BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN - The Horrific Transformation of Gotham City

An analysis of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's comic book magnum opus, "Batman: The Long Halloween" and its themes of the long defeat in The Dark Knight's everlasting war.
Special thanks to my voiceover guests. Please check out their awesome channels!
La'Ron Readus as Batman - / readus101
Owen Farrington as J.R.R. Tolkien - / @owenlikescomics
Griffin Schiller as Jeph Loeb - / @filmspeak
Nick Kazden as The Riddler - / @ricknazden
Josh from Panels to Pixels as The Joker - / @panelstopixels
Diego Rivera as Two-Face - / @diegoreviews
Scott Niswander as Calendar Man - / @nerdsyncproductions
Captain Midnight as Alberto Falcone - / @captainmidnight
Mikayla J. Laird as Gilda Dent - / @mikaylajlaird
PATREON - / mattdraper
TWITTER - / mattdraperyt
#Batman
#LongHalloween
#DCComics
Music:
“They’re Here (Intro)” and “Eye of the Storm” by Dance With The Dead
dancewiththedead.bandcamp.com/
“City Lights” by stream_error
streamerror.bandcamp.com/
“Nightfall” by Timecop1983
timecop1983.bandcamp.com/
“La Morte della Speranza” by Mitch Murder
mitchmurder.bandcamp.com/
“Detroit” by Disasterpeace
music.disasterpeace.com/
“Collateral” and “Shadows” by The Midnight
themidnight.bandcamp.com/
Sources:
www.syfy.com/syfywire/eccc-20...
www.cbr.com/a-scribe-for-all-...
www.thegospelcoalition.org/ar...
comicsverse.com/retrospective...

[@antshield]

Perhaps that is why Batman has lasted 80 years. We root for Batman's fight because we each struggle with our own version of a long defeat.

[@darinholm8795]

@sos sos "most"? You never read any of the crisis comics or any of the other universe wipes? Most of the characters ever created are no longer running. It takes more than just being a comic book character to survive the years. Most characters that remain have something that let's them feel relatable. Let's just say there is a reason characters like "Bouncing Boy" arent a big deal anymore.

[@RyanLBrown9396]

Superman = American Dream Batman = American reality

[@Long_Live_T4C0]

@@RyanLBrown9396 that's very well said.👍

[@corruptedmight]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4OahoWAj62bnrs

[@hypatia137]

Mainstream DC: American Dream & a dream pretending to be real Old Vertigo: Not only reality of US but also reality of all humankind, hidden reality within fiction and nightmares

[@jimfine]

I always loved how the long Halloween showed the transition of Gotham being run by gangsters to then being consumed by super crime. It’s also more tragic how Batman can take out regular organized crime but he can’t take out the rising super criminals he helped to partially inspire

[@hudsologamezzz2290]

Just read it for the first time today and the panel with all of the super villains holding falcone hostage hit so hard. The time of organazied crime was over and now insane dudes were about to take over. Such a great read

[@BradLad56]

Yeah but that's also a creative choice because if that happened, there'd be no more stories lol

[@smileyent.3055]

its also the fact that if he really wanted to, he could permanently rid gotham of all its supervillains in one night like in arkham but that would be going against his own code, thus creating a catch 22 situation for him and fuelling his endless fight against super crime

[@Vadim_Slastihin]

@@hudsologamezzz2290 the irony of it is that it was the son of gangster who marked the end of age of gangsters...

[@DevonPalmer98]

I wish Batman had events like this again, such a fun read.

[@saracohle]

Devon Palmer - The Snyder books like Court of Owls and now Last Knight on Earth kind of fill that need. At least for me.

[@DevonPalmer98]

Sara Cohle Would like another mystery centered story, feel like Batman hasn’t been a detective in years.

[@Cj-xt6tv]

The recent comics have gone to shit

[@alvarolopezrodriguez3255]

@@saracohle Snyder would never be able to write a comic without all their tropes and commiting the same mistakes he has been doing over the las 5 years

[@dantecrottogini529]

what do you mean events? Stoeylines? this wasn't an event

[@brendondellinger355]

For those who don't know, The Dark Knight movie took this comic as one of its inspirations. This can mostly be seen through the close cooperation through Batman, Harvey, and Gordon.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

You can also see the shift from mobster to supervillain crime in the series Gotham.

