Title – Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021)

Director – Chris Palmer (Superman: Man of Tomorrow)

Cast – (voices of) Jensen Ackles, Josh Duhamel, Naya Rivera, Troy Baker

Plot – Batman (Ackles) investigates a string of murders that are taking place across Gotham City specifically on key holidays as the city is plunged into a wave of fear about who is the culprit.

“There’s only room for ONE homicidal maniac in this town!”

Review by Eddie on 22/07/2021

From his first appearance in 1939, everyone’s favorite capped crusader Bruce Wayne/Batman and his extended universe has continued to provide eager readers/viewers with a raft of eclectic content that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

From the colourful and over the top shenanigans of the Adam West starring TV show, the Gothic goodness of Tim Burton’s world, the grittiness of Nolan’s Dark Knight period or the confronting nature of Joker, Batman’s world can provide a range of entertainment options for any type of viewers wants and desires, with latest animated adaptation The Long Halloween, Part 1 a solid new addition to the ever expanding cinematic catalogue of Batman iterations.

Based on Jeph Loeb’s series of graphic novels that first rose to fame in 1996, it’s taken some time for the story of Batman investigating a series of grizzly murders taking place on key holiday dates to make its way to a feature length adaptation finality but thanks to Chris Palmer and screenwriter Tim Sheridan, this complicated and intriguing story of murder, mayhem and mystery is vividly bought to life in this first part of a two part series that will have viewers waiting with baited breath over the next few weeks anticipating the next instalment that is due to hit towards the end of July.

With a great old-school animated style that calls to mind late 80 and early 90’s efforts, Halloween is steeped in style and flair as Jensen Ackle’s Wayne/Batman gets to work in a rain-soaked landscape alongside the likes of the great white hope of politics Harvey Dent, police Commissioner Gordon, thief/love interest Selina Kyle and of course arch nemesis The Joker (wonderfully voiced by the talented Troy Baker) with die-hard and casual fans of the DC staple likely to be spoilt for choice when it comes to throwbacks, nods and recreations of Loeb’s well-regarded works.

If there was a major problem with this first instalment of the two-part feature series its in the fact that this sub-90 minute effort does at times feel like more of a long in the tooth build up for what is likely to be a more action-packed and momentous occurrence come the part 2 of this tale but at the same time the groundwork laid here should allow for part 2 of this adaptation to be a must-watch affair for all Batphiles holding out until Matt Reeves next cinematic event hits our screens next year.

Final Say –

A solid and artistically memorable animated Batman feature, The Long Halloween Part 1 is one of the better examples of bringing a comic book/graphic novel to life without losing sight of what made it resonate with fans in the first place.

3 1/2 boat parties out of 5