I consider Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaborations modern classics: The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. They are both my favourites.
The Long Halloween is a noir, near perfect genre piece that should thrill anyone looking for a Batman thriller. The story has Batman, early in his career, taking on the mob and a serial killer who strikes on holidays. The story is taut through thirteen issues (350+ pages), set from Halloween to Halloween, with poetic pacing and tension found only in top notch graphic novels. Harvey Dent is greatly featured along with a young Jim Gordon. For Batman fans, Dent's presence alone provides an environment of premonition.
The standard rogues gallery weave through the book, including an envious Joker, a cornered, fearful Riddler, and a distant, sensual Poison Ivy. Along with a little more mayhem from the Scarecrow and Mad Hatter. What I appreciated most about these villains, is that they are reduced to their essential symbols, where a gesture or a glance conveys as much as a panel of narrated text. The clues are faultless red herrings in the grand mystery fashion.
Tim Sale's art is compelling. Noir's a difficult effect to convey in comics, and it comes through beautifully in a shadowy, mostly gray and earth tone palette behind strong inking. This cool, hushed ground provides the perfect foil against which to contrast the costumed villains, ratcheting up the tension another mark. This is my favourite Batman artwork by far.
The tone of this story arc is gloomy, without being overbearing. This suits Batman especially well. Batman spends more time trying to work out the identity of Holiday than fighting villains, so you truly get a sense of Batman as a detective. There are however, plenty of chances for Batman to use his muscle.
"I believe in Harvey Dent", is a recurring phrase. It is featured in The Dark Knight, being Harvey Dent?s political campaign slogan. In that film, Dent becomes a murderous vigilante, rather than an outright criminal to emphasize the differences and parallels between him and Batman. This is also keeping with his origin in The Long Halloween, where he only kills criminals after his scarring before allowing Batman to arrest him.
Like I said at the start, this is my personal favourite. I am very excited to hear that Dan DiDio, Senior Vice President / Executive Editor at DC, has said there is a possibility for an animated adaptation as part of the DCU Animated movies.
If you have yet to read it, I recommend this for all Batman fans and is a must have. I will cover the sequel, Dark Victory, at a later date.
TIm Sale is a legend, he has a great style of art
Indeed. This art is also evident in 'Haunted Knight', another Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaboration.
I enjoyed it right up until the very last page or two, at which time Loeb seems to intentionally derail everything in regards to Holiday's true identity. In my opinion, whodunnits are only effective insofar as they provide solid answers (means, motive, opportunity and a genuine unmasking of the villain) while providing decent clues to the killer's identity through out.
TLH is a good story but it fails on those counts. I could overlook the dearth of clues (really, it could've been any of the supporting cast) but the murkiness behind Holiday's identity drags the story down for me.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Fri, 25 Jul 2008, 18:47
I enjoyed it right up until the very last page or two, at which time Loeb seems to intentionally derail everything in regards to Holiday's true identity. In my opinion, whodunnits are only effective insofar as they provide solid answers (means, motive, opportunity and a genuine unmasking of the villain) while providing decent clues to the killer's identity through out.
TLH is a good story but it fails on those counts. I could overlook the dearth of clues (really, it could've been any of the supporting cast) but the murkiness behind Holiday's identity drags the story down for me.
The complete opposite for me.
At the end of the story, Harvey turns himself in to Gordon and tells him and Batman that there were two Holiday killers. Batman ignores it and explains it away to Harvey?s madness in a weak explanation. So, even after all hell breaks loose with Harvey, Batman still refuses to allow himself to see Harvey as a killer.
It is distinctive because it keeps the reader guessing, particularly with the surprise of Gilda being the first holiday killer. As a reader, I read it eager that Harvey would be not guilty. I deduce I thought in some way I could disconnect Harvey from Two Face, and believe that Harvey was a proper hero that would certainly not take the law into his own hands.
Only after the transformation would Harvey become evil. This, though, is not realistic, and Loeb does a wonderful job of acknowledging both the audience?s tendency to believe in Harvey Dent, and the truth that Harvey?s character is seriously flawed from the beginning and the acid incident only sends him over the edge, unleashing years of psychological torment.