[@big-loss_9043]

yea

[@EGRJ]

"I believe in Harvey Dent."

[@lawrencelawrence8553]

Apparently a lot of Batman iterations took inspiration from this arc. I came here because the New live action Batman is apparently heavily based on this. The Arkham game series literally says it takes a lot of influence from the Long Halloween series in the game itself

[@Savior-ml4pq]

Batman begins took from year one, the dark knight took from a long halloween, and the dark knight rises from knight fall

[@Xehanort10]

In a way it's always Halloween in Gotham.

[@djalexander7723]

And it's not the good version of Halloween

[@djalexander7723]

@HahaItsPatrick I prefer the one where people dress up in spooky costumes and get candy for free

[@triple-d2640]

@HahaItsPatrick Scooby doo

[@lewisaino]

@@djalexander7723 Devil's Night

[@davidbettcher8843]

Indeed it is.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Imagine being as talented an editor as Matt Draper? I can't relate.

[@MattDraper]

Thank you, Owen! And yes, you can relate plenty!

[@FancyGeeks]

Imagine being as handsome as me- Never mind.

[@alvarozornoza4437]

@@MattDraper whats the name of the last song?

[@gavinmcphie6936]

I don't think you got the right takeaway from what the twist implied actually happened (because everything makes total sense). Gilda was only responsible for the first three killings, which were all in direct retaliation for someone threatening Harvey's safety (Viti for mudering Richard Daniel, the Irish for blowing up their house, and accidentally the bodyguard in place of Joker after he broke into their home). Alberto picked up the killings from then on in an effort to capitalize on the first three. Finally, Harvey killed Falcone, making him the final Holiday killer. Gilda thought Harvey was the one who picked up the killings, but it was actually Alberto. Nobody knew anything about Gilda's involvement (which further emphasizes how the Long Halloween was Batman's greatest failure).

[@tayojones9460]

I thought making Gilda the killer was forced and made no sense. I mean I cannot honestly take the idea of Gilda being the killer seriously. They should have kept it a mystery. Just like how Joe Chill was never caught. Truly Bats greatest failure

[@chrisossu2070]

I always thought it was an execution of the psychological phenomenon known as the "stand alone complex", in which individuals completely independent of each other unknowingly contribute to a single goal. For different reasons, all of them wanted the mob dead, and so they all became both the copycat and the real "Holiday Killer" at the same time.

[@MattDraper]

If Gilda didn’t shoot Alberto, then who shot him on New Year’s? It’s Harvey. He came home with wet hair. Alberto didn’t fake it, they showed Holiday was there. So your explanation has a big hole in the center that you skipped over.

[@gavinmcphie6936]

@@MattDraper Nobody shot Alberto. He faked his own death. Harvey's wet hair was a red herring (and because of the snow). It was just a lucky coincidence that it was the same night that Gilda stopped. There's also the theory that it was always Alberto from the start possibly with Carmine's assistance, meaning Gilda is just delusional. It could make sense, but imo it's less interesting.

[@MattDraper]

Gavin McPhie yeah but they show him get shot. The amount of mental gymnastics that need to happen to make sense of it all shows the flaw in the mystery

[@Dark-Shadow110]

R.I.P Tim Sale. We have truly lost an icon in the comic book world. His legacy will live on forever through his breathtaking and unique artwork.

[@darkroninmarvel]

Dark souls player: oh god this painful crusade wont end! Batman: that's cute

[@nightshade3100]

s

[@jesseking1403]

Batman DLC. I know that won't ever happen, but one can imagine.

[@y1751]

Batman: aaaaaaaaa my parents I'll avenge you!!!! I'll go a eternal crusade warhammer 40k:we have a chapter supply based on a eternal crusade

[@ernestinemaloy6752]

@@nightshade3100 excuse me ??

[@josephlinden1630]

Guts laughing in the background

[@princeblackelf4265]

You can really see the influence of this on Arkham Knight, this idea that Gotham is not a city that Batman can properly save, it's completely spun out from beyond something that was once grounded crime to something that's out of the realm of the real world, super-villany that is defined by how utterly depraved it is.

[@lukebaxter3252]

This just makes me want to read this comic a whole lot more. I wouldn't mind it being adapted into a miniseries or a film. Keep up with the brilliant work.

[@shadysam8879]

I believe DC is adapting it as an animated movie. And rumor has it that Matt Reeves Batman movie will be based on it.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

If you squint, you'll realize that this series served as the basis of both Nolan's The Dark Knight and the recently wrapped TV series Gotham.

[@wiinterflowers4277]

ClockworkAlex It was confirmed actually.

[@oliviawilliams6204]

I was thinking i would like an adaptation too. Trough I would be to change Scarecrow only speaking in lullaby... I find that random

[@jerrygodeep4787]

ClockworkAlex I’m not 100 percent sure but I’m pretty sure that was when it Affleck was involved.

[@RadinV1]

Easily my favorite Batman story.

[@mullaoslo]

Dark victory is also a great sequel.. I love long halloween but I read it for years without realising its litteraly the story of the godfather 😂 and I don't hate it for it.. Batman X the godfather had to turn out amazing

[@beanofsteel]

These are the Batman stories I love. The character is supposed to have this sense of realism to him. These detective stories are so much more interesting than Batman being invincible cuz prep time.

[@nikaoharbour6962]

I agree I feel batman doesn't need to be defeated by darkseid or some superpowered foe Instead his challenge is mental as represented by his rogues gallery

[@higaiwokeru]

I honestly love realistic batman it’s always stupid or annoying how he beats gods and immortals because hes a billion steps ahead or how he tries to make sense of nonsense like the God bullet (that for some reason turned out to be the bullet that killed JFK and his parents) it’s jarring and childish

[@Axel-ye8tt]

@@higaiwokeru nigga it’s comics and him being smarter makes sense simce he has the iq for it

[@fatalsniper3413]

@@Axel-ye8tt wrong. Batman isn’t popular because he can defeat GODs. He’s popular because he fights somewhat regular villains without powers/bs suits. Not every character needs to be able to beat gods

[@moonknight4053]

Batman is metahuman but he can still be relatable that’s what is good about him. Superman can be is well, same as Thor, cap, etc

[@AceLM92]

Cliche to say they don't make comics like they used to, but it's absolutely true. This is one of my favorite Batman comics and finding more than one issue of the story in person has been even more difficult than finding all issues of Year One and the Dark Knight Returns (both of which I have a complete set of)

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Ace Möwick well they do sell the trades and they are easy to find

[@AceLM92]

@@oliviawilliams6204 I have a trade, but i also collect back issues

[@bulletbraino4]

The only problem I have with this statement is that the only comics that were EVER made like this were Batman comics and things like The Watchmen that were one off stories. But even then you’re right, because they don’t even make Batman comics like they used to.

[@The_BlackTemplar]

I love this book. Great transition from a city held in the grip of the mob and one torn apart by lunatics. The coloring of the city feels like it's a polluted place with an ugly soul.

[@Christ2010Grad]

FINALLY!!! I love this graphic novel. It was the basis for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

Eh, actually Year One was the basis of Batman Begins. The Dark Knight was The Long Halloween for sure, though. And The Dark Knight Rises was a combo of Knightfall and The Dark Knight Returns.

[@Christ2010Grad]

Johnathon Haney Some of the plot points in The Long Halloween were still used for Batman Begins, though. Falcone’s downfall being one of the points.

[@antona.8659]

@@johnathonhaney8291, The Dark Knight Rises was based more on Cataclysm, No Man's Land, and Legacy.

[@omarsalem1219]

@Anton A. It's biggest inspiration is defenitley knightfall though

[@evandavid2816]

Heh, I remember trying to convince one of my old English professors at Swansea University to read this story way back when; he was teaching us a course on Crime Fiction - and doing a brilliant job of it as I recall - and I thought that Long Hallowe'en matched up with a lot of the themes of American Crime Fiction in particular that he was discussing...sadly, he could never get past the art, which is a shame, because Tim Sale is still one of my favourites, yes? Anyway, brilliant video all round...and your voice cast in particular did an amazing job to boot, yes?

