Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween

Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween (2024) #1-10

by Jeph Loeb, Eduardo Risso (Illustrator)

Jeph Loeb teams with 10 of the greatest artists in comics for a brand-new mystery, paying tribute to the amazing artistic legacy of the late Tim Sale!

In 1996, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale teamed for Batman: The Long Halloween, an award-winning 13-chapter saga that spawned multiple sequels and stands as the most influential Batman story of its era.

Now, Loeb has returned to the world of The Long Halloween for its much-anticipated final act: Batman: The Last Halloween, an all-new 10-part mystery. In each issue, Loeb will be joined by one of the top artists in comics, in a beautiful and lovingly crafted tribute to Sale's art and legacy.

As the story begins, Gotham City learns to fear Halloween once more as a terrible event threatens to destroy Jim Gordon's life and puts Batman and Robin's teamwork to the test more than ever before. In a city of liars, masked vigilantes, and criminals...can anyone be trusted?

The amazing artist lineup joining Loeb for The Last Halloween is, in order, Eduardo Risso, Klaus Janson, Mark Chiarello, Cliff Chiang, Bill Sienkiewicz, Enrico Marini, Dave Johnson, Becky Cloonan, Chris Samnee, and Matteo Scalera.

Following Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, and Catwoman: When in Rome, a beloved saga concludes in Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween!

This collection includes Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Hallowen #1-10 and Batman: The Long Halloween Special, Loeb and Sale’s final collaboration and the prelude to The Last Halloween.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Crime, Fiction, Superheroes

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2025

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

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ambitious tribute to Tim Sale that concludes (?) the iconic 'Long Halloween' storyline. Expectations were always going to be high, and unfortunately, this doesn't live up to the hype. It wasn't a story that needed containing, and despite all of the talent attached to the project, it is left feeling messy and unrewarding. Perhaps it goes down better if you read it straight after the original stuff, but as a standalone piece, it fails more than flourishes. The mystery payoff is more of an 'okay, that's it?' than a true talking point, and there are a ton of familiar foes that amount to nothing. such a shame and especially after such a staggered release...

actual rating: 2.5 stars

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was this so-called sequel to The Long Halloween necessary?
Gosh, no!
The plot of TLH was full of inconsistencies but followed a relatively clear storyline. The plot here has absolutely no coherence, is confusing as hell and leads to no satisfactory conclusion. The character of Gilda is shot to pieces, Catwoman is ultra-mysterious just because, the traditional villains are mere extras and have no reason to be there because the plot has no reason to exist! Only the addition of Robin and Gordon's family situation are minimally interesting, and we are in pure subplot territory.

The only thing of interest in this series is the all-star cast of artists. Nothing but big names, nothing but the best. Not a single weak or mediocre issue. It's top-notch stuff. But not enough to make this sequel interesting.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It didn't even enter into my mind that I could be disappointed by this, which I suppose is why it was so disappointing. The original Long Halloween is not only one of my favorite graphic novels, it's one of my favorite stories period. This felt very messy and worst of all, unnecessary.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Sale is the golden standard for Batman art, the Long Halloween is what got me into comics in the first place. Every successful modern Batman film has borrowed heavily from LH. It is THE Batman story.

Now that Sale is gone, I realize just how much his art was carrying Loeb over the various LH sequels. This final book feels wholly unnecessary to me, and Loeb is just taking this story in circles. He spent issue after issue having Holliday shoot members of Batman’s rogues gallery but none of them actually die (obviously). All for an unsatisfying Gilda Dent reveal and hasty resolution.

It’s nice to see other artists pay homage to Sale with their efforts, Chris Samnee with the banger 9th issue in particular. Sale’s covers make picking this up worth it, but without Sale, Loeb just can’t make this story go anywhere. Between this and H2SH (woof), I’m not sure any artist can carry Loeb if Jim Lee can’t.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't understand how these projects still get greenlit nowadays. Actually I do... Money runs the world after all. This sequel-that-no-one-asked-for done in honour of the late artist Tim Sale is a massive project where all 10 issues are drawn by different artists. Nothing ever felt cohesive; it was messy from start to finish, and it relies heavily on the original story to even exist. There's a lot of ridiculous moments in this and the final reveal is utterly unrewarding. The original story should've been left untouched instead of getting tarnished by this cashgrab title.