This final twist making the resolution of the novel unclear, readers are left with the burning question: Who was Holiday? The Long Halloween sparks debate even today, years after its initial release, due in no small part to its great ending.
QuoteThis final twist making the resolution of the novel unclear, readers are left with the burning question: Who was Holiday? The Long Halloween sparks debate even today, years after its initial release, due in no small part to its great ending.
In other words, by ending with a murky, non-conclusion, it does the very thing that a whodunnit should never do.
It could have been revealed, and that's that. End of story.
Does this way, it keeps the novel alive with speculation, so that it never truly dies. Everybody is naturally going to have their own interpretation to Holiday is, etc.
which villains are in this novel?
Quote from: riddler on Fri, 13 Jul 2012, 04:06
which villains are in this novel?
Lot's actually. From memory (I won't go digging it out of my bookcase), minor appearances include The Joker, Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Calender Man, Posion Ivy, the Riddler, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and Catwoman. Many of these factor into so certain holidays. The major baddies would be Two-Face and the 'Holiday" Killer, which I won't spoil for you.
I recently re-read TLH and the Haunted Knight collection.
In a strange way I find these comics to feel like a blend of the Nolan/Burton films (yes, I know Nolan cites TLH and BYO as his chief influences for the first two films, etc.). The scripting reads like a Nolan story had Nolan allowed the more fantastical elements in there to play, while having a visual style that somehow felt like it could easily be referencing the Batman Returns world of story.
In any event, I love these stories. I don't find the ending of TLH all that ambiguous. My interpretation: the killers were The Dents. Alberto killed one person, and claimed to be Holiday for attention, etc., but ultimately wasn't really anything more than a red herring.
As I mentioned in another thread, I find the story of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face to be one of the more intriguing and dramatic stories in all of the DC Universe. I felt it was handled quite well in both TLH and in The Dark Knight film.
The Haunted Knight collection is also a gorgeous work. The villains truly mirror an aspect of Batman, or bring up a painful association for him as he does battle. This use of the villain as a means to better explore the protagonist is one of the Bat-verse's strongest assets, and something that Burton did quite well in his two films, and Nolan did quite well in TDK. Loeb really sells it here, and I hope when the reboot occurs the filmmakers pay attention to this.
On top of all that, they're cracking good mysteries. While there are many tastes and preferences for how Batman should be portrayed, the one I return to often is that of the World's Greatest Detective. The more of that, the better. I'm going to re-read Dark Victory. If memory serves the material with Robin is greatly enjoyable, while the mystery itself wasn't quite as strong.
Quote from: greggbray on Mon, 27 Aug 2012, 22:53In any event, I love these stories. I don't find the ending of TLH all that ambiguous. My interpretation: the killers were The Dents. Alberto killed one person, and claimed to be Holiday for attention, etc., but ultimately wasn't really anything more than a red herring.
The whole point of a whodunnit is to eventually be told who the fvck did it. With TLH, there's so much double-dealing, lies, secret agendas, etc, that there's no clarity to the reveal. Was it Harvey? Gilda? Grouch Marx Falcone? Hell, I read a blog entry years ago that suggested it was Catwoman. There shouldn't be this amount of confusion over the killer's true identity. I think it's foreign to the genre Loeb is toying with.
Mind you, my opinion of Jeph Loeb as a writer is pretty abysmal to begin with so TLH is actually better than some of his other stuff.
^ Fair enough. :)
Maybe I'm just oversimplifying it, but looking at the last few pages of the book, Gilda's confession seems to be it.
True she never directly states "We were Holiday," but she goes over the murders one by one as she's burning the evidence. Maybe I'm just being too much of a literalist in this case.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 28 Aug 2012, 01:28
The whole point of a whodunnit is to eventually be told who the fvck did it. With TLH, there's so much double-dealing, lies, secret agendas, etc, that there's no clarity to the reveal. Was it Harvey? Gilda? Grouch Marx Falcone? Hell, I read a blog entry years ago that suggested it was Catwoman. There shouldn't be this amount of confusion over the killer's true identity. I think it's foreign to the genre Loeb is toying with.
I can absolutely see what you mean and that's an entirely valid point of view to have.
Personally I like the ending of the book as I like mystery in most things. It's like with Lost as a TV show. We have lingering questions that were not answered even with the final episode. Some people hated it and said it was a cop-out. That they invested so much time into the show and it was for nothing. I don't hold that viewpoint. Regarding that, I love that things weren't answered. It gets me thinking. It makes me re-watch (or re-read) the content again to see if I missed anything, or if I can get a different perspective/insight. It may be frustrating to some, but not so much with me. Albert Einstein said one of the most beautiful things we can experience is the mysterious, and I am with him.
Quote from: greggbray on Tue, 28 Aug 2012, 02:24^ Fair enough. :)
Maybe I'm just oversimplifying it, but looking at the last few pages of the book, Gilda's confession seems to be it.
True she never directly states "We were Holiday," but she goes over the murders one by one as she's burning the evidence. Maybe I'm just being too much of a literalist in this case.
Or maybe she's burning a bunch of junk she found in the garage and she's shatbit nuckin futs and has convinced herself of something that never took place. Or maybe she's telling the truth and little Falcone confessed to crimes he never committed. Bottom line, there's no resolution to it and a mystery should have resolution. Ambiguous endings work fine sometimes but not for this.
You know, I had just made an assumption about a 'universally agreed upon ending,' and I can see how off base I was. You're right. In hindsight there is a great deal of ambiguity there, and I can see how it could feel like the Sopranos Finale. The WTF of it all.
Though, and this falls under the realm of taste and really nothing else, it doesn't necessarily interrupt my enjoyment of it. Though I can see how it could be a hassle.
Not to derail the topic, but what are some of your favorite writing teams or story arcs from the Batman books? For instance, if one were to say 'TLH is the greatest B'man story of all time,' aside from the criticisms you've brought up, what would you recommend instead?
Apologies in advance for the length here.
Quote from: greggbray on Wed, 29 Aug 2012, 00:41Though, and this falls under the realm of taste and really nothing else, it doesn't necessarily interrupt my enjoyment of it. Though I can see how it could be a hassle.
And that's the hell of it. You delete the last, what, page or two of TLH? And suddenly it
IS everything people say it is. Says something about how important two pages really can be, yes?
Quote from: greggbray on Wed, 29 Aug 2012, 00:41Not to derail the topic, but what are some of your favorite writing teams or story arcs from the Batman books? For instance, if one were to say 'TLH is the greatest B'man story of all time,' aside from the criticisms you've brought up, what would you recommend instead?
It's hard to come up with an exact alternative, partly because I'm not as familiar with Batman comics as Superman comics and partly because the Batman comics I am familiar with are largely before the trade paperback-friendly market we have now.
That said, I'm a
BIG fan of the Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle Batman. It was a time of experimentation at DC and that's really how Alan Grant got a shot at the character. True, you could argue he erred in putting a bit too much social/political commentary in his book but he delivered the goods more often than not. Plus, to this day Breyfogle's Batman is
MY Batman. He's definitive as far as I'm concerned. Not specifically a Batman story necessarily but the pair did a Catwoman two parter (Batman #460 and 461, I think) which really typified what Catwoman was up to in the early 90's. The cat thing isn't just an affectation. It's emblematic somewhat of her character and personal traits. She doesn't have "cat powers" or some such, she just has more than a few of the same characteristics.
I'd be an idiot to ignore the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers Detective Comics run from the 70's. It's funny how they worked completely differently from Grant/Breyfogle. They were a partnership from the get-go and became more of one as time went on. By contrast, Englehart was planning to get out of comics entirely and his Detective Comics run was supposed to be his swan song. He wrote the scripts, turned 'em in and left town. He says he was overfreakingjoyed when he saw just how much ass Marshal Rogers kicked in pencilling his scripts. They had little or no creative interaction... but you'd be hardpressed to guess that based upon the finished product. Their run on Detective plays for me because it is what Hush tries like fvck but fails to be; a love letter to Batman that hits upon a lot of his core mythos, rogue's gallery and supporting cast. If I'm not much mistaken, Englehart is the one who made the Joker criminally insane. I yield this to Silver Nemesis ultimately but my understanding is that prior to Englehart, the Joker up to that point was more or less a more whimsical version of what we saw in Batman #1. He had the demented sense of humor but not necessarily out-and-out psychosis. If that's true, we fans owe Englehart an unspeakable debt of gratitude.