[@TJSehmby]

My dad's an english professor and he taught this story (much to the dislike of the school)

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Yeah I’m not a fan of the art either... but it’s not enough to stop me from enjoying it. I have more problems with scarecrow talking in lullabies lol

[@evandavid2816]

@@oliviawilliams6204 Yeah, I mean personally I love the art, but I can see how it would be an acquired taste for some; plus my old professor, while a very smart chap and an excellent teacher to boot, simply wasn't into comics at all so...what can you do, yes?

[@dustinakadustin]

The art took some getting used too but it wasn't too long before I was thoroughly enjoying it!

[@DJNLdabest]

I actually kinda like those Godfather references in the Long Halloween. They're obvious, but fun to discover. I even imagine reading Falcone's lines with Vito's voice.

[@gnarwhal7562]

Y'know this shit good when it heavily inspired the Dark Knight

[@sifatshams1113]

As a huge film noir fan, I caught 2 references: Gilda and The Big Heat

[@gundanout11]

Gilda appeared in Batman: The Animated Series as Grace Lamont, fiancée to D.A. Harvey Dent.

[@paulcourtemanche3549]

I love The Long Halloween. My personal theory is that Gilda wasn’t Holiday, she just convinced herself that she was out of grief for Harvey. He was Holiday until he made a deal with Alberto and then Alberto took over.

[@maniacalmurderer4123]

I wish calendar man had more of an appearance in most of the DC franchise. There is more to him that meets the eye. He has major potential.

[@AAllen-br8it]

Best reading order for beginning of career Batman and Gotham's transformation: -Year One -And the Monster Men (optional) -The Mad Monk (optional) -The Man Who Laughs -Dead to Rights -The Long Halloween

[@AdemNBTR]

Rick J-420 So, would you recommend me to get all those titles and then read them in that order? I ask because I have never read the Long Halloween.

[@MP-ue7ol]

@@AdemNBTR They are good stories but you don't have to read them in order. The Long Halloween is a great story all on its own and definitely worth reading

[@AdemNBTR]

Bennet Pollmann Thank you so much! I have a comic book store in a walking distance so hopefully I can get it there and read it.

[@AAllen-br8it]

They're certainly not connected to the point where you must read them in order to understand the others at all. But if you're looking to be a chronological collector, like I am, then it is very enjoyable to read Batman comics that way, particularly these year 1 era stories, should you find yourself with them in your possession.

[@TheValeyard92]

The Gilda reveal is just her delusion. It's impossible for Gilda to have committed any of the three murders she claimed to have. It's to show how thoroughly broken everything good in Gotham has been.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

"I believe in Harvey Dent."

[@lawrencelawrence8553]

How is it impossible?

[@billshears6062]

@@lawrencelawrence8553 For the first killing, who did Gilda even get near Johnny Viti? How would she have breached the security and known he was taking a bath? And then went home when the house exploded For the second killing, Gilda was in the hospital. She somehow left the hospital, got a gun, (house destroyed) located the Irish, and then outgunned 5 men. Then got back to the hospital with no one noticing. The third killing is a bit more plausible, but that would require that Gilda follows the Joker to the penthouse and by luck stumbled on Milos and killed him. But how would she do all that when she was still in a wheelchair and Harvey must’ve been checking up on her? A lot of this is explained by Alberto being the killer the whole time. Alberto had access to the penthouse and Johnny on the first killing. Alberto knew the Irish had been released and followed them to the hotel! Alberto lives in the penthouse, and killed Milos once he followed the Joker outside. How did Gilda get the guns? Alberto could’ve just bought them from the Gunsmith. How did Gilda know how to shoot, well enough to take out 5 men before they could shoot back? Alberto could’ve asked any of his family members. His motive is clear, as he obviously resented his father and wanted to overshadow him as “Holiday.” I personally believe that Gilda is delusional at the end of The Long Halloween. Which goes to show how the events of that year horrible scarred a lot of people.

[@GhostRydr1172]

I hadn't thought of it that way, that she was delusional out of grief. I guess that could make that fakeout work, even if not explicitly or implicitly told that way.

[@tasmsinist3rsix664]

Yea, that's why I prefer the animated movie. Her being Holiday from day 1 just makes the most sense. Especially since they changed the backstory to even allow her to be Holiday at one point.

[@michaelpisciarino5348]

4:05 Trait-Emphasis, Caricatures 5:04 Villains 8:40 The Fall of Harvey Dent 11:30 The Mysterious Holiday Killer, Alberto Moroni

[@dylanmcmahon4902]

This has to be my favorite Batman story ever. It's so cinematic in its presentation. Such a great and tragic story with striking art to boot Great video as always!

[@MattDraper]

Special thanks to my guests for taking part in this Halloween voiceover party! Please check out their awesome channels. La'Ron Readus as Batman - kzbin.info Owen Farrington as J.R.R. Tolkien - kzbin.info/door/t5vXzi4-_puVb6H6AL4Fyw Griffin Schiller as Jeph Loeb - kzbin.info/door/AlhR6RxXQux2LWok1cIL6w Nick Kazden as The Riddler - kzbin.info/door/rIiCib2JW805v9W7k79TXg Josh from Panels to Pixels as The Joker - kzbin.info/door/FZHvUVELqH56dJiMLhD9qg Diego Rivera as Two-Face - kzbin.info/door/VjySc4VhVoHK5RDSzbAxug Scott Niswander as Calendar Man - kzbin.info/door/URz5rKDgt7YibUSageNhEw Captain Midnight as Alberto Falcone - kzbin.info/door/ROQqK3_z79JuTetNP3pIXQ Mikayla J. Laird as Gilda Dent - kzbin.info/door/OaRubZEnETg85GTrkjl84Q

[@KR-nf3is]

i’m just glad that Calendar Man is here.

[@alessiodelcastillo1613]

Batman vs the Mafia is a match made in Heaven. The best movie genre has notoriously been gangster/crime/noir and matching that with a superhero is awesome. Wish DC would pay more attention to villains like Carmine Falcone, Salvatore Maroni, Black Mask (Roman Sionis, and Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot). Crime bosses and old school gangsters

[@watchm4ker]

That's The Shadow, and that's what Batman was... sometimes blatantly ripping off, back in the early days. What finally made the character stand out *was* enemies like the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman, etc. Larger than life villains that the Shadow didn't have, for the most part.

[@sabishiihito]

I love how Richard Moll's take on Two Face from BTAS set the standard for pretty much every animated/voiced portrayal since.

[@mechajay3358]

Long Halloween is one of the pinnacle storytelling of the Batman mythos

[@imjmar]

“Look at the bats, I freakin love Halloween” -little girl from Vine #RIPVine

[@OwenLikesComics]

I love this comic, I love this video, and I love everyone involved in it. Thank you for having me, Matt!

[@MattDraper]

You're the best, Owen! So glad you could be part of it.

[@vicenteortegarubilar9418]

As a kid watching the words halloween and batman in the same comic was all I needed to buyed and readed.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

A relevant quote from Dame Agatha Christie: "One gets the terrible impression that war solves nothing, that to win a war is every bit as disastrous as to lose one." Oh and please, please, PLEASE do a followup to this with Dark Victory, a direct sequel to this that gets no love.

[@MattDraper]

This is great! There WILL be a Dark Victory video at some point.

[@blovett0814]

RIP Tim Sale. A legend who left his mark in comics. 🦇🏆

[@omegaink5635]

My favorite Batman Story, from my favorite KZbinr...

[@sdlstr91]

Glad you finally covered this! And I like the new closing tune, it's like you're starting a new chapter!

[@AkiRie-bi3ek]

This videos are great. Every time I watch one, I immediately want to read (or re read) the comic. Love your work, man

[@johnnieriot13]

Best channel on KZbin. Another epic dissection on a great piece of art

[@winnerwatson1883]

You have no idea how long I wanted you to cover this... Just brilliant. Well done exploration Matt.

[@SAPProd]

On top of the reasons you gave as to why the Gilda twist doesn’t work, it’s a huge stretch, of not impossibility, to accept that she committed the killings on Thanksgiving when she was hospitalized and heavily monitored, as well as leaving her husband to follow the Joker to the Falcone Towers. It just doesn’t work, and Occam’s Razor dictates that Alberto was the sole killer (well, Dent killing Falcone on the second Halloween) and that Gilda has simply gone mad along with her husband and was simply burning evidence he stole from work.

[@michaelcoffey1991]

As deep and interesting a take on this as any out there. Thanks so much for breaking down what you got from this classic master piece of what can be possible with a interesting take, a amazing artist and love for the genre.

[@TheRealAmericanMan]

What a great video, I loved all the KZbin cameos

[@Severian1]

There are very few Batman stories like this. Such a great read.

[@fizzlejumper]

Love this comic already and this is one of my favorite video essay breakdowns of comics! You really elevated the book even more in my eyes and was able to articulate the meaning behind the story.

[@pgaven9396]

This was amazing. Thank you Matt for setting the mood for Halloween 2019 by revisiting this seminal DC graphic novel and its context within the Batman mythos. Happy early Halloween as well.

[@saracohle]

My first ever comic. Blew my mind. I think I read and reread it over the entire weekend I got it. Tim Sale’s art just fucked me up. It was so confident and stylized. Nothing what I’d seen as the “standard comic house style”. I love this book.

[@MattDraper]

This was the first TPB I bought and it was definitely the book that solidified me as a comic fan. So I can see why it hooked you, too!

[@saracohle]

Matt Draper - I’m curious, what did you follow it up with? I was 12 at the time so I spent allllll of my allowance on Year One and Dark Victory ASAP because of this and BTAS.

[@MattDraper]

I immediately bought Dark Victory with my allowance money. I had loved watching BTAS and Long Halloween was a very easy transition from that. And then I'm not sure what was next. It just kinda kept going from there haha

[@hellothere_24]

When I saw the art style at first, I thought it looked dated and ridiculous but when I finally read it, I did it nonstop and was so immersed with the story and appreciated the beauty of Sale's art style.

[@RadinV1]

It wasn't a defeat... It was a victory... A DARK VICTORY (Sorry that was awful)

[@MattDraper]

Naw that’s the other story

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Did the good guy win? Yes they did... but was it worth the cost?

[@RelativelyBest]

You know, the Long Defeat kinda describes the state of superhero franchises in general: The heroes can never be "finished", there will always be more villains to fight and usually it's the same villains over and over.

[@Nealrex101]

hey man, i just wanted to say you’ve quickly become my favourite video essayist on youtube since finding this video a couple days ago then going through so many of your videos

[@MattDraper]

Thank you!

[@SuperiorJohn]

A perfect video synopsis of my favorite comic of all time. Great video.

[@kylerpruitt1620]

Thank you for talking about one of my all time favorite comics, you are my favorite channel that talks about comics. Great video as always.

[@galactic85]

It's been a few years since I read this. You made me want to pull it off my shelf and read it again. Thanks.

[@hunterchamberlain6738]

I've waited for this video for soooo long, Matt. This is one of my most favorite stories in all of literature, flaws and all. I'm super stoked that Matt Reeves is gonna be taking elements of this story to adapt to his film(s?). The wound is still raw from Batfleck leaving the project but I have faith in Reeves and Pattinson. Hopefully you covering this story means we will eventually get a Dark Victory follow up?

[@antona.8659]

I love this miniseries as much as any other Batman fan, but its fandom really likes to act like this was the first time a classic Noir detective story with various gangster movie inspirations was being used in a Batman comic. Before The Long Halloween, we had an entire ongoing series in Legends of the Dark Knight, where almost every story was in the style of The Long Halloween, or even more darker and more grounded. Still a great story that inspired a great Batman movie and will likely inspire another great Batman movie.

[@lawrencelawrence8553]

From the video itself, the big deal about The Long Halloween is the transition from Year One style of fighting mobsters and crime lords to supervillains and monsters while keeping the noir style that Batman fans love about him

[@mossadon]

If ever there was a Batman story that deserved the HBO 'R' rated adult epic style series... It's The Long Halloween. .... And it would be awesome. One of THE best Batman stories ever put to paper and here Matt gives an excellent breakdown in which any Batfan or Normie can appreciate the scope and depth of this classic story.

[@jasonlapidus1812]

I really like your connection of the long defeat to The Long Halloween; it’s a great contextualization that adds to my reading experience. Thanks!

[@detective___mcnulty]

Thanks for all the hard work making these videos.

[@dxrule18]

A really great video on my favourite Batman graphic novel! Fantastic work Matt@

[@PenDragon-hg1lg]

You know it's when you watch videos like this when you gain an even deeper appreciation for Nolan's trilogy when you really see just how well he interweaved so many classic stories into just three films

[@AHeroAlmost]

This was so well put together 👏👏👏

[@BenjiDWJ]

An awesome video as per usual Matt 😁 like always I continue to both thoroughly & tremendously enjoy the way in which you go through and give a structured & well-balanced analysis of the writing & artists style of storytelling, the characters involved and their respective arcs, underlying morals, symbolism and themes. All of this while taking on the role of an absolutely stupendous narrator.

[@pdzombie1906]

Great video!!! Ready to see the animated adaptation!!! Thanx!!!

[@matheuszache7943]

Matt, I swear, everything, JUST EVERYTHING in your analysis is a dream come true. I preached about The Long Halloween to many friends about almost evey single one of your points in this video: from the stylistic art highlighting the character traits (such as Batman's cape acting out as if its alive, Mad Hatter's clothes looking giant on him etc), the triple Holiday plot twist and the core of the arc: Gotham's turning point from a mob corrupt city to a mad house. I couldn't find no content producer to make such quality content about these topics until you did right now. Finally a Long Halloween video worth the novel's quality!

[@MattDraper]

Thank you!

[@dakotaloven1362]

I love that you not only talk about the story itself but also it's importance to comics as a whole I mean this has to be top 3 greatest and most influential batman stories ever told

[@Chandasouk]

One of the first batman stories I've read. Not entirely sure it holds up under scrutiny but a classic none the less. Excellent video as always, Matt!

[@BlackLaval]

Such an awesome video. The Long Halloween -minus the epilogue, perhaps- is a true masterpiece.

[@PubeStache]

No multiple variant covers to pump up sales, just good story telling. I miss those days.

[@turtleanton6539]

👍

[@mossadon]

i worked in a comic shop in the UK when this came out, Pube. We sold more of this over it's original year long run to NON Batfans than i think any other title. It crossed so many fanbases. From Roided up Supers fans to indie comic buyers, Marvel stalwarts to sci fi and fantasy lovers... people wanted this series. In the delivery / mail order / customer box room (we had quite the mail order list) i think at the time there was only 5 or 6 boxes that DIDN'T have The Long Halloween on order. We picked up a stack of that months copies after bagging and boarding then pretty much walked the whole room and dropped one in each box. Pretty thankful we weren't dossing around with variant covers of this title too. "E mail from SteveDave. We sent him the wrong Spiderman variant cover". snaffaraffamumbleVariantgrumbleCovergripe&groan. >sigh< The times when comics were the shit !... when it took 3 people a full day jus to sort the Diamond delivery to the regulars boxes and finding a new title to stand with 5 copies of for the shop, after a quick read through, gazing at the manager with a raised eyebrow and saying "We'll need a shit ton more o' these!" (While also planning this weeks reason/excuse as to why it shouldn't be me to get inside the Dalek (One of only six in existence at the time) and 'drive' it round town at the weekend, bangin the shit outa yer knees every time you set off from a still position...grrrr!) >Dalek voice< "Ow! My. Bloody. KNEEES! Ouch! Now. i've. Got. My. frickiiin. AAANKLLLLE!"

[@davidbettcher8843]

Good observation of the color pallets and the caricature-like villain designs. Also, I love the voice acting everyone did here.

[@bubbastevegarcia2459]

Hell yeah! This video blew Up for some reason! You deserve it bro hopefully this will get you some more shine!!

[@macj3970]

I just finished The Long Halloween yesterday! What a weird coincidence, and keep up the good work!

[@DiegoReviews]

Those smokey background effects make this video so cinematic. Really clever using it for the smoke bomb fight scene! And holy cow I didn’t Josh had such a good Joker!

