Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween

Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween (2024)

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

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 27, 2026

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™☺]

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

[Dan]

Jeph Loeb hasn't written anything "Good" in decades. He's done stuff that has been redeemed by great art, stuff that was dumb fun, stuff that was "So BAD it's good!", but, as a writer, his talent was spent a long time ago.

So I wasn't expecting much from him here, and that's exactly what I got: Not a lot.

I had to resort to Google AI, Wikipedia, and Reddit for the solution to the mystery that I literally just read. Not so much the WHO, but the WHY, and how it made any kind of sense. I understand the who and why now, but it still makes zero sense.

BUT...The art carries the day. Each chapter is exquisitely illustrated, the guest cover artists are a murderer's row of legends, and the interview that caps the collection is heartfelt. As a story, this book fails. As a visual treat, and as a tribute to the late, great Tim Sale, it's a home run.

Keep your expectations low, and just go for the ride. R.I.P., Tim Sale. Thanks for so many years of sharing your talent with us.

[Frédéric]

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]

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.

[Lashaan Balasingam]

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.

[Tom Duffy]

Honestly dumb as hell. Batman comes off as completely clueless. He runs around aimlessly asking questions with glaringly obvious answers. He's constantly getting shot and losing track of villains he's chasing after. People get shot (and LIVE) and no one follows up with them until issues later because the mystery needs to keep going and Jeph Loeb can't commit to killing off major characters. Arkham Asylum has always been portrayed by fans as this free-for-all where villains come and go as they please but in this book there seems to be zero supervision in that place. Catwoman's there just wandering the halls in her costume for months with no security or staff to speak of. Batman and the Joker both wander in and out of the building at random. Characters are introduced to and discarded from the story without too much impact on the overall mystery and the players at the center of the mystery disappear for huge stretches of time until they're needed for the finale. Loeb is VERY far from his peak here but the artwork is mostly fantastic. I appreciate that this exists mostly as a tribute to Tim Sale and the artists mostly do a great job honoring him, especially Matteo Scalera who does incredible work in the finale. Pretty bummed about this though I can't say I wasn't prepared for it to be bad!

[Alex]

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.

[Machiavelli]

Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween is a solid return to this corner of Gotham, but it never quite reaches the heights of the original for me. The Holiday mystery and the mix of Gotham’s crime families and costumed villains bring back the atmosphere I loved, and it’s clear this story is meant to serve as a final chapter for the larger saga. But the mystery and the many moving pieces don’t come together with the same focus or impact as The Long Halloween. A few moments land, especially the way the ending brings the story full circle, but overall it feels more like an epilogue than a story that needed to be told. I enjoyed revisiting this world, even if I don’t think this sequel stands alongside the original. 3.5⭐️

[Mateus Passos]

Comprei esse encadernado sem ler nenhum review. Gosto muito de O Longo Dia das Bruxas e (um pouco menos) de Vitória Sombria (que já ficava um pouco repetitivo) e então esperava algo que, se não estivesse à altura dos antecessores, pelo menos fosse só um pouco piorzinho.

Rezam as lendas que Tim Sale era um efetivo co-criador nas suas parcerias com Jeph Loeb (em uma entrevista no final do volume o Loeb afirma algo nessa linha também) e realmente essa ausência se faz sentir aqui. A história até começa bem, mas vai se tornando cada vez mais rocambolesca e sem propósito. Mesmo a expectativa ruim de que a série fosse mais uma vez repetir a fórmula Loeb de um assassinato+um vilão da galeria do Batman por edição teria sido menos pior do que esta entrega.

Permeiam a história personagens com motivações contraditórias e confusas e até erros bisonhos - um certo personagem é baleado no dia de St Patrick e poucas páginas depois, no início da edição seguinte, é dito que isso aconteceu no 1° de abril.

Vale pela homenagem ao Tim Sale e pela dinâmica de gato e rato-que-voa entre Mulher-gato e Bátima.

Era realmente necessário fazer mais esta continuação? Certamente não.

Mas a leitura me trouxe alguns questionamentos sobre a cronologia do morcegoso.

Em primeiro lugar: quando exatamente a história se passa? Os primeiros dois números dão a impressão de que pelo menos um ou dois anos de passam entre o final de Vitória Sombria e o início da história (portanto, ano 4 ou 5 de atividade do Batman). Porém, ainda temos um Dick Grayson em treinamento como Robin, o que a essa altura não faria muito sentido.

