Recently, before a packed room of comic book retailers at MCM London, DC announced plans to release Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween, the final act in the acclaimed and beloved Batman: The Long Halloween series by Jeph Loeb and the late Tim Sale.

In 1996, Loeb and Sale created the original Batman The Long Halloween, an award-winning 13-chapter saga that spawned multiple sequels and stands as the most influential Batman story of its time. Loeb returns to the world of The Long Halloween for its highly anticipated final act, a 10-part mystery continuing the story from 2021’s Batman: The Long Halloween Special.

For the debut issue, Loeb will be joined by fan-favorite artist Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets, Detective Comics, The Batman Who Laughs), Dave Stewart and Richard Starkings, with art for future issues of the series provided by some of the top artists in comics, including Klaus Janson(Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Detective Comics, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight), Mark Chiarello (Batman: Black and White, Batman/Houdini: The Devil’s Workshop), and others to be named later.

“Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween is Tim Sale’s parting gift to me,” said writer Loeb. “Tim and I had already decided to tell this last chapter following Batman: The Long Halloween Special, which will serve as the prologue to this 10-part action-packed mystery.”

In the debut issue, Gotham City learns to fear Halloween once more as a terrible event threatens to destroy Jim Gordon’s life and puts Batman and Robin’s teamwork to the test more than ever before. In a city of liars, masked vigilantes, and criminals…can anyone be trusted?

“Tim’s unfortunate passing put our plans for this series on hold,” Loeb continued. “About a year later, after speaking with Mark Chiarello and Richard Starkings, my partners on the previous Long Halloween titles, we decided the time was right to move this forward as a tribute to Tim, who continues to be with us in spirit.”

Loeb added, “This story concludes the war between the freaks and the crime families forever, as Batman, Robin, and DC’s most infamous Bat-villains face off against Holiday, and secrets dating back to Batman: The Long Halloween Special will be revealed.”