[@MattDraper]

I know, right?? Josh totally blew me away! And your Two-Face was awesome!!

[@DiegoReviews]

You’re the best, Matt.

[@rhysmag6723]

The name The long Halloween I thought was a reference to how Gotham looks and feels like it is always in a long Halloween

[@dawwe8869]

Good stuff as always!

[@SnapperChannel]

Whether it be Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Superman For All Seasons or the Marvel color series, Loeb and Sale’s stories are among my favorites in comics. Great video.

[@outpostalpha]

Wow. This is an impressive video, both in its analysis and its presentation. Terrific job!

[@MattDraper]

Thank you!

[@yotamlevy1410]

Terrific analysis, another great video Matt!

[@MattDraper]

Thank you, my dude!

[@FancyGeeks]

Great video! I love this story and you did a fantastic job with it.

[@MattDraper]

Thank you, Jay!

[@AngeloPetrino69]

Great comic and great video, as always :)

[@thejurassicshow5928]

Hello Matt Draper. Your analysis of these great comics helps me appreciate them in ways I hadn’t original thought of. It would bring me so much joy if you covered Invincible

[@gabrielgurule]

This is one of my favorite comics and one of my favorite your analysis’s. The reveal of three Holiday’s I think works so well because of its ambiguity. It reminds me of the noir “The Big Sleep,” in it a chauffeur is murdered and no one-author included-bothered to figure out who did it. It’s one of the things that just happens. The reveal at the end here, however, can almost be summarized as “Forget it, It’s Gotham.” It doesn’t matter if the audience finds out, because it’s implied that Calendar Man knew the details the entire time.

[@thenerd3960]

You just made me love this book and Gotham City and Batman more thank you

[@MattDraper]

Thank you!

[@Protocol36]

Fantastic video!

[@brobert27]

Thx again, Matt!

[@BasedToastnt]

This was such a fun read. The over exaggerated art style and designs are great. I love it when Gotham is very stylized much like The Dark Knight Returns. Although Year One is a masterpiece in my eyes Long Halloween is an intriguing mystery that will age beautifully. Phenomenal video. I'll be sure to check out more.

[@TheAyman1825]

holy shit the intro was so tense it gave me Goose bumps damn it Matt take it easy. anyway time to read the long Halloween again I guess. great video man

[@MattDraper]

Thanks! Haha Gotta suck people into the video!

[@rustybuckets2143]

THANK YOU! THIS IS MY FAVORITE BATMAN STORY!

[@joshboy64]

I have to admire the fact that you were able to make MODERN Frank Miller's Batman feel so poetic. If that doesn't make you worthy of a million subs, I don't know what does.

[@x.gotham.x]

imagine being a vigilante who took down big gangsters just to create psychopaths and sociopathic some powered villains :)))

[@lyonsmaneproductions3431]

Right? If Gotham was nyc you'd just see bats be like "WHAT?! OH WHATTA GIGANTIC PAIN IN MY ASS, YOU RIDICULOUS MOOKS!"

[@dustinakadustin]

Well Batman didn't create them, he only really created the joker but not on purpose.

[@Aeluron]

Necessary for world building. I don't believe that it can't be saved, just a cynical world view.

[@hellothere_24]

Gotham is destined to be cursed forever

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

This and your BOTW video contain my two favorite concluding paragraphs of any of your videos

[@thenationofdefecation7969]

Am I insane for never reading comic books but really liking analysis videos on them?

[@xasthurtheunholy]

No

[@pierluigizappala1157]

great analisis as always, I gotta say that the confusing finale didn't convince me at first but grew on me over time, it's very charming in it's own way and I dont think that I would have it any other way.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

Ah yes, one of my favorite comics, analyzed by Matt Draper. This is gonna be a good one.

[@LukeDodge916]

Great video

[@YouCallThataKnife253]

Ahhhh, it's been so long. How refreshing

[@matthewledbetter7818]

You should do Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke!

[@DocD173]

This book sparked my lifelong interest in comics and graphic novels when I was 12. Still my favorite Batman story of all time.

[@noxidninja5109]

I love all the cameos of other comic book KZbinrs for the quotes

[@ACShotRun]

great video