Outra questão é a idade do James Gordon Jr. Aqui ele parece ser bem criança (uns 6 ou 7 anos no máximo) e na continuidade atual ele já é adulto. Há quantos o Bátima está na ativa, afinal? 15 anos? 20 anos?

[Luc]

The Long Halloween is one of my favorite Batman stories of all time. Tim Sale’s art was the perfect match for the story but sadly he died far too young and wasn’t the artist for The Last Halloween. The story of The Last Halloween is messy and at times doesn’t make much sense. However, the art if fantastic with each issue having a different artist. Not a story that’s really necessary to read if your a fan of the original story.

[Bryan Fischer]

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]

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

[Nishca]

This shouldn't exist at all!!

[Vinayak]

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.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy]

I didn’t love the twist, found it to be a bit anticlimactic and didn’t rely enough on the falcone’s crimes or puppeteering of Gotham criminals- it felt like a new villain was created for this story and I don’t really see Gilda Dent doing more.

I think the original series is so iconic, one of the first stories I ever loved, that following up 20 years (or more?) later was never going to work out well. I liked the story but it always was in the back of my mind, this isn’t as good as the original…

Tim sale artwork is always so good. The aesthetic Batman works so well and the looks of the other villains is so fun.

[Luke Stevens]

P decent !

[R.J. Miranda]

3,3⭐️ A touching tribute to a great talent, albeit being a very unnecessary sequel

[MannyLikesPie]

I liked it but bat was acting like it was rookie hour, gotta see if it’s actually better once Kel reads it

[Burberi]

Okay I absolutely loved this one. Loved seeing Batsy and Robin figure out how to work together and how The long Halloween concludes. Such an awesome collection.

[Paul]

Read as single issues.

[Naomi]

The writing is...not very good. But holy moly do I love little Dick Grayson Robin. The art is great, and Issue 4 is fantastic.

[Calvin DenBoer]

It's just bad I'm afraid. I really wanted to like it, but it had a lot of things that didn't make much sense or didn't have clear/ satisfying explanations. The thing driving the plot at first is 'somebody is lightly injuring supervillains', who cares?

The art is usually very well done, I didn't care for all of it,and the fact it changed artist every issue was a bit less than awesome, but as a whole I think each artist stepped up and the cover art was consistently great.

Not a great ending either, particularly considering it's the ending to a trilogy. I honestly didn't realise we were at the ending when we got there, it just didn't feel like we'd wrapped anything up. The dialogue also feels like a caricature of these characters at times.

To sum it up in one word: bland. It just doesn't do anything exciting, and mostly rehashed the same things we saw in Dark Victory and The Long Halloween. It doesn't tarnish what came before, which is its greatest credit, if only because it doesn't really do anything worth thinking about. Instantly forgettable.

[Ben Perry]

(3.5 stars)

I think the title is really stupid, 'The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween'? Why are there 2 subtitles that are practically identical? It's so clunky. Just call it the Last Halloween! It's a marketing thing that just makes the product worse.
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, this was the finale to the Jeph Loeb Tim Sale run of Batman, and was made 30 years after Dark Victory, which has lead people to think that this was a cash grab that pointlessly wrapped things up that didn't need wrapping up, and while there's obviously some truth to that, I do think this is a nice ending to this run. Dark Victory did leave me somewhat disappointed with how it expanded on the Long Halloween, so I'm grateful that this exists, and it makes Dark Victory retroactively better, because that's now the middle chapter and not the finale.

Batman and Robin were established as a team in the last book, but now we get a full on, dynamic duo adventure, and it's a lot of fun. We see how they have to learn to work together in these early years, and become a true partnership. It's pretty normal Batman and Robin shenanigans throughout, as they uncover the conspiracy, but I like how they're written, as a distant father and son who become closer as the story goes on. It makes it satisfying when they become a true team by end, with one of the last panels mirroring the famous deal with Batman, Gordon, and Dent, from the Long Halloween, but Robin is now in place of Dent, showing that he's now one of the last hopes for Gotham, along with the other 3.
Gordon's downfall throughout this run has been heartbreaking to witness, as he's just been slowly losing his family piece by piece. His work keeps him all too busy, and it costs him everything, as his wife leaves him for Chicago, I found it genuinely tragic, and it makes for a really compelling backdrop to the mystery, showing how Holiday not only kills literally, but metaphorically, as the presence kills the Gordon family.

