University of Panels

16: Holiday

(Glinda Dent; Alberto Falcone; Two-Face)

 

If you've followed my reviews, you'll know that Jeph Loeb is a writer that I will defend to my grave, and BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN! Not only was it an engaging miniseries that explored the early days of Batman's career, but it also inspired Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT through it's retelling of Harvey Dent's tragic downfall from acomplished district attorney into the villainous Two-Face, and the control of crime in Gotham being transfered from the mob to the freaks! A large part of TLH's success can be traced to the premise that it was centered around. The plot follows Batman, Commissoner Gordon, and Harvey Dent attempting to solve the mystery of a serial killer known only as Holiday. With an unknown identity, this murderer made a reputation for himself/herself by targeting members of the Falcone and Maroni crime families, and only struck on a single holiday of each month. Aside from the pattern of his/her killings, the assiliant's only other trademarks were the weapon left at the crime scene (a .22 caliber pistol with the serial number filed off and the handle taped, as well as a baby-bottle nipple used as a crude silencer) and a relic of the holiday that the murder was comitted on. The actions of this serial killer eventually led to the downfall of the Falcones, the introduction of notable Batman villains like the Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, and the Mad Hatter, as well as Harvey Dent's tragic transformation into Two-Face!

 

One of the most debated elements among Batman fans about the Holiday case is to who the true identity of the Killer is, as the book's final plot twist leaves it to the idea that more than one person was involved. In my opinion, the first person to take up the Holiday persona was Glinda Dent, Harvey Dent's own wife, who wanted to have a child with him, but was unable to as Harvey was more focused on bringing down the mob. So she took matters into her own hands, killing members of the Falcone family up until New Years, when Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's son Alberto, faked his own death. Alberto then became the next Holiday, killing off members of Maroni's gang, until he was captured by Batman and Gordon on Labor Day. The final person to become Holiday (though not intentionally), was Harvey, now Two-Face, when he killed the Roman himself on Halloween, effectively bringing an end to the "Long Halloween," as the murders began and ended on Halloween respectively. Whatever way one wishes to interpret it however, one cannot deny that Holiday is the sole reason for the state of Gotham City as it currently is today...