Warning: Spoilers for Batman: The Long Halloween #1
DC Comics’ recent release of Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1 uses brilliant storytelling techniques to predict Gilda Dent’s (Two-Face’s wife) eventual capture at the hands of Calendar Man (aka Julian Day). This issue serves as a follow-up to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s iconic 1996 comic of the same name. One of the major story arcs in this issue follows Batman and Two-Face as they team up to get Gilda back.
Over two decades ago, comics creators Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, wrote the famous story Batman: The Long Halloween. Adored by many fans, this story gets a revival in Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1. Many readers, still unaware of the Holiday Killer’s identity, get the chance to see a reboot of this legendary story. After Harvey Dent, former district attorney of Gotham City, evolves into DC villain Two-Face following an acid attack at the hands of Sal Maroni, he and Batman are no longer friends. Batman holds a deep distrust for him as Two-Face is far from the ally he once knew. But, in this issue, Two-Face has no choice but to turn to his former friend as his beloved wife, Gilda, was just captured by Calendar Man in an almost-shocking twist. It’s “almost” shocking because, with the help of genius narrative devices, the comic predicted Gilda’s capture just a few pages before it actually happens.
In Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1, readers see Gilda and Two-Face partaking in a romantic evening dinner on Halloween night. They’ve been apart for quite some time (as a result of Harvey’s evolution into Two-Face). Two-Face is surprised that Gilda even wants anything to do with him, however, in her eyes, her “Apollo” (a nickname) can do no wrong. The panels depicting their dinner are vibrant and eye-catching. These panels are dipped in violet tones, even Two-Face is clad in a purple button-down shirt. Gilda’s outfit, however, stands out in an eerie way. She’s donning a conservative black-and-white dress with a hem that falls just above her knees. The color of her attire presents a sharp contrast with that of the berry hue of the panels. When Gilda answers the door, expecting to see trick-or-treaters, she comes face to face with Calendar Man who captures her. He locks her in a church confessional where he questions her. These panels, however, are the only ones in the entire issue that are black and white.
Gilda’s black-and-white dress foreshadows her capture that readers see in the panels following her dinner date with Two-Face. Foreshadowing is a storytelling device that provides a sneak peek of upcoming events in a plot; it keeps readers on their toes. When Gilda is with Two-Face in the kitchen, her outfit is so striking against the vibrant background, that it evokes a sense of impending doom for her character which the story delivers much later on. The black-and-white panels depicting her entrapment directly correlate to the black-and-white dress she wears and predict her eventual detainment.
Batman: The Long Halloween #1 expertly meshes the use of color and foreshadowing to hint at Two-Face’s wife, Gilda Dent’s capture. Although readers are given a spoiler of sorts, it doesn’t take away from the intensity of the climactic build-up to her kidnapping.