[Bryan Fischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not really enjoy this much. Very close to 2 stars, but there was some redeeming qualities (like some of the artwork).
This is a sequel and final instalment in the Long Halloween series, although this was not needed. Felt like a weird hybrid between a re-hashing of the plots from the previous 2 books, a tribute to Sale, and a cash grab based on the name.
Each issue is illustrated by a different artist. Cool concept, not the best execution. I was expecting the artists to honour Sale’s style more than they did. Seems some artists tried this more than others. And some artists were a lot stronger than others. So it was just a very mixed bag with the art overall.
Plot left me confused many times, was not very interesting, and played on so many of the same themes and plot points as the previous books. Just wasn’t very unique. Dialogue and narration from Loeb was good for the most part, just nothing too exciting or mysterious going on with the plot.

[Thezachespinoza · Rating 2 out of 5]

it happened, it ended, but why did it even begin?

[Vinayak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This felt like a genuine closing chapter to one of the most important eras in Gotham’s history.

While it may not quite reach the iconic heights of The Long Halloween or Dark Victory, The Last Halloween succeeds in something just as meaningful — it brings emotional and thematic closure to threads that have been lingering for decades.

What I appreciated most is how it doesn’t just revisit the Holiday Killer mystery for nostalgia. It uses that framework to reflect on change — the slow, inevitable evolution of Gotham itself. The old crime families that once ruled the city are gone. The so-called “freaks” who replaced them became the new normal. And now even they are subject to the same cycles of violence and consequence.

There’s something quietly powerful about that. Gotham never stays the same. Neither does Batman.

This book feels less like a mystery thriller and more like a meditation on transition. On how eras end. On how villains rise and fall. On how even the things we thought defined a city eventually become relics of its past.

It comes full circle in a way that feels earned rather than forced.

It might not surpass the originals in terms of pure impact, but as a thematic conclusion? It works beautifully.

And as someone who grew up loving this saga, that sense of completion hit harder than I expected.

[Luke Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

P decent !

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as single issues.

[Ryan Malik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've waited for this concluding story since DARK VICTORY and 2021's BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL and had such high hopes for it. Unfortunately, those hopes didn't entirely pan out. Why? Because two ingredients were missing: artist Tim Sale, and a cohesive mystery story.

The sudden passing of legendary artist Tim Sale shortly after the release of BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL in 2021 devastated fans and the comic book industry. In my opinion, Sale's artwork catapults him to the top tier of Batman artists, right beside Norm Breyfogle, Greg Cappulo, Jim Aparo, Dick Sprang, Neil Adams, and Bruce Timm. His art and Jeph Loeb's script were the threads that made the first LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY so impactful. Here, a bevy of comic book artists each take turns drawing an issue, at times evoking Sale's art, other times not. And that's where the disconnect happens. Sale captured the film noir aesthetic and transferred it to the page. Chris Samnee is the only artist who manages to capture Sale's visual magic. That doesn't mean the other artists aren't good - they are - it's just shifting tones and styles from issue to issue took me out of the story. There was no cohesive visual style this time out.

Jeph Loeb's story for LAST HALLOWEEN lacked the sting and importance of LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY. What little mystery the story has is confusing. Batman's the World's Greatest Detective but he can't figure out or understand there were three different Holiday Killers? Why? The new Holiday targeting the Freaks (Catwoman, Joker, Two-Face, etc) is very convoluted. I've read it twice and I still don't understand the point. I can't explain any further without revealing the killer's identity, so reasoning must remain vague. Which is sad, because the first issue starts off so strong on Halloween with the kidnapping of Commissioner Gordon's son, and some great Robin dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, Batman's refusal to use contractions is by far the most distracting thing in the entire book for me. Batman's a creature of the night, short on words, big on action; why wouldn't his speech be clipped as short as possible. It's very grating. I haven't read LONG HALLOWEEN or DARK VICTORY lately, but I think Batman spoke using contractions in both stories. Very weird thing to drop.

That's not to say the story isn't great in parts. It is. But in little ways. Little scenes. Anything between Gordon and his wife Barbara. Robin coming into his own. Calendar Man. The strange relationship between Two-Face and Gilda Dent. These are the scenes that rescue the book.

THE LAST HALLOWEEN won't be as widely hailed as THE LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY, but it deserves reading and a place on your shelf with those other Loeb/Sale Batman works of art.

