Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight

Batman by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale #0, 3

by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale (Illustrator)

This Absolute edition includes three dark tales of horror and intrigue featuring Batman facing off against his most demented and wicked foes. Taking place on the most evil of holidays, Halloween, the Darknight Detective confronts his deepest fears as he tries to stop the madness and horror created by Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, the Penguin, Poison Ivy and the Joker.  

As an added bonus, Loeb and Sale's Catwoman 6-issue mini-series Catwoman: When In Rome is included here as well as additional design, sketch and script pages.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Horror

336 pages, Hardcover

Published December 2, 2014

About the author

Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an Emmy and WGA nominated American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a Co-Executive Producer on the NBC hit show Heroes, and formerly a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost.

A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner (see below), Loeb's comic book career includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale, who provides the comic art seen on Heroes.

Reviews

[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t friggin stand that some of this stuff is over 20 years old. Hard to believe I picked up these stories as they were released back in the day. Having already added the Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween and Absolute Batman: Dark Victory to my collection, I grabbed this latest Absolute edition, pulled up my adult diaper, and strapped in for a trip down memory lane. Surprisingly, I still found myself enjoying this re-read. A lot more than I expected anyway. Loeb hasn’t aged that well for me and while I was a huge fan at one point, his stuff isn’t quite as solid now as I remembered it. Still have a soft spot though.



Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight is a collection of The Long Halloween and Dark Victory “prequels” in which Loeb and Sale laid the foundation for their later collaborations. Fear is a Scarecrow story that was fun. I believe this was Jeph and Tim’s first Batman story together. Madness focuses on the Mad Hatter and it reminded me of the Mad as a Hatter episode of Batman the Animated Series. This is sort of the “vintage” Hatter story with the "Alice in Wonderland" flavor. Ghosts is a riff on A Christmas Carol. Probably my least favorite of the bunch. Bruce reflects on his life and considers his future. Eehh.



Finally, DC included Catwoman: When in Rome in this edition as well. I was really happy about this. I wasn’t crazy about this book when it first came out, but I ended up enjoying it a little more this time around. Selina makes a trip to Italy, with Edward Nigma in tow, in search of some answers about her own past. Could have used a little more Batman, but what story wouldn’t be better with a little more Batman? I really like Loeb’s Selina and this was a nice little garnish for The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.



I despised Tim Sale’s artwork when I first laid eyes on Fear wwwaaayyyy back when. But, like cigars and bourbon, I eventually came around and found an appreciation for his unique style. No mistaking his work. And while I preferred his art in The Long Halloween, there is some good stuff in this collection. Still don’t like his Scarecrow though. Some of the stuff really gets a chance to shine on the oversized pages of the Absolute format.



Gotta give Dave Stewart a huge shout out for his coloring on When in Rome. Had a nice water-colored look at times that was super smooth. Awesome stuff that really compliments Sale’s drawings and makes that story really stand out among the others in this collection.



I was surprised to hear that DC was making this collection into an Absolute Edition. Not sure I would’ve called it a necessity. I imagine it’s for completists like me or to bookend the Long Halloween and Dark Victory. Nothing here that falls into the category of essential Batman, but a recommend to fans of Loeb and Sale’s other Batman work.

Get this review and more at:

[Shibosan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Три хеллоуинских спецвыпуска, ставшие прологом в "Долгому хеллоуину" ничего особенного из себя не представляют ни в плане сюжета, ни в плане рисунка (ранний Тим Сэйл), и годятся к прочтению только в канун праздника, под настроение.

Зато в книгу входит мини-серия про римские каникулы Женшины-кошки - Once in Rome, действие которой происходит параллельно событиям "Темной победы". И вот она то читается легко и с удовольствием, да и Тим Сэйл к тому времени уже как следует набил руку (хотя женщины ему порой даются все еще с трудом).

