As we’ve discussed before here on Comic Book Club, DC Comics‘s Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween has been an interesting experiment, allowing a murderer’s row of artists to pay tribute to the late, great Tim Sale while writer Jeph Loeb brings their trilogy of stories to a close. In Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #4, thanks to stunning art by Cliff Chiang, that experiment begins to show results.
In the issue, Batman is grievously injured during a fight and spends most of the issue unconscious on an operating table in the Batcave. While the main mysteries of the series take a back seat, Robin becomes more and more desperate to wake up Bruce, while Alfred tries to lock it all down and remain calm. With an issue that doesn’t address the focal action, and includes the title character mostly in a coma, it’s up to Chiang to make the situation feel tense and dynamic — and that’s exactly what he does.
Granted, it’s assisted by Loeb’s script, which is perhaps one of the most emotionally raw things he’s written in years… While I hesitate to assume anything about a writer, anyone who has waited for news about a loved one while going about their daily business will feel the tension and heartache inherent in the issue in their bones.
The book isn’t all waiting around, though, as Robin also — spoilers — brings in Catwoman to help wake Bruce up. There’s a bit of action there, which Chiang is an old hand at. And romance, too, as Selina gently tells Bruce to get back in the fight. But the moment that made my heart hitch a bit is when Bruce talks to Robin once he’s awake, and Alfred listens up the staircase, finally allowing himself a moment to breathe.
It’s in that moment, too, that it becomes clear how effortlessly Chiang merged his own, iconic style with Sale’s. More than any other issue so far, Chiang has magically found the halfway point between his art, and the late artist’s angles and linework. It’s beyond impressive to read, and a real stunner of an issue.
And it seems like things won’t slow down, with Bill Sienkiewicz drawing a Joker-focused issue next. While we might not have needed another entry in The Long Halloween series, at least as of issue four — and hopefully issue five, as well — I’m going to consider this experiment a resounding success.
Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #4 Rating:
Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #4 Official Synopsis:
ROBIN LEAPS INTO ACTION! In 1996, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale teamed up 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 returns to the world of The Long Halloween for its long-anticipated final act — Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween, an all-new 10-part mystery continuing the story from 2021’s Batman: The Long Halloween Special. 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. With a life hanging precariously in the balance, the Boy Wonder decides to take matters into his own hands!
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