[Aidan]

Despite his renown I think Loeb only had a brief window of quality work, all of which was mostly carried by Tim Sale. You briefly see this in the 0 issue, again carried by Sale’s rougher, due to his age, but still brilliant art, with Loeb letting the pictures tell most of the story. This dissipates as the book continues, the writing becoming more verbose and the story overcomplicated. I stopped reading the words and just read the art. There are a couple funny moments- Harvey saying he gave the homeowners “an offer they couldn’t refuse” scaring Gilda but then reassuring her he just gave them a ton of money was good, and Robin seemingly failing to convince Batman that the criticism that he creates his own criminals is bogus because its like saying cops shoot too many people because they have guns was also funny. Admittedly knowing Loeb’s politics the latter may not even be intended as a joke, and given the amount of times he falls backs on stealing from the Godfather the former may also not be intended as a joke either, who knows.

While returning to post-crisis continuity is always comforting, I can’t really tell you what the point of this was or what happened. While Long Halloween and Dark Victory have similar problems (reading this I could not for the life of me remember who Holiday/Hangman was in those or how Calendar Man figured in), but they at least had the conceits of retelling Two-Face and Robin’s respective origins. Dark Victory itself basically just rehashes the same mystery as Halloween, and this story both rehashes the same mystery for a third time AND retreads similar beats for Robin. Not to mention Dixon and Beatty’s Robin Year One covers the same period for Robin, and Waid’s Batman and Robin Year One just came out and retold this Robin period again. Jim Gordon’s divorce is the only area with untapped potential but it’s a pretty minor subplot here.

Need me a Divorced Gordon: Year One.

[Joseph Sciancalepore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I expected after hearing some mixed reviews. Certainly not as great as The Long Halloween or Dark Victory, but I actually felt it to be a decent continuation of the story, though not without its faults.

Batman's relationships with his supporting cast (Robin, Gordon, and Catwoman) are a particular highlight. I've always liked how Loeb writes Batman and Catwoman's relationship. It was even the highlight in his famous Hush storyline, which I never got into as much as those in the Long Halloween saga. The conclusion to the "Mob vs. Freaks" storyline that had been a major theme throughout the series also comes to a satisfying conclusion.

There were a handful of dangling plot threads from the previous Loeb/Sale stories that I long figured would never get a proper follow-up and was glad to see some of the questions answers, specifically what happened to Gilda Dent and the mystery of Catwoman's heritage. Other questions I had, such as what became of Carmine Falcone's frozen corpse that Two-Face had possession of at the end of Dark Victory, go completely unacknowledged, which is disappointing.

Characters such as Mario Falcone and Gordon's wife, Barbara, seem underdeveloped. The Gordon relationship drama in particular seems very abrupt. The story probably could have used another issue or two to develop and pace the story better.

The artwork is a mixed bag. It was odd reading these stories without Tim Sale's artwork, and the best art were the issues where the artists were trying to emulate his style a bit a more. It's a sham he suddenly passed away after completing only a single issue. His artwork really suited the noirish style of these stories and it is missed here.

My rating probably leaned a bit closer to three stars, but I'm giving it four because of how much I enjoyed just being back in the "Long Halloween" era of Batman.

[Subham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kinda bad and was all over the place like if you read it after the previous books it maybe better but not good other than that and also the mystery is confusing? Like the reveal in the end is so not worth it and leaves you confusing but shows how manipulative Gilda is and it wants to show the eternal love beween Harvey and Gilda but it doesn't come off as that and its kinda boring and like too me forever to finish!

One of the main problems with this series is too many artists and because of that there is no single art style and sure they wanna do tribute to Tim sale but reading it is so confusing as the art style keeps changing and even colors and its a mess basically. The villains were not utilised that well and sure there is the mystery of who shot them like trying to recreate the holiday killings but no one dies really. It wants to comment on the organized crime families vs the freaks and in the end how both sides come together umm yeah confusing.

The Batman and Robin stuff was great showing how their partnership is still forming and sure the stuff between Bruce and Selina was cool but it would have been better if we like saw him having to deal with that she is a Falcone and how it would have changed their dynamic but its not touched upon and he still doesn't know and its funny considering he is Batman aka the World's greatest detective.

