10 Great Batman Comics Like The Long Halloween, Ranked

Look at any “top Batman comics” list across the internet, and you’ll find Batman: The Long Halloween on every single one. The Long Halloween is everything comic readers would ever want in a Batman comic: confrontations with his iconic villains, a buddy alliance and romance with Catwoman, incredible art from Tim Sale, and a murder mystery that grips readers with every page turn.

Readers who loved The Long Halloween and are looking for more of the same can find many great adventures that have some similarities to Loeb and Sale’s classic–be it an emphasis on murder and mystery, a large ensemble cast of Batman’s greatest allies and villains, or comics created by the iconic pair, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

10 Catwoman After The Long Halloween

Loeb and Sale are masters at presenting a story in a very curated format. Batman: The Long Halloween takes place over a year, following a killer who strikes on holidays. Catwoman: When in Rome takes place over a week, occurring simultaneously with the events of Dark Victory.

Fans who want to get the full Loeb/Sale Batman experience should pick up Catwoman: When in Rome. It fills some gaps for key players, including the Riddler, and also provides some resolutions for Catwoman’s plot points that were established in The Long Halloween.

9 Jeph Loeb’s Batman Anthology

Three specials were collected into one trade paperback collection titled Batman: Haunted Knight. All three stories were written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. Though these stories were all originally published several years before the release of The Long Halloween, many fans consider them canon to that universe.

Batman hunts down the Scarecrow in “Fears,” rescues Barbara Gordon from the Mad Hatter in “Madness,” and faces his own version of A Christmas Carol in “Ghosts,” which is considered the strongest of the three as it delves into Bruce Wayne’s psyche and how he often lets Batman lead his entire existence.

8 Batman Vs. The Phantasm

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was an animated feature filmproduced and written by the same creators who brought fans Batman: The Animated Series. The film delves into Batman’s origins while also introducing the Phantasm, a brand-new villain who would later enter DC’s comic canon.

The Mask of the Phantasm movie was also adapted into a small graphic novel that fans could take home with the film’s VHS release. The graphic novel was a direct adaptation and was also illustrated by the creative team that worked on Batman Adventures at the time–a comic adaptation of Batman: The Animated Series. Like The Long Halloween, Mask of the Phantasm sees Batman investigating a killer who targets crime bosses based on some vendetta and personal grudge.

7 Loeb & Sale Return To The Long Halloween

Almost two decades after the release of Dark Victory, Loeb and Sale teamed up again to create the Batman: The Long Halloween Special one-shot. This special is a sequel to The Long Halloween and features many of the same key players, from Calendar Man to Gilda Dent and Two-Face.

The Long Halloween Special one-shot didn’t quite have the same cultural impact as its predecessor, but it didn’t need to. The special served as a sort of reunion for these two creators, bringing fans back into The Long Halloween universe.

6 The Long Halloween Universe Continues!

It’s clear that The Long Halloween Special was supposed to be the first of many more things to come. The story, after all, was reprinted in Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween #0, serving as a prelude to the rest of the 10-issue miniseries.

Jeph Loeb will collaborate with a different artist for every issue to continue the stories first established in The Long Halloween. Tim Sale tragically passed away before this project could come to fruition, but his artwork will still appear on the covers of every issue. DC is publishing The Last Halloween now so readers can enjoy the series’ monthly release.

5 Batman Vs. Two-Face In An Alternate DC Universe

When Geoff Johns crafted Batman: Earth One, it’s clear he was partially inspired by Loeb and Sale’s work on The Long Halloween. The Earth One series was divided into three graphic novels, each focusing on a young Batman struggling against alternate versions of his classic foes.

The similarities to The Long Halloween arise in volumes two and three when Harvey Dent and Jessica Dent start to play larger roles. Earth One also centers around several murder mysteries with twists and reveals, much like The Long Halloween. Two-Face fans will want to read both, as both comics alter Harvey Dent’s origins.

4 Batman’s Greatest Elseworlds Adventure

Both The Long Halloween and Gotham by Gaslight take place outside of DC’s main canon, allowing the writers and artists creative freedom to tell whatever Batman story they wanted to. Batman hunts the Holiday Killer in The Long Halloween, and he faces Jack the Ripper in an alternate version of the DC Universe that places the Dark Knight in England.

Gotham by Gaslight is a fantastic mystery that incorporates both Batman and Bruce Wayne into the larger murder mystery. In both comics, readers sit with Bruce Wayne and feel like they’re solving the mystery alongside the Dark Knight Detective.

3 Batman Recruits Robin After The Long Halloween

Readers who loved The Long Halloween should definitely check out its direct sequel, Dark Victory. It’s only natural. After Batman discovered the identity of the Holiday Killer, he’s faced with a new threat: The Hangman.

Dark Victory follows a similar structure to The Long Halloween––Batman faces a new killer over many months while interacting with his iconic villains. Robin truly sets Dark Victory apart from The Long Halloween. Dark Victory serves as both a direct sequel to The Long Halloween and a revamped origin story for Dick Grayson in this universe.

2 Batman, Joker, Superman & The Mystery Of Hush

The Long Halloween and “Hush” have so much in common. For starters, both stories were written by Jeph Loeb, solidifying him as one of the best Batman writers ever. Both feature a large ensemble cast of Batman’s allies and villains.

Finally, The Long Halloween and “Hush” have mysteries at their cores. Batman struggles to find the identity of the Holiday Killer in The Long Halloween while also investigating the identity of the new villain, Hush. “Hush” also sits on nearly every one of Batman’s “top comics” lists.

1 Batman Uncovers The Mystery Of The Court Of Owls

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s legendary Batman run during the New 52 brought many amazing story arcs, but none more memorable than “Court of Owls.” The Court of Owls were fresh villains, unlike anything Batman had faced before.

The Court of Owls was an ancient, underground society that secretly governed all of Gotham, making aspects about Bruce Wayne’s crusade as Batman obsolete. Like The Long Halloween, “Court of Owls” was a mystery/thriller about the identity of these new villains, how they formed, and their plans for Gotham and Batman.