Reviews

The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb

f1racer3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

arbaazk1999's review against another edition

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5.0

I have to say, never expected this much twists and turns in a comic, let alone in a batman story

ferzemkhan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

thundrflap's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ben_leggatt's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

billybookmark's review against another edition

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3.0

the drawing goes from comically bad to stunningly good, which is one of the finest arts of comics

bbboeken's review against another edition

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4.0

Goede achtergrond, structuur, opbouw & verhaal; benieuwd hoe dit verder wordt uitgebouwd in de volgende twee boeken.

chiaracrillie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

literarygoblin's review against another edition

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5.0

 This reread and review are probably a little bit biased, as I read the Long Halloween a number of years ago and it strongly shaped my taste in Batman stories to this day. My appreciation for noir art styles, mob storylines, and dark yet grounded villain depictions all stem from the world created in the Long Halloween, and so I think I will always show a lot of favor to these story elements and this book in particular.

This is one of those stories that I always recommend to people who haven’t read much, or any, Batman - so long as you’re familiar with Bruce Wayne’s backstory, you can jump into this book without confusion. The characters in this story are established quickly when they’re introduced, making it easy to follow and keep track of all of these characters. The various storylines all overlap and relate back to one defining plot element, making it easy to stay engaged with the story beats.

The Long Halloween is a very tight and well thought out series - nothing feels wholly unnecessary or distracting from the primary goals of the story. There may be a couple of moments that feel like filly or feel mildly underdeveloped, but neither of those things takes away from the quality of the narrative. From beginning to end, the story is well told.

The art style of Tim Sale is unmatched, and in my opinion the Long Halloween wouldn’t be the same without it. There’s so much personality in the art of this book, it feels so alive and engaging and dynamic. The character designs are unique yet iconic, and the story feels like nothing else that I’ve read in Batman comics largely due to Sale’s unique art style paired up with the fantastic coloring from Gregory Wright.

I could ramble on about this story, and I have many times in the past, so I’ll refrain from making this review the length of a novel by cutting myself off here. To summarize, the Long Halloween has an engaging and well-told story, with well-used foreshadowing and diversions, strong characterization and character design, and an influential narrative that I wish we saw more of in Batman comics today. 

rrowanreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0