In short, its all over the place and it should have been good but its not, too many artists and its confusing because of that and the reveal in the end of the mystery is confusing and underwhelming. Won't recommend.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and a nice ending to the Batman Halloween saga from Loeb and Sale.
The book starts off with a great one-off special by both Tim Sale and Loeb (just before Sale passed away) and was intended as Chapter #0 of The Last Halloween story. I really enjoyed this comic and it was a great prologue to the book.
Obviously every other chapter in this story is not Sale’s artwork, which is of course a great shame but the artists that replaced him took inspiration from Sale’s style (which I appreciated).
To be perfectly honest, in my opinion, I think they should have hired one single artist (maybe anonymous) that literally copied Sale’s artwork throughout the entire book (as if Sale had done it himself). But that’s just my opinion. I understand why they didn’t do this.
It was still nice seeing Sale’s cover between every story, as a reminder that he started these tales with Loeb all those years ago.
In terms of the plot, the story/dialogue is very well-written once again by Loeb and I read from issue 1-7 all in one go, so it clearly kept me intrigued. The only reason I didn’t read the entire thing in one sitting was because I started to fall asleep (it was 4am).
I think there was a missed opportunity to include Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in this book (the same way Dark Victory introduced Dick Grayson as Robin). I also think the set up of Gordon’s son getting kidnapped was great, but it resolved way too quickly. That could have been a major event in the story that led to something more crucial, but it was a little wasted in my opinion.
I liked how much more Calendar Man was involved in this story and took offence to “Holiday’s” methods of killing (almost copying his).
While I enjoyed the story, I definitely think it started off and set up the plot, far stronger than it concluded. I’d say 2/3 of the way in, I felt it started to dip very slightly. And that’s the only reason it falls just short of 5 stars for me. It just isn’t at the same level of The Long Halloween or Dark Victory, and for that reason I think it doesn’t quite deserve 5 stars. But it’s definitely a worthy book to end the series.
Would definitely recommend, but do read the first 2 books before this one!

[Oli Turner]

Great to be back in the @sale_tim and #jephloeb #batman #thelonghalloween universe. I love the 50s aesthetic, the colours, use of shadows, the characters eyes and my personal favourite is the way #timsale draws hands. This Conclusion to the saga Escalates the Rivalry between the falcone family and the costumed criminals. There are Some fun callbacks to the previous entries in the series. It has an Entertaining mystery with some intriguing red herrings and questions about the characters. It Occasionally leans into the absurdity of the premise. There seems to be a bit of a leap between the penultimate and final issue, almost an abrupt conclusion. I wonder if it could have benefited from another few pages between those chapters allowing for a little more set up before the battle. Having guest artists for each issue is a nice way to pay respect to the late great tim sale, #eduardorisso being my personal favourite of the bunch.

[Paperback · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okayish story with exceptional art, but also a baffling, confusing misstep of a mystery. Good character moments here and there don't make up for the main story being largely predicated on a confusing mess. The original Long Halloween and Dark Victory stories seemed pretty easily understandable to the reader and gave a clever twist that made sense with regards to Holiday and the Hangman respectively, but the copycat storyline goes nowhere, and the whole bit with Gilda felt both out of character and too convoluted to even follow what anyone's motive was outside of Batman. Ultimately, it isn't terrible, and there are things to like, but it ultimately crashes and burns when it comes to the driving force of the plot, so I can really only recommend it if you're more interested in the character development of Batman and his allies than you are in a compelling detective story.

[M Pints · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't give this a 3.5 so it gets a 4. For the most part this is still pretty good, but the story never reaches the heights of the previous 2 books. Also as much as I do like some of the guest artists here, man do I miss Tim Sale. His art was perfect for The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, and without his signature style the character of the comic just isn't the same, in large part because the characters in the comic don't look the same. The double page spread of all the so-called 'freaks' lined up in the penthouse towards the end of The Long Halloween is without a doubt my favourite panel of all time, so while I understand that every artist has to adapt the looks of the villains to fit their style, it just doesn't hit the same.

[Tefi ⟡♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️


Estuvo bien(? Tipo no había necesidad de hacer una secuela JAJAJAJAJA pero bueno, por lo menos vimos más de la manipuladora de Gilda… Oh, y también más de la relación de Dick y Bruce como Robin y Batman, we appreciated it enough.

Actually, también quiero mencionar a Selina como Catwoman, siempre me sorprende esa mujer, la amo mucho, es que de verdad el rol que tuvo también en esta historia fue interesante.

