Batman: The Long Halloween Part One (2021)

[BatmanFurst]

The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

[BatmanFurst]

TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

The whole Batman/Gordon/Dent partnership has quite a curious literary genealogy. Batman Year One implied that a partnership of some kind existed between Batman and Dent.

But the first time I can recall the three-way partnership being shown is actually Batman Annual #14/Eye Of The Beholder from 1990. The influence that otherwise forgotten (but brilliant!) story had on TLH is pretty significant. I think a panel showing the trio meeting on a rooftop was even homaged in TLH.

I mention it because EOTB is one of those Batman stories that's become tragically overlooked over the years. I don't think it's been frequently reprinted

One interesting point is that Chris Sprouse's art always seemed like a worthy spiritual successor to David Mazzucchelli. I bought EOTB when it was new on the stands as wee ol' laddie and since I was obsessed with BY1 at the time, EOTB felt like an actual follow up to BY1.

For those reasons, it's always strange for me when people point back to TLH as the starting point of the three-way partnership when it goes at least as far back as EOTB. And in times like that, I see it as a chance to do some free advertising for EOTB, a freaking awesome Two-Face story. Which was, until TLH came along, pretty much my definitive Post-Crisis Two-Face origin story.

I'm starting to read Batman comics from 1990 so I'll get to Eye of The Beholder soon enough. I certainly thought Long Halloween originated the partnership between those 3 characters.

[The Dark Knight]

The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

There's lots of content waiting for you and there's no better time than the present. A better understanding of the comics is essential in taking any fandom to the next level given just how prevalent the various influences are. I'm sure you'll find yourself enjoying things a lot more than what you do already.

I don't listen to many podcasts, but if you sent a link I'd give yours a listen.

[BatmanFurst]

The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

There's lots of content waiting for you and there's no better time than the present. A better understanding of the comics is essential in taking any fandom to the next level given just how prevalent the various influences are. I'm sure you'll find yourself enjoying things a lot more than what you do already.

I don't listen to many podcasts, but if you sent a link I'd give yours a listen.

Yeah it really is the best time to dive into the archives because thanks to things like DC Universe and other websites these comics are readily available.

I'll be sure to post the episodes here whenever they get made. Probably won't be for another year or so.

[The Dark Knight]

The first trailer:

I said what I said about the animation style, but this looks promising. If it maintains this type of atmosphere and doesn't deviate too much from the source material it could turn out okay.

[thecolorsblend]

That's not actually Mark Hamill as the Joker... but Troy Baker is trying lamf to sound like him. Not sure what to think of that. The mid-Atlantic accent works for me when Hamill does it. But I don't think I want that to be a permanent fixture of the Joker's speaking voice.

All in all, this thing is showing promise. Still, I do wish the voice cast of the animated Year One feature could've returned for TLH. Easier said than done, perhaps. But TLH's is a sequel to Year One so I think it capitalizing on that was logical. Would've, should've, could've, obviously it's not happening that way.

The fact that this is a two-parter gives me hope. Based on exactly nothing, I'm operating on the assumption that the break point will be Harvey becoming Two-Face. But we'll see how this plays out.

The rapid turnaround between the movies is interesting. "Summer 2021" and "Fall of 2021". It makes sense, when you think about it. "Not as hot as the night Johnny Viti got married" presumably in the first one and the actual words "The Long Halloween" being spoken in the part coming near actual Halloween. Plus, releasing them so close together could create momentum, if part one is good.

I'm interested. But I'd prefer no more radical changes to stories like we got with Gotham By Gaslight.

[The Dark Knight]

The fact that this is a two-parter gives me hope.

The parallels to TDK Returns are there and I think two parts are justified. With content so good it's on them if the movie fails to deliver. There's plenty of material for them to use before they start inventing their own.

Based on exactly nothing, I'm operating on the assumption that the break point will be Harvey becoming Two-Face.

Very possible. Part 2 has been rated R for violence and bloody images.

https://collider.com/batman-the-long-halloween-movie-rating-r/

[Gotham Knight]

Looks pretty good, but I'm not very happy about Troy Baker's involvement. I'm not interested in impersonations. If Hamill isn't participating, give someone out there an opportunity. Let's move on. I'd actually like to here a Lithgow Joker, just to toss out a name. Animation makes for many opportunities and frankly, Mark Hamill isn't dead. He hasn't been dead 20 or 40 years, this kind of nostalgia for a performance is obscene when the guy is alive and kicking. If you can get him, hell yeah, roll with it. If not, lets get somebody with a take. You never know what you might find. A creative adaptation, I think, does have some obligation to find its own voice.

[The Dark Knight]

I was unsure about Jensen Ackles voicing Batman but so far he's surprisingly okay. I don't dislike Troy Baker but agree his casting was unnecessary here. If there's a new Batman you may as well have a new Joker.

I'm finding myself interested in the overall project, though.

The date is June 22, 2021.

[thecolorsblend]

The concern I've got is that the door to new portrayals of the Joker may be closing. In the voiceover world, it seems like a lot of what we've seen is a variation on either Ledger or Hamill.

One thing that made Hamill himself so innovative is that he made the character his own on BTAS. He didn't try copying Romero, Nicholson or anyone else. He just took the character in his own direction, damn the consequences and full speed ahead. The result is a vast series of iconic performances that make him one of the greats among Joker actors.

I don't know if Baker is intentionally copying Hamill or if some jackass is telling him "Skip being 'creative', just give us a Hamill impression because we can't afford him". Either way, I don't think this is good for the character. I don't rly read the Joker bits of TLH in Hamill's voice anyway. I actually envisioned TLH Joker's voice closer to something like Ledger's voice long before Nolan ever came along.

I'll give everything in this movie a fair shot. I'm just saying it's a shame that Baker isn't being more original (for whatever reason).