By: Anton Massopust III

DC does great animated movies with their superheroes. They’ve done a lot with the Caped Crusader (Batman) over the past couple of years and a few of their graphic novels have made new comics more grown up. During the first part of Batman: Long Halloween, Batman is a young hero who is trying to learn how to become a detective. Two mob families are at war that blame each other when a mysterious killer who kills only on holidays. The killer uses an untraceable gun. Captain Gordon, D.A. Harvey Dent and Batman are trying to bring down this Godfather’s who calls himself: “The Roman”.

With most of Gotham’s rogue’s gallery locked up in Arkham Asylum.  Batman and Gordon seek the help of “Calendar Man” who is obsessed with the days of the week and holidays. No one is sure who “Holiday” is. Gangsters start blaming each other and killing each other. Batman, Captain Gordon and Harvey Dent have no clue who this person is. Catwoman helps Batman as much as she can.

Bruce Wayne is trying to figure out his connections between his father and this gangster “The Roman”. All through the holiday season, Arkham’s inmates escape. The Joker is determined to find out who Holiday is, even by killing people on Christmas and hundreds on New Year’s Eve.

By the end of Part I Batman defeats the Joker and thinks he figured out who Holiday is, but he is dead wrong. In Part II, Bruce Wayne becomes possessed by Poison Ivy and Catwoman helps break the spell. Meanwhile the holiday killer is covering his tracks. When Bruce Wayne breaks loose of Poison Ivy’s grasp, he figures out that the connection between Holiday and the gangsters. One of the gangster’s father is killed and he goes to Harvey Dent trying to convince him that he knows all the information, but in court he throws acid in Harvey’s face transforming him into Two-Face. In this new villain persona, Two-Face believes that justice is only determined by a flip of a coin. Who is Holiday? I’ll never tell. Go watch it for yourself and don’t forget to read the graphic novel.

I wouldn’t let you go without telling you about the extras. In Part I, we get to see two Batman classics: “Christmas with the Joker” and “It’s Never Too Late” from Batman the Animated Series in the 1990’s. On disc 2, we also get part one and part two of Two-Faces origin from Batman the Animated Series staring Night Court’s Richard Moll as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. There are also two DC Showcases: one on Disc 1. The other on Disc 2. Disc 1 has “The Losers,” a military unit that battles Nazis and Dinosaurs. Disc 2 is Blue Beetle and The Question. Add it to your growing DVD collection.