Динамика отношений Селины и Загадочника в качестве напарников просто шикарная, хочется увидеть ее экранизированной (пусть даже в виде анимации), это нужно хотя бы для того чтобы мир увидел Эдварда Нигму в костюме Женщины-кошки. Концовка глуповата, но это, похоже, фирменная черта Лоэба.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another homerun for Batman super team, Loeb and Sale, it was a little getting used to in the beginning, the art was a little different then the Long halloween, but in the end is was great. The DC Absolute editions are really among the best you will ever see, this one contained 3 batman stories and 1 catwoman. Strange thing, i maby liked the Catwoman one the best

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good stuff from Loeb/Sale. Although I didn't really care for the Bruce Wayne art here.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting compilation to read. It has three "short stories" involving Batman and then a longer story involving Catwoman (where it delves a bit deeper into her past). I was not a big fan of the artwork in terms of how the characters were drawn at times, although I did feel like the use of colors was superb and added to the stories. I suppose one could say "some solid character development" happened, except that I would be hard-pressed to say that the development carried over to the respective series of each character. I could not decide if the Batman stories take place early in his career or not as it did not feel like they took place in the "current continuity" of the time.

Fears: This was an okay story. I felt like it went on longer than it should have. Jillian Maxwell was probably the most interesting part of that story for me, especially with how Bruce was so take in by her and ready to leave Gotham City to go on a "world cruise/tour" with her. She must have been quite a woman! So for Alfred to find out she was a "con artist" who murdered her rich husbands was pretty crazy (but not really surprising, on the one hand). That look on her face after she reads Batman's "CONFESS" was priceless, to be honest. Still, though, I did find myself wishing their romance had turned out better or lasted longer (and had been true instead of a scam). The two-page spread of the party at Wayne Manor was fun. I recognized Hobbes the Tiger, Cerebus the Aardvark, Waldo (of Where's Waldo? fame), and possibly Hawkeye. There was another character I've seen before but don't know his name (all white with red hair and what looks like a jagged question mark on his chest).

The ending is interesting, though, and does show Bruce gained some insight into why he does what he does and accepts the cost(s) of being the Batman. The premise of the story (or "underlying theme") is about Bruce feeling like he never had a choice in becoming the Batman. By the end, though, that changes. I thought I didn't have a choice about being the Batman. That Gotham City chose me to protect her. That is wrong. Ever since the night my parents were taken from me, I made the choice. It means that some of my heart's desires may go unfulfilled . . . but may more are satisfied. . . . It is a good choice. So this actually was probably the most solid character development for the Batman, and not something that need be addressed or shown again in his primary issues.

The weakest part of this story for me was the artwork. As unimpressed as I was with how the Batman and Scarecrow were drawn, Bruce Wayne was horribly depicted in my opinion. And while I am not that familiar with Scarecrow, his rhyming schemes came off like ... well, I should say Mad Hatter's rhyming schemes came off like Scarecrow's (had the order reversed, there, hahahah!). But back to Bruce - he looks more like a bruiser or a thug, some slope-headed Neanderthal, instead of the sophisticated person he is in high society (and can get away with wearing Superman's costume).

Still, though - the Bat-signal painted to look like Scarecrow's face against the clouds was a crazy image, well-done, beautiful in its own right, and completely unexpected, hahahah!

Madness: This was an okay story. Ironically, I think the Mad Hatter was the best drawn character in the book. Inspired in parts by Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter has been kidnapping runaways for some mad scheme - apparently all to have a "tea party". I cannot decide if the author created a contrived connection between the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland so that it became a memory of Bruce's that was being perverted by the criminal whackjob's antics. I guess it works for the story, in some respects.

The Mad Hatter saving Barbara Gordon was pretty crazy! I did not see that coming, and that was actually some pretty good artwork, too (with the "BLAM" printed vertically getting the point across as to what was happening before you see the Mad Hatter with his smoking pistol. Very well done. Mad Hatter's yelling at himself in the mirror to get out of the way was funny. Excellent moment of humor.

The image of the woman holding the Batman a la the Pietà was nicely done as well. And a bit crazy to look at - the woman has a bit of a look about her that might not quite be sane, hahahah! That was a wonderful image. I also loved the Queen of Hearts card - how big it was with its bright, bold red colors. One of the better images in the book. The "ending" of this story with the But, this madness ends . . . through the looking glass line was a bit corny, albeit effective. That being said, I don't know how much I believe the Mad Hatter was able to fight the Batman off like he does in the beginning of the story; I did not realize he had fighting skills equal to the Batman to hold the Batman off like he does; Mad Hatter does not look like a "normal human at the peak of physical and mental perfection" like the Batman is, but what do I know?

Ghosts: This was surprisingly my favorite story in this compilation. The artwork still sucks, drawing-wise, but the colors used help the story. Bruce Wayne being shot in the chest so he could fall out of the upper-story window of a skyscraper in order to reappear as the Batman was kuh-RAY-zee! Be funny to hear him explain his way out of that one (actually, pretty simple, I'm sure: "Batman happened to be swinging by and caught me just as I fell out the window. Didn't any of you rush over and see him catch me as I was falling? What? NONE of you rushed over to see what was going to happen to me?!?" Hahahah!).

Eating bad fish giving him bad dreams was an interesting choice for this story. He ends up being visited by a group of "ghosts" (fever dreams?) a la Mr. Scrooge of A Christmas Carol, and it was well done in my opinion. On the one hand, it is sad that he believes the only way he can honor his parents is by sacrificing everything to be "the Batman" and attempt to rid Gotham City of crime. Never going to happen. The two villains who visit him in his dreams were an interesting choice. It made me wonder "Why? Why those two?" I could not quite decide if it was something about their lives matching his that made them be the "ghosts" who forced him to visit the events he remembered in his dreams; I don't know enough about their backstories and interactions with the Batman to make that kind of determination.

That image of Alfred hanging upside down next to the Joker and surrounded by pumpkins was a great image - great use of color, lighting, shadows, and setting a tone. Joker's taunts were funny as well: You know, for the "World's Greatest Detective", you sure are having trouble getting it through your thick skull that you can't touch me." I realize his dream is so real he doesn't realize he is still dreaming, but it was funny. Joker's visit was quite a bit shorter than Poison Ivy's, but he made a great point about how the two of them are very much alike in how they do not have any friends, and the children were just as scared of Bruce Wayne as they would have been of the Joker.

It is also interesting, too, how he is in costume when he faces Ivy and Joker, but when he faces the last apparition, it is as Bruce Wayne and not the Batman. But I think that image of the final apparition removing its hood to reveal the skeletal face inside the Batman's hood was a solid image and helped Bruce see he needed to be more than "just" "the Batman", especially if he wanted to leave behind a legacy and not be forgotten. Sadly, this is one "lesson" that he never seems to really remember, in my opinion, but I do not follow his stories enough to probably be an accurate judge of his "character" at this point. On the one hand, he does have an "extended family" in Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, and Damien Wayne, as well as Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Jim Gordon, but Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, and Damien Wayne would be his "primary family" because of how he took them in and gave them a home. Selina Kyle is - I don't really know what she is to him. I remember when they nearly got married, and how big a deal it was, and then that never happened. So, I guess one could say that he did learn his lesson from this story, maybe just not quite in the way "I would have liked". But, yeah, it ended on a solid note as well, with his calling Lucius Fox back and forming the partnership that would grow into a close friendship followed by his sharing candy to trick-or-treaters. Solid ending to a surprisingly good story.

When in Rome: This was an interesting story. Not a big fan of most of the artwork in it, but it did have some spectacular images in it (well, maybe just two): the best one being Catwoman highlighted by lighting from below. That was a cool image! The story is about Catwoman traveling to Rome to find out if she is the daughter of crime boss Falcone back in Gotham City. As it turns out, she may actually be his daughter after all. The nuns holding machine guns to guard his (former?) wife was pretty bad-@$$ looking, to be honest! I had no idea how short the Riddler is! It was nuts how short he was! And I know he's a criminal, but he's such a cad as well! She intends to use him to help her solve the mystery of her past, and yet he keeps dosing her with drugs to try and find out the Batman's secret identity. Dude is a complete pervert in the story; not sure if that was just because of the time in which it was written or not. That image of him wearing her costume was pretty hilarious, though! hahahah! So were the images of him constantly getting the boot by her; guy had to take a lot of lumps and yet never learned.

That was a solid image of her on that moped - the artist did a great job capturing that image, it was so well done. This story also had an image of the Pietà, too, which I did not expect. Only, this time, it was the actual statue and not an homage to that image.

I don't know how much I believe about Catwoman surviving a fight with the Cheetah. Selina Kyle is not superpowered, as far as I know, and Barbara Minerva is supposed to have superhuman speed and reflexes. I would have expected Cheetah to have made short work of Catwoman and Selina not to have survived. Writer's plot armor, I guess.

While I "get it" in that this story takes place over the week of Halloween (at least, I assume it did), I don't know how well it fit in with this compilation. While it features the Batman in her dreams (and it is funny how she dreams about him constantly but also interesting that she never blurts out Bruce's name, although there was one moment I thought she might have - that was probably one of the better moments in this story, to be honest), I don't know that it should have been added to this compilation. But, I "get it" - it was long enough so that it would justify the first three stories being put into an "Absolute Edition". Too, Selina appears close-to-nude quite a bit in this story, and yet I don't remember any of the men being as underdressed as she is. Points to who the audience is, I guess?

The story ends with no definitive answers for her, but enough tidbits are dropped to imply that Falcone was her father, but she decides by the end of this story that she no longer cares and intends to move on/move forward from here. Be interesting if she ever does anything with that ring that she stole, considering how much power it would give her if "the Mafia truly existed". ;D

At the end of the day, the stories were entertaining. When I first picked it up and flipped through it, i was not sure I wanted to read this tome. The images just did not appeal to me. But I took a chance and read it anyway, and I am glad that I did as I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would but not nearly as much as I would have liked. I would say 2.5 to 2.7 stars but rounded down. Perhaps if I were to reread it, I might bump it up to 3 stars. We shall see.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is technically a reread for me, having read the various parts many years ago at previous times.

Keeping in mind that the Batman stories were originally one-shots (glorified extra-length issues) they pack quite a bit in. The villains are primarily there to create a situation in which we get to delve into some past memory or experience of Bruce. I always applaud this characterization because many times that small bit of info can make a character either more complex or more relatable. Loeb seems to want to remind readers that Batman is still a human being with emotions and the guilt and pain from his parents' loss is what drives him.

While the 'Haunted Knight' stories take place before Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween, the Catwoman story takes place after where she searches for the answer to her true parentage. A noble plot for sure, but I felt the story was light on those details. You do get a little more insight on Selina, but many of the issues felt like filler, the story drifting along wherever the tide (Loeb) wanted in order to fill the pages. Sale's Selina is certainly sexy, with curves that were perhaps breaking the "comics internet" before a certain Kim broke the real one. His art is definitely a high point of the series, in my opinion. These early Batman stories have a lot more creative panel layout than his later Marvel color series.

It's a worthwhile predecessor to the two full length sequels.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. The Cat-woman story, When in Rome, was a lot of fun and I liked the art while it added to the background story of who Catwoman is in relation to her family.

There are three short Batman stories that begin this book. Each one deals with a fear Batman has to deal with. They are well written and I think have held up well. These short stories precede Long Halloween and Dark Victory and are not necessary for those stories reading more like one shots than anything else. A nice collection but not must read stuff like Long Halloween.

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 en général mais la partie « Catwoman à Rome » vaut à elle seule 5

[Siobhan Hawthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

→ Chronique sur mon blog.

Batman : Des ombres dans la nuit commence avec le récit « Nuits d’Halloween » qui nous présentent un Batman en tout début d’activité, on y retrouve donc Jeph Loeb et Tim Sale aux manettes pour une ambiance similaire à Un long Halloween, où c’est la fonction de détective de Batman qui est explorée. Bon, pas tout à fait la même ambiance pour être honnête ; on retrouve bien le concept d’un Batman qui doit se confronter à ses plus grands ennemis tels que l’épouvantail, le Penguin ou le Chapelier Fou (okay, pas que des « grands ») mais à travers lesquels il doit bien sûr combattre ses propres démons et ses propres angoisses, qui viennent toutes de son fameux trauma. Mais l’intrigue est assez peu trépidante, avec un personnage de femme introduit qui a peu d’intérêt et dont on comprend la fonction et les intentions dès les premières cases. Le tout suivi d’une sorte de réécriture d’Un chant de Noël de Dickens où trois ennemis du chevalier noir viennent lui parler tour à tour de son passé, son présent et son futur.

J’ai globalement trouvé que c’était une lecture qui faisait passer le temps mais je n’étais pas particulièrement accrochée à l’histoire et je n’en garderai probablement aucun souvenir d’ici quelques semaines. À la limite, « Nuits d’Halloween » m’a donné envie de relire Un long Halloween.

Dans la deuxième partie du livre on trouve un récit centré sur Catwoman : « À Rome… », qui chronologiquement se passe en même temps que Amère Victoire. Je l’ai trouvé plus intéressant, déjà parce qu’il ne se déroule pas à Gotham mais aussi parce qu’on trouve une Selina Kyle qui part sur les traces mystérieuses de son passé, à la recherche de réponses. On peut déplorer l’omniprésence de Batman dans ses rêves, mais finalement l’explication donnée et le raisonnement qui s’en suit se tient. Elle reste tout de fois toujours entourée d’hommes, soit qui l’attirent (Batman) soit qui sont attirés par elle (Edward Nigma) ou les deux (Blondies), donc on la retrouve bien ici comme le personnage très sexualisé qu’elle est de façon un peu caricaturale. Ça reste une histoire sympathique où elle finit par avoir les réponses qu’elle voulait, avec un petit bonus convoité qu’elle a réussi à obtenir, en voleuse experte qu’elle est.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collects the three oversized one shot Batman stories released for Halloween and Catwoman When in Rome. This is the start of the epic Halloween Batman stories Loeb & Sale would create. I love Sale’s art style and Loeb is in my top three Batman writers. A must read.

[Alexander Lototsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Если бы не сюжет и рисовка в Женщине-кошке и Римских каникулах, было бы очень тяжело читать такое мрачное и тяжелое повествование и Бэтмене.

[Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable read
3.75 stars

[Better Call Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fini en un jour, le run de Loeb et Sale c'est ma Sainte trinité

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn’t really care for it. i like selina better when she’s less emotionally at risk.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight is a collection of stories that has Batman faces off against his most demented and wicked foes on the creepiest and spookiest holiday – Halloween. Batman confronts his deepest fears as he tries to stop the madness and horror created by the Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, the Penguin, Poison Ivy, and the Joker.

This particular trade paperback, Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight collects all three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials, Batman: Choices, Batman: Madness, and Batman: Ghosts with all six issues from the 2004 miniseries Catwoman: When in Rome written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale as well as additional designs, sketch, and script pages.

Batman: Choices takes place during Batman’s early vigilante career. The Scarecrow is on the prowl in Gotham City, forcing Batman into a furiously frightful game of cat and mouse. While as Bruce Wayne, he meets a bewitching Jillian Maxwell – a woman whose allure sways his personal feelings almost as effectively as Scarecrow's fear gas.

Batman: Madness takes place during Batman's early vigilante career. The Mad Hatter abducts a teenager Barbara Gordon – new to Gotham City and traps her in a house filled with his warped Wonderland obsession. It is up to Batman to rescue her and to restore a relationship of a returning James Gordon.

Batman: Ghosts is a Halloween version of A Christmas Carol with Thomas Wayne taking the place of Jacob Marley, and the three spirits being Poison Ivy (Halloween Past), the Joker (Halloween Present), and a Grim Reaper figure (Halloween Yet to Come) who turns out to be Batman. The message from the spirit is that Bruce Wayne should not let Batman take over his entire life.

Catwoman: When in Rome is a six-issue miniseries that deals with a trip to Rome to discover the identity of her father, whom she believes to be crime lord Carmine Falcone. This story, takes place in parallel to the later issues of Batman: Dark Victory.

Catwoman and the Riddler takes a trip to Rome where Catwoman meets The Blonde, a hit-man, who sets us a meeting between Selina and the capo of the Italian mob – Don Verinni. However, he is murdered by Joker's Venom and Catwoman is blamed for the act. Throughout her adventure in Rome, Catwoman eventually deduced the truth – The Riddler has betrayed her, because he thinks Catwoman knows the answer the greatest riddle of all – who is the person under the cowl of Batman. Catwoman would eventually return to Gotham City with no proof of her ancestry.