I'm developing a taste for the Doug Moench/Don Newton stuff from the early to mid 80's. There's a lot of heart and character in those issues. I can't endorse this era personally just yet but if someone else were to do so... well, I could see their argument, put it that way. I dig on Batman's fallibility here. If Grant Morrison was writing this stuff, Batman would have fifteen billion different contingency plans and such. Here? He can make mistakes in judgment or tactics. To me, that's just more interesting.
Speaking of Moench, his run on Batman with Kelley Jones from the mid 90's is likewise cool. True, Kelley Jones is an acquired taste as far as art goes but each panel oozes the kind of darkness that Tim Burton has nightmares about. Seriously enjoy those issues.
People talk all different kinds of smack about "the 60's Batman", as if Adam West is the sum total of it and that's a real shame (A) because the West show is awesome and (B) because that sentiment tends to overlook the Frank Robbins/Irv Novick stuff. What I've read of it... well, Frank Miller it ain't. Even so, it was darker than people remember. A lot of stories taking place at night and such. The coloring was a boon too. Somebody took the time to do the coloring work in a pretty creative way. You see a lot of monochromes and also a kind of different color palette than we commonly associate with 60's comics, particularly post-Adam West Batman comics. I like the atmosphere and tone of these comics.
One of my favorite eras is Detective #27 to #37. Batman was a hard, brutal vigilante and the stories were dark ("mysterioso" as Bob Kane would have it) and Batman doled out justice, no apologies, no excuses, no regrets. The mysterious, slightly supernatural bent of a lot of those stories shaped my sensibilities as to what a Batman ought to be.
A tragically overlooked incarnation of Batman is the BTAS adaptations (Batman Adventures, Batman & Robin Adventures, etc). I'd put some of those stories up against even the best episodes of BTAS.
What've you got?
I think your list is terrific, and I'd have to concur with the Grant/Breyfogle praise. NB is without a doubt my favorite take on the visual world, with any number of close seconds including Adams, Rogers, and Sale.
I was a pretty big fan of Kelly Jones' art. He won me over with his brief affair with Sandman.
Some of the mid-80s stuff I found got a bit tepid. After the remarkable run in the 70s (in particular the material that was collected in 'Strange Apparitions') I kind of felt like the 80s had *Way* too much wheel spinning. Not that it was particularly bad, it just didn't progress very well. Then again, the Crisis comics, BYO, etc. may have been at play during that time.
Burton seems to have channeled a great deal of the early work in his material--I can see the affinity. :)
QuoteIf I'm not much mistaken, Englehart is the one who made the Joker criminally insane. I yield this to Silver Nemesis ultimately but my understanding is that prior to Englehart, the Joker up to that point was more or less a more whimsical version of what we saw in Batman #1. He had the demented sense of humor but not necessarily out-and-out psychosis. If that's true, we fans owe Englehart an unspeakable debt of gratitude.
That's correct. A few stories had already depicted the Joker as a dark psycho killer – for example, 'The Joker's Five-Way Revenge' (Batman #251, September 1973) and 'Death Has the Last Laugh' (The Brave and the Bold #111, March 1974) – but it was Englehart who introduced the idea that the Joker's insane motives were completely devoid of rationality; that he just does stuff for the hell of it, because he thinks it's funny (e.g. shoving one of his henchmen in front of a lorry). Englehart had Batman summarise the Joker's mindset in one succinct line: "The Joker's mind is clouded in madness! His motives make sense to him alone!" And that pretty much set the tone for all subsequent Joker stories.
Interestingly, Englehart was one of the few people to criticise Heath Ledger's Joker. And the basis of his criticism was that the Joker's objectives in TDK were too rational.
QuoteReflector: What's your opinion on how Heath Ledger handled The Joker, especially in light of your stories? How credible is it to say he might get an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor?
