to Bob Kane, the abundance of super villains, such as The Joker, Poison Ivy and Two-Face, all make it a worthwhile read and the artistry involved shows the darkness that lives in the soul of Batman to great effect.
This is not just a graphic novel, the collection of a related arc; it is the fall, the misfortune in misplaced trust and in elevating a man or woman beyond their calling. People do disappoint us, sometimes though it is not their fault; we think fondly and far too highly of them that we sometimes believe in their complete infallibility and when as we must reach the level of our own incompetence, we are surprised when the darkening shadow looms long into the night.
An interesting and great read, one in which D.C. Comics really pushed the boat out for.
Batman: The Long Halloween is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall