Watch Batman: The Long Halloween!

There was a time, believe it or not, when Jeph Loeb was a competent writer. Just like Frank Miller, Loeb wrote some of the seminal Batman arcs of a particular era before turning into a complete hack.

Hell, the character of Commissioner Loeb – the predecessor of Jim Gordon at that position – was named after the scribe most famous for gems like Teen Wolf 2 and Commando.

One of his most famous works was Batman: The Long Halloween from 1996. The arc was a followup to he and artist Tim Sale’s Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween specials and was collected as one of DC’s Absolute Editions.

The story is set as a direct continuation of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One (but not the equally brilliant Year Two, for some reason) and follows the Dark Knight as he, Gordon and still District Attorney Harvey Dent try to solve a series of grisly, holiday-themed Murders.

Gotham’s guardians are torn between the murderous rampage of the villain named Holiday while trying to put out the fire between the Falcone and Maroni crime families. A gang war would surely tear Gotham apart, but the clock is ticking toward Halloween and another murder.

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The story also elevates the once-lame Calendar Man to an important role in Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery, as he’s the only person who knows Holiday’s identity. All the while Harvey Dent is spiraling into the  madness that leads him to become my favorite Bat-villain, Two-Face.

Think of the story as what Gotham should be, but isn’t.

Well, now you can catch up on the classic tale without having to go to the comic shop (though you still should). Someone has spent time creating a YouTube video of the whole book so it can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime.

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Enjoy, Bat-fans! Happy Halloween!