Ahora, ¿hubo necesidad de ese combate entre los dos bandos de los locos vs los falcons? No. ¿Le aumentó emoción? Un toque sí, ¿pero ese giro de Gilda con el último hijo que quedaba de Falcone? Nah, me hizo acordar de lo que hicieron con la película y la verdad es que me pareció muy out of nowhere really…

DE TODAS FORMAS, Dick Grayson goat, lo amo mucho JAJAJAJAJJ

[Langston Lardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final chapter in the Long Halloween saga. Sadly we lost a great one prior to this chapter being completed, so I very much agree with the idea to not commit to one artist for the whole story but rather many artists, split amongst the chapters. The artwork here speaking of, while not of course the OG, is still very good. The story is fun as well, obviously not on the level of the first two chapters in the long Halloween saga but still very enjoyable imo and I did very much enjoy the ending, especially that last page. I think this is a fine addition to the long Halloween saga and looks great next to the first two amazing chapters.

[Jason Paré · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amorcée avant la mort de Tim Sale, cette suite à la saga The Long Halloween aurait pu mourir avec son illustrateur vedette. Finalement, Jeph Loeb a tenu bon et a réuni plusieurs artistes afin de réaliser cette conclusion à une saga qui a commencé au milieu des années 1990. Une histoire où s'entremêlent les intrigues familiales des Falcone, les origines de Catwoman et celles de Two-Face. Évidemment, le résultat n'est pas à la hauteur de la mini-série originale. Le contraire aurait été surprenant. Mais, le plaisir est tout de même au rendez-vous, au point d'avoir envie de reprendre du début la lecture de cette saga.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire thing plays like a loving tribute to Sale, with 10 of the best artists in the industry, old and new.
Loeb does a good job of taking some threads of his earlier Batman related works with Sale and creating a mystery that is a fitting tribute without quite hitting the heights of the previous books.
I feel some of those threads were left dangling though and as a result it’s not quite the complete package it could be. Still well worth the read though and plenty to like here. The art is obviously fantastic, and Loeb still knows how to weave a tail and write good dialogue.

[Pat Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

The long halloween and dark victory are two of my all time favorites. I can't say the same about this book. I still enjoyed it, but it was unnecessary. I was very sad when Tim Sale passed, his art is some of my favorite. I did not care for the art in this book. Too many guest artists, and not very good in style. It felt a bit disjointed. I wish they would have used someone like Sean Phillips, who draws great noir in style. I thought the story overall was pretty good, but its just not as strong as TLH or Dark victory. I always enjoy Loeb's stories. This was still a fun read.

[John Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

-facepalm-
Sigh
Can we please move on
from Halloween in Gotham.
The original LONG HALLOWEEN
was brilliant. A year long
crime spree targeting
gangsters in Gotham.
The killings all taking
on a holiday.
Batman spends every month
trying to stop the killer.
After the killer confesses, the younger
son of one of the crime families.
The murders stop.
Fore now...
Until DC decides to tap another vein
to make more money.

[Chr*s Browning]

One last story to tell...and that story is just a meandering and mostly ho-hum way of clearing up any lingering mysteries in the Long Halloween saga once and for all, whether that's for the characters or the audience. Unneccesary imo. Lobe and Sale (RIP) created an iconic series and then Loeb watered it down twice. Way things go I guess.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good return the Halloween Batman saga that is definitely not at the level of long Halloween or dark victory, but it is still a great read. Tim Sales art is definitely missed but I like all the artists they brought on. It’s a good read with all the issues at once and I think that’s why some people might be more negative if they read it over a year.

[aarushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

lowkey crode...

this is the end of 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 saga, and a tribute to tim sale, but do comics ever really end? based on all of the interviews in this, it seems like they never really go away even when they're over.
anyway, this story fascinated me even when i didn't understand what was going on, and i always loved batman & robin and the rest in it.
until next halloween, gotham city.

[Karl S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reread the Long Halloween and Dark Victory in excitement for this only to be left disappointed. Jeff Loeb used to be my favorite comic book writer but this was an unfortunate fall of grace. Tim Sale is heavily missed too as his art was a big part of what made the previous volumes so special. I don’t want to say this was a cash grab but it did felt like it

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy successor to the great Tim Sale Jeph Loeb Batman series. The art is done by a number of accomplished artists who do not try to alter their styles to mimic the much missed Sale, but respect the basic look and design that he used for the iconic characters. I enjoyed my time with this, and it is worth a read if not quite as wonderful as its ancestors.

[Ashley King · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Long Halloween is my absolute favourite Batman story, so this had a high bar to live up to. And this really doesn't deliver. The change in art direction is understandable given Sale's passing, however the story is quite messy and fairly inconsequential.