Catwoman continues her journey, discovering herself and her connection to the Falcone family, being the long lost daughter. This side of her was alright, not massively expanded on because I feel like she already wrapped this arc up in Dark Victory, and this was just exploring it for the sake of exploring it without adding anything of substance to it. But her dynamic with Batman and Robin was really fun to see, I like how flirtatious she is with the Caped Crusader, and how annoyed she is by the Boy Wonder, but it was sweet when she helped Robin save Batman by giving him one of her 9 lives. The reveal surrounding her role in the Holiday killings was a bit confusing however, and made the plot needlessly convoluted. She shot herself in a non lethal spot to save herself from a lethal shot from the Holiday, which makes sense, but then the Holiday never kills anyone, which is not only lame, but also means Catwoman intercepted every single murder attempt? That seems incredibly unlikely. So either she's Superman, or Holiday lost all brain cells.

Two Face is back baby! And we finally get the return of Gilda, who was sadly absent from the last book. The true Holiday killer has returned, and she is pretty crazy, being completely in love with Harvey Dent and wanting to destroy all the people who could keep the 2 separate, the costumes freaks and allies to the Falcone family. It was a noticeable shift from Long Halloween, but I believed it, as her whole life had crumbled around her, and she was forced to adapt, she was already a killer, so the leap to lunatic was fine. I enjoyed the dynamic and the twist that Gilda was 2 timing Two Face with Mario Falcone, it was an interesting addition, as she was using the affection of the last Falcone to help achieve her goal of finishing what she started, and completing the mission. She was a great villain, and it's nice to get her in this main villain role after being in the shadows during the Long Halloween.
The costumes freaks aren't as good as they were in the previous instalments, but I still enjoyed their presence. It's fun to flesh out the wacky world of Gotham by showing who now inhabits it, they made for cool action moments where Batman beats them up on a side quest.

This was a tribute to Tim Sale, as he sadly passed away before he could even finish the first issue, with chapter 0 being his final work. It's really sad to see this comic legend pass on, as he was my favourite Batman artist, and even on his final days, was nailing it with the atmosphere and character design. His art will outlive all of us and the issue he drew was definitely the best looking one, oozing with that iconic style. The other artists were alright, some tried to copy Sale while others just did their own thing, and it makes for a pretty inconsistent viewing, but when it's good, it's really good. I appreciated how it payed tribute to Sale, as he deserves the recognition and respect he gets.

Overall, I like it more than the most, because of how it wraps up the story and makes it into a nice cohesive trilogy. The reception has been non existent, as I haven't seen anyone talk about this, but I enjoyed it, even though it's certainly not as good, with some notable plot holes.

[Ryan Malik]

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.

[Darren]

Hey there, book lovers! It’s your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes Loves Books Headquarters. Today, I am looking at Batman: The Last Halloween. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

It has been thirty years since Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale unleashed Batman: The Long Halloween on the public. To be honest, it has been one of my all-time favorite Batman stories. Now, we have the conclusion to the trilogy (Batman: Dark Victory being the second volume), and it is a who’s who of today’s top artists. The reason for the multiple artists is that Tim Sale passed away in 2022, but he does make an appearance in the first tale of this tome.

The story is complex, and at times may be hard to follow, but at its heart it is about family. Well, several families, to be honest. We have the building relationship between Batman and Robin, which will hit the heart of anyone who likes stories about fathers and sons. We also have the relationship between Harvey Dent and his wife, Gilda. Then, of course, we have the Falcones. Would it be a “Dark Halloween” tale without our favorite Gotham crime lord and his people? And to cap it off, we have Jim Gordon and his family. (For me, the most endearing part of this book is when Batman brought Robin to go trick-or-treating with Gordon’s kids) One of the bigger gut punches in this book is seeing Jim Gordon’s wife walk out on him with the kids.

As the story progresses, Batman will face his most notable villains. It seems that everyone wants in on the mayhem, and they pull no punches! Batman is definitely kept on his toes in this book, as is Robin. What is refreshing to see is Batman dealing with a headstrong teenager. Yes, even ol Batsy has to deal with that kind of thing, but in their case, it can mean the difference between life and death.