Englehart: ... Close but no cigar. His Joker is more nihilistic than insane, I thought; there was still a core of rationality in there. It's someone very like the Joker, but not the Joker. But I liked the character on screen a lot.
http://www.norwalkreflector.com/content/writer-looks-back-batman-stories-films?similar
QuotePeople talk all different kinds of smack about "the 60's Batman", as if Adam West is the sum total of it and that's a real shame (A) because the West show is awesome and (B) because that sentiment tends to overlook the Frank Robbins/Irv Novick stuff. What I've read of it... well, Frank Miller it ain't. Even so, it was darker than people remember. A lot of stories taking place at night and such. The coloring was a boon too. Somebody took the time to do the coloring work in a pretty creative way. You see a lot of monochromes and also a kind of different color palette than we commonly associate with 60's comics, particularly post-Adam West Batman comics. I like the atmosphere and tone of these comics.
I agree completely. And thanks for highlighting the Frank Robbins/Irv Novick run. A lot of people blindly attribute the darkening tone of the Batman comics to Denny O'Neil. But while O'Neil does deserve a lot of credit, there were plenty of writers and artists before him who were struggling, often against editorial edicts, to take Batman back to his roots. Stories like 'Operation Blindfold' and 'Batman Walks the Last Mile' had the same dark urban grittiness that would define Batman comics in the 70s. Only these stories were published in 1968, the same year the third season of the Adam West show was broadcast! Way too many people unfairly dismiss the sixties era, both in terms of the TV show and the comics. It's a shame, because they're missing out on some truly classic Batman stories.
Quote from: greggbray on Mon, 27 Aug 2012, 22:53
In any event, I love these stories. I don't find the ending of TLH all that ambiguous. My interpretation: the killers were The Dents. Alberto killed one person, and claimed to be Holiday for attention, etc., but ultimately wasn't really anything more than a red herring.
I always assumed the killers were Gilda and Alberto. After New Years, the targets change to figures who would have to have been involved in Alberto's cover-up of his death, and later to the enemies of his father.
And I love
Long Halloween - not much to add that hasn't been said.
Adding my own two cents: The Long Halloween is my all time favourite Batman Story from start to finish. I have no problem with an ambiguous ending; I loved Inception and I loved The Dark Knight Rises because I'm able to fill in the end that best suits my own sensibilities.
The Long Halloween is a fantastic mystery that never disappoints each time I read it. Add on Dark Victory and you have a fantastic Batman primer.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Fri, 25 Jul 2008, 18:47I enjoyed it right up until the very last page or two, at which time Loeb seems to intentionally derail everything in regards to Holiday's true identity. In my opinion, whodunnits are only effective insofar as they provide solid answers (means, motive, opportunity and a genuine unmasking of the villain) while providing decent clues to the killer's identity through out.
TLH is a good story but it fails on those counts. I could overlook the dearth of clues (really, it could've been any of the supporting cast) but the murkiness behind Holiday's identity drags the story down for me.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat, 26 Jul 2008, 03:11The complete opposite for me.
At the end of the story, Harvey turns himself in to Gordon and tells him and Batman that there were two Holiday killers. Batman ignores it and explains it away to Harvey?s madness in a weak explanation. So, even after all hell breaks loose with Harvey, Batman still refuses to allow himself to see Harvey as a killer.
It is distinctive because it keeps the reader guessing, particularly with the surprise of Gilda being the first holiday killer. As a reader, I read it eager that Harvey would be not guilty. I deduce I thought in some way I could disconnect Harvey from Two Face, and believe that Harvey was a proper hero that would certainly not take the law into his own hands.
Only after the transformation would Harvey become evil. This, though, is not realistic, and Loeb does a wonderful job of acknowledging both the audience?s tendency to believe in Harvey Dent, and the truth that Harvey?s character is seriously flawed from the beginning and the acid incident only sends him over the edge, unleashing years of psychological torment.
This final twist making the resolution of the novel unclear, readers are left with the burning question: Who was Holiday? The Long Halloween sparks debate even today, years after its initial release, due in no small part to its great ending.
I've come to a different appreciation for TLH. What I've started understanding is the last few pages of the final issue show the different main characters reacting to what's happened in the story. Gordon believes in Gotham City. His conscience is pure. Batman believes in Batman. His mission is his reason for being. Gilda believes in Harvey. She's batsh*t f***ing nuts.
Of course, this means that I believe Alberto is the real Holiday. The murders simply required means, motive and opportunity that Alberto had in great abundance but which mostly eluded Gilda through all or the majority of the story.
I said I enjoyed this story until the end originally. But putting the above into perspective means that, yes, TLH is an awesome story. Tons of fun.