Jeph Loeb penned the entire trade paperback and for the most part, it was written extremely well. I thought that his Mad Hatter in Batman: Madness was especially written well as it is one of the best Mad Hatter stories I have read in quite the while. The three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials were rather creepy and apropos to the season while Catwoman: When in Rome has a slight detective noir feeling.

Tim Sale penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the main penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I rather liked his penciling, despite the simplistic nature of the illustrations. For the three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials had a creepy and spooky overtone, while Catwoman: When in Rome had a detective noir mixed with inspiration from René Gruau – a French/Italian fashion illustrator.

All in all, Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight is a wonderful collection of Halloween one-shots that were conceived and illustrated rather well. Whereas Catwoman: When in Rome is a wonderful side-story to the Batman: The Long Halloween saga.

[Graeme Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll start off with giving a brief reading order for the Loeb/Sale Batman books, as this seems to confuse so many people. I would recommend reading Batman: Year One before starting, and Hush (and its sequels) and Robin: Year One after finishing.

The Haunted Knight (Part 1)
The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
The Haunted Knight (Part 2)

The Haunted Knight Absolute Edition comprises of four stories. The first three, 'Fears', 'Madness' and 'Ghosts' were originally released as Halloween special issues of Legends of the Dark Knight between 1993 and 1995. These three issues later inspired the same creative team to create The Long Halloween. The fourth story in this book, 'Catwoman: When in Rome', is set parallel to the later issues of Dark Victory and showcase Catwoman's adventures during her absence after The Long Halloween and during the first half of Dark Victory. The short stories make up roughly a third of this book, while the latter two thirds feature Catwoman's miniseries.

The book itself is wonderfully constructed in the most premium format DC has to offer: The Absolute Edition. A4 in size, with a ribbon bookmark and sturdy slipcase, this book is absolutely gorgeous! And is easily the best format for Tim Sale's iconic artwork.

The three short stories are very well written, and fans of Batman: The Animated Series will be pleased with the familiar style, albeit with more adult themes. 'Fears' features Scarecrow at his creepiest, 'Madness' The Mad Hatter and finally 'Ghosts', a Batman loose retelling of Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol' features Poison Ivy and the Joker most prominently, with the Joker's scripting heavily influenced by Mark Hamill's iteration. Also appearing are a few 'ghosts' from Bruce Wayne's past (trying to avoid spoilers here!) and continuing Year One's efforts to establish a contemporary continuity (post crisis) with giving Lucius Fox a solid backstory.

Catwoman: When in Rome review to come! (Reading these in order for the first time in around ten years or so)

[Pauline (Kiriiti's Blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une belle surprise ! Je suis contente que Jeph Loeb ait choisi, cette fois-ci de mettre en avant qu’un seul vilain à la fois. Cela m’a permis d’en apprendre plus sur eux et l’histoire part un peu moins dans tous les sens. Quant à Catwoman, je ne serais pas contre une autre aventure avec elle en personnage principal. Son histoire m’a touché.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reread this as part of a look at the entire Loeb/Sale run on Batman. It was fascinating to see the seeds of a larger story take root in the three Halloween takes, and then to see references to those stories in The Long Halloween.
The growth in Sale's art from the early stories to the Selina Kyle When in Rome is also amazing. I'm a big fan of Sale, so I enjoyed comparing his style and craftsmanship from the wide range of years.
Reading When in Rome alongside Dark Victory added to the entire series, as well.

Truly worthwhile to read the entire run in sequence and to be able to appreciate its influence on the Batman franchise.

[Michael Wormsbecher · Rating 5 out of 5]

NL versie gelezen. Aanrader. Vooral het laatste Dickens gerelateerde verhaal is erg goed.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

batman est tellement dramatique je l'aime. et catwoman est incroyable, je l'adore. j'aimerais juste que les hommes arrêtent d'être creepy avec catwomen svp