I do have one ding on this book, and that is when you get what I call the narrator parts; they are done in a dark olive green, and sometimes it is difficult to see on darker backgrounds. Yes, these eyes are 61 years old, so maybe younger eyes will not have the same difficulty.

If you are a fan of great storytelling, Batman, the “Halloween” series, or Bat-Villains, then this is the book for you!

I give this one 4.5 stars out of 5!

[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.

[Shane Perry]

The Long Halloween is probably the best Batman story ever written. One of the greatest comic books ever. Its sequel, Dark Victory, is not as great, but is still such a fun ride because Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale work some kind of magic that makes for good Batman stories.

Years later and after the untimely loss of Tim Sale, Jeph Loeb returns to Batman’s early days to finish the trilogy they started. This time, Loeb is joined by a team of some of the best artists in comics today.

Story wise, I had a good time with this. While I don’t think issue 0 really added anything to the story (one aspect made it a little confusing?), I couldn’t help but get caught up in yet another mystery that pulls from Batman’s impressive rogue’s gallery. It also doesn’t hurt that Two-Face is my favorite Batman villain and is the primary focus here. Loeb is not as strong as he was in The Long Halloween, but I would put this in par with Dark Victory. The mystery gets a bit convoluted when it comes time to reveal the new killer. Maybe Loeb could have put aside some of the red herrings or followed some of them (Calendar Man) a bit further to a real conclusion.

The artists here are a bit hit and miss. Some try to take Tim Sale’s unique style and morph it with their own. Others just do their own thing. The book doesn’t feel too disjointed as a result, but some chapters look significantly better than others.

Overall it’s tough say whether Loeb should have gone through with “finishing” this story, but he does do that part pretty well, particularly in the final pages. It’s sad we couldn’t get Tim Sale one last time, but at least we can close a chapter in comics history.

[Subham]

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.

[Rich Stoehr]

'The Last Halloween' had a lot of heavy lifting to do, on at least two fronts. I'm happy to say that it succeeded admirably on both.

First, and perhaps most important, it had to deliver as the finale to one of the most influential and recognized Batman stories. 'The Long Halloween' was its own unique spin on Batman, both visually and in its story structure, built on by the sequels 'Dark Victory' and 'When in Rome,' a Catwoman-focused tale. 'The Last Halloween' wraps up these disparate threads, ending on a surprisingly upbeat open ending while delivering a completely satisfying conclusion. Simply put, it feels like a good ending.

Second, sadly, 'The Last Halloween' had to act as a tribute to artist Tim Sale, who passed away in 2022 while helping to plan a story that he never got to see it completed. Sale's visual style defined 'The Long Halloween' - how could he possibly be replaced? The answer was 10 excellent artists, each approaching their part of the story in their own way, but always with respect for what Sale had established. From Bill Sienkiewicz to Klaus Janson, these artists each lent their hand to bringing this story home the right way. Not only a fitting tribute - the end result is something I believe Tim Sale would have been proud of.

I've been a fan of 'The Long Halloween' from the beginning, when it first came out as a special issue in the Legends of the Dark Knight series. It's always hard to say goodbye to your favorites. When the result acts as both a story and a tribute of this quality, I don't mind that this will be 'The Last Halloween.'

[Cale]

This kind of gets a pity star. While I wasn't particularly impressed with the story itself, reading the back matter that explained why the story existed, and specifically how it serves as an ode to The Long Hlaloween's Tim Sale helped understand the motivations and decisions made, and for the sake of that legacy, it gets a little leeway.
That being said, it isn't a great story, and I don't think it's a story that really needed to be told. Building off the Long Halloween, it wraps up a couple threads from that storyline that were left unresolved, but not in a way that really feels like it needed a follow-up. The approach allows for another swing through the prominent villains of the Batman menagerie, and more will-they, won't-they Catwoman shenanigans. By the end, we've had a couple decent action sequences, but also some overwrought plotlines that aren't quite character assassination, but didn't really feel true to the characters either. And while giving artists a chance to show their appreciation of Tim Sale's style is admirable, it leads to a surprisingly diverse range of art styles, some of which really didn't seem to work for the story.
So if you're a huge Tim Sale fan or loved The Long Halloween, you'll probably appreciate this. But for more casual Batman fans, I would not put this in the essential canon.