Does anybody else get the impression that Alberto Falcone lied to everybody that he was the Holiday killer just to spite his own father and family, if we are to believe Gilda and Harvey Dent were responsible for the serial murders? Alberto seemed really resentful towards Carmine for shunning him out of the family business.
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have re-teamed for a new one shot follow-up to The Long Halloween scheduled for publication this October.
(https://www.dccomics.com/sites/default/files/imce/2021/07-JUL/BMTLHS_Cv1_00111_60e6195883e041.11462572.jpg)
QuoteA quarter century has passed since the release of the Eisner Award winning Batman: The Long Halloween from the creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale. On October 12, 2021, Loeb and Sale return to continue their story and show that some secrets never stay buried in Batman: The Long Halloween Special.
"Twenty-five years ago, Tim Sale and I set out to tell a mystery tale of how Gotham City went from crime to freaks," said Jeph Loeb. "The result was Batman: The Long Halloween. We're thrilled to be back at DC revisiting some of our favorite characters all the while revealing that you may not know the whole story..."
Join the team for the return of the Batman Halloween specials and a mystery that could destroy Batman, Commissioner Gordon, Two-Face, and...well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
Story by JEPH LOEB
Pencils and inks by TIM SALE
Cover by TIM SALE
$7.99 US | 48 PAGES | PRESTIGE FORMAT
Variant cover by TIM SALE
1:25 Variant cover by TIM SALE
On Sale 10/12/21
"As it has always been, working together on Batman has brought out the best of Jeph and myself as Gotham City storytellers," added Tim Sale. "We have been blessed to have the mighty talents of Comicraft's Richard Starkings with us every step of the way, and are very fortunate to welcome colorist, Brennan Wagner, to help shape our latest venture."
DC UNIVERSE INFINITE members can read the original Batman: The Long Halloween series as part of their paid subscription. The original animated film, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One is now available to own on Digital and Blu-ray™. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is coming July 27 to Digital and arriving August 10 on Blu-ray.
Written by Loeb with artwork by Sale, colors by Brennan Wagner (Grendel) and lettering by Richard Starkings (Elephantmen), Batman: The Long Halloween Special will be available at local comic book shops in a 48-page prestige format on October 12, 2021, for $7.99.
https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2021/07/08/batmanthe-long-halloween-special-continues-critically-acclaimed-story
I like this. The art style is replicated quite well, and so is the tone. It's set after Dark Victory, and you feel every Halloween in Gotham goes down something like this.
Batman says Two-Face was always under the surface of Dent and he's now just a killer and a lunatic. After that they both end up working together to try and recover Gilda, who is kidnapped by Calendar Man, which bring things back to having to 'believe in Harvey Dent'.
In the end, Batman's cold assessment of Dent proves to be true, with Gilda's conduct also confirming why we should always be cynical. She's a facilitator and also a participant of his evil by refusing to see the Two-Face component of Dent.
Harvey has Gilda. Batman has Robin.
Batman tells Alfred he's not ready to have Robin operating with him full time, which I like, because it allows Batman to be tough but caring. There's underlying humanity in these stories amongst all the murder that just seems to work, such as Batman taking Robin to Gordon's house for trick or treating with Barbara.
We also see Batman wearing another disguise, evoking the time he dressed as a security guard in the original. I think the essence of the previous stories is there. All in all, I'm happy with the result.
I enjoyed it. It's a nonessential addendum to the original saga, but it offers an enjoyable seasonal epilogue that avoids damaging or detracting from the earlier story. The classic Loeb/Sale feel is very much in evidence, the art and writing are good, and overall it's a worthy spiritual successor to their earlier collaborations. The atmosphere evokes the Haunted Knight/LotDK one-shots of the early-to-mid nineties, as well as the 'Grundy's Night' episode of The Batman. The ending ('for now...') makes me hopeful that we might one day get another full 13-isssue miniseries from Loeb and Sale.
On the trivia front, Bruce repeats a line from the 1989 film.
(https://i.postimg.cc/jjLh6RyP/what-s-on-your-mind.png)
A solid Halloween special that tells a good old fashioned Batman story. Recommended.
I'll try it get to this soon. I actually forgot all about this.