Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb's Best Batman Story Isn't The Long Halloween
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale stand in high regard among Batman fans for their work on Batman: The Long Halloween. The Long Halloween often ranks toward the top of any list of the best Batman stories, receiving a 2-part animated movie adaptation and providing inspiration for elements of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. While The Long Halloween and its similarly beloved sequel Dark Victory are both terrific detective stories, the iconic duo of Loeb and Sale’s best Batman collection is one less regularly recognized: Haunted Knight.
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created a trilogy of Batman-centered stories with Loeb serving as writer and Sale as artist. The debut arc, Batman: Haunted Knight is a trio of Halloween specials from the series Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. The first story, «Fear,» sees Batman fight the Scarecrow as Bruce Wayne strikes up a romance with a mysterious figure who enters his life. The second, entitled «Madness,» focuses on a confrontation between Batman and the Mad Hatter following Hatter’s abduction of Barbara Gordon. Finally, the series closes with «Ghosts,» a riff on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which Batman plays the part of Ebenezer Scrooge. The three stories don’t relate directly, though they share many thematic ties and all take place on separate Halloweens. Haunted Knight is followed by The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, two detective stories featuring a year of holiday killings from mysterious villains. The duo also created Catwoman: When in Rome, a companion piece to Dark Victory.
Related: 20 Of The Best Batman Comic Book Arcs of All Time
The Long Halloween has been back in the conversation for the last week following the sudden passing of renowned artist
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