[World of Bats] Batman: Haunted Knight & Legends Of The Dark Knight #54

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Welcome Ghouls and Goblins to another edition of the World of Bats, the Batman Book Club!

This week, close to Halloween, we’ll be covering some Batman stories set in Halloween, key the three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials, come to be known in trade collections as “Batman: Haunted Knight,” written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale.

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One Halloween during Batman’s early years, the Scarecrow is on the prowl in Gotham City, forcing the Dark Knight into a furiously frightful game of cat and mouse.

LINK: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1

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All Hallows Eve has come ’round again…and the Dark Knight of Gotham City has a midnight appointment with terror when he faces the twisted genius of the Mad Hatter!

LINK: Batman: Madness - A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1

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Bruce Wayne’s tortured sleep is violated by four specters: the spirit of his murdered father, the Ghost of Halloween Past, the Ghost of Halloween Present and a mysterious Ghost of Halloween Future. But what do they want of the Dark Knight?

LINK: Batman: Ghosts, A Legends of the Dark... #1

And for something a little extra, because I just noticed this and want to read it myself, let’s add in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54, written by Mike Mignola (!) and Dan Raspler, with art by Mike Mignola (!!!).

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Featuring art by Mike Mignola! Batman’s battle with a deranged killer in an old Gotham City graveyard leads to the shattering of an ancient crypt and the unleashing of an incredible supernatural force that threatens to consume the Dark Knight’s sanity, his life…and his very soul!

LINK: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54

Let us know what you think down below!

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  • Halloween Special 1: Fears
    Ah, Loeb’s fondness for having the villains speak utter gibberish begins. I do like the little bit of characterization we get with Gordon, though. And the sequence with Batman in the hedge maze is pretty good IN SPITE of the annoying Scarecrow dialogue. The subplot with “Jillian” was okay, I suppose.

  • Halloween Special 2: Madness
    Again, I’m really interested in the Gordon stuff, while the villain just gets on my nerves. And who could’ve ever guessed that we’d get one of the million variations on “the night the Waynes were murdered”? At this point, I’m assuming that Thomas had 15 wildly different conversations with his wife and son that night. But hey, Leslie Thompkins shows up! At least there’s that!

  • Halloween Special 3: Ghosts
    I suppose it’s not worth trying to figure out how these stories correspond with The Long Halloween, is it? Loeb never seemed all that interested in keeping the timeline coherent. Not that I should be thinking too hard about this tired knockoff of A Christmas Carol. These Halloween specials just got worse and worse each year.

  • Legends #54: Sanctum
    Now see? That’s more like it. It’s all a bit proto-Hellboy, sure, but it’s a creepy little story that would go well with Grant Morrison’s Gothic.

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I really appreciate Tim Sale’s artwork; it feels like a great fit for Batman.

From a story standpoint, I thought Loeb was fine. I feel like Scarecrow could have been a bit scarier and Mad Hatter never felt like a threat. Seeing a young Barbara Gordon was pretty cool. Leslie Tompkins making an appearance was certainly a nice touch.

Sanctum was probably my favorite from this group. It sets an eerie tone and it’s a bit creepy. The way it leaves Batman a little unsettled and that it’s ambiguous about whether or not it was a nightmare is a perfect touch.

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Glad both you guys enjoyed at least some of it, @AlexanderKnox @john.21795! :smiley:

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Well, you knew what you’d be getting from me the moment you posted a Loeb comic. :stuck_out_tongue: