Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #7 Review

Robin has been shot! And the identity of this new “Holiday” shooter remains a mystery. Even though Robin survived the encounter with the shooter, Batman would never forgive himself if something severe were to ever happen to the boy. So how will the Dynamic Duo rebound? Dave Johnson, who’s mostly known for his cover work, steps in for the interior art in this issue.

For me, the quality of issue #7 of The Last Halloween was a slight improvement over the last issue. I felt that the pacing of the story by Jeph Loeb was better than most of the past issues, and the colors by Dave Stewart really stood out. But even though I found this issue more enjoyable, I still feel that the story itself is a little disjointed and might have been stretched too thin. With only three issues left, I think that the main mystery surrounding the identity and motivation of the copycat Holiday just isn’t as compelling as the original Long Halloween or Dark Victory.

Realistically, I know that this series was probably never going to be as good as the original, considering the legendary Tim Sale is no longer with us. But when you advertise the series as being another sequel to one of the most quintessential Batman stories ever in The Long Halloween, then my expectations are going to be that the story has to be either good or great and this series just hasn’t met those standards consistently seven issues in. Maybe once this series is done, it will read better all at once. But right now, those are my current feelings and they could change once we reach to the conclusion.

Let’s get back to some more positives that I took from the issue. I really liked the interactions between Batman and Robin during the aftermath of Robin being shot. It showed that even though Bruce might have pushing Robin too hard in training so soon after he was shot, it actually helped with Dick’s confidence and helped him get over any potential mental roadblocks.

I also appreciated that this issue actually used the holiday motif as an integral part of the story, more so than any of the previous issues. This issue happens during Mother’s Day, and there were a couple of pages where both Batman and Robin visit their mothers’ gravesites, and I found those moments very beautiful and emotional.

Mrs. Falcone, the wife of the late Roman, returned with an interaction with Catwoman that had callbacks to the Catwoman: When in Rome miniseries, so we’ll see how that plays into the larger story.

Calendar Man also makes an appearance, and his storyline has felt underdeveloped at this point. As the series has gone on, most of the subplots seem to be not going anywhere. But my opinion might change as I’ve stated earlier.

Recommended if…

• You’ve been enjoying the story so far.
• You want to witness Dave Johnson do more interior artwork.
• You want to see Robin do more detective work.

Overall

Issue #7 of The Last Halloween is another solid entry of the series. It highlighted Batman and Robin’s dynamic after a traumatic event and how they both share similar tragedies and how those tragedies brought them closer. The story itself is kind of disjointed, but it might read better once it’s all collected. We’ll have to see.

Score: 7.5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.