Happy Halloween, my friends! Once again, the spirits of old are soaring at their zenith, the tricks are being delivered from the unsuspecting shadows and the treats shall be given to the costumed crowd. To help celebrate All Hallow’s Eve, we once again delve into several short tales that involve some familiar figures taking part within various parts of the supernatural. There’s plenty of spooky goodness for us to chow down on, so let us indulge ourselves with a particular comic called…
Published in October 2009, this book would go on to sell 15,242 copies for the month. As for the kinds of hair-raising twists, ghoulish turns, haunting moments and harrowing escapades that lurks within this comic, let’s ring in the ghoulish season and lumber on in to find out.
We open on Bizarro World where Bizarro Superman has tied up several of his own citizens while mentioning in his unique way of speaking that Halloween is the “happiest” day of the year and that stories that await its readers are all equally “happy”.
From there, we delve into our first story that actually features said being as he shares his “Unhappy Halloween” (Writer: Jake Black, Artist: Ibraim Robertson, Colorist: Giovani Kosoki). He begins to “not celebrate Halloween” by doing a reverse version of trick-or-treat as he goes to various peoples’ houses and gives them fruit, instead of receiving candy. While he’s still at a couple’s house, he then decides to “trick” them by pulling weeds from their flower beds and mowing their lawn. Finally, he comes across some children before he asks them if they have tricks or treats. When one of the youngsters mentions that they have candy, Bizarro then uses his X-Ray Vision on their bag and confirms their claim. From there, the story ends with him giving them even more candy before flying off.
Next up, we have a particular Emerald Knight who’s trying to put a spook-tacular party together as he tries to celebrate “Halloween: The Guy Way” (Writer: Adam Schlagman, Penciler: Mark Bagley, Inker: Ray McCarthy, Colors: Hi-Fi). We kick things off within Manhattan’s Upper East Side as Guy Gardner narrates about how he’s hosting “a shindig of galactic proportions” before he meets up with his girlfriend named Tora Olafsdotter a.k.a. Ice and tells her that he’s holding a Halloween party over at his Oa-based business known as the Warrior Bar, despite previously trying and failing to do so due to Bolphunga ruining it for him. She then tells him that the various Green Lanterns who’ll attend are aliens and that they wouldn’t be familiar with the holiday, to which he says that it’s the ultimate time to get scared and that they’re able to overcome their own fears. However, Ice tells him that her friend Beatrice (or Beatriz Bonilla Da Costa a.k.a. Fire, to be exact) has already invited her to her own costume party and that she’s going to that. Guy expresses his disappointment with her decision before he heads out, to which he then contacts his fellow Earth-based Green Lantern named Kyle Rayner over at his Oa-based apartment and invites him to his Halloween part over at his aforementioned bar, to which Kyle ultimately agrees to attend alongside a fellow Emerald Knight who was also his then-girlfriend named Soranik Natu. Afterwards, Gardner then gets in contact with Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Salaak as he invites them to his Oa-based Halloween party. While Hal and John don’t explicitly say whether or not they’ll be able to attend, Salaak says that the Guardians of the Universe wouldn’t allow this gathering along with their fellow Green Lanterns already having prior duties within their own sectors.
Sometime later, Guy’s hosting his Halloween costume party within his bar as he’s dressed up as a football player. As he lists off the rules that one must follow in order to enjoy Halloween and the festivities are in full swing, it’s all intercut with moments of Gardner’s childhood being marred by his deadbeat father spoiling his prior Halloweens by being physically abusive before it culminates with said dad’s passing. Back in the present, Guy and his fellow attendees are soon met upon by Tora who’s dressed as a sexy version of a Guardian of the Universe. It turns out that she never had any prior plans with her friend Fire since she’s already fully aware of her boyfriend’s love for the holiday before she then brings up that Kyle helped her make her costume. After she ends up winning the party’s Holiday Contest, the story ends with Gardner and Olafsdotter sharing a slow dance before she tells him that she has another costume that she’ll be wearing later on. When he realizes that she’s got a Gilligan’s Island outfit, she tells him that she’ll be dressed as Mary Ann and that he can create Ginger with his ring in order for them to share an intimate pleasure with each other.
We then have a brief one-page tale that focuses on Jack Ryder’s chaotic superhero persona as we try to discover “What Creeps Out The Creeper?” (Writer & Artist: Duncan Rouleau). While our main man has his unique laugh, a series of events occurs. In particular, a pair of children enjoying their Halloween candy, a guy dressed up as Metamorpho telling a prankster with some rotten eggs to not enter a public restroom due to an unknown element existing in a stall, an awkward woods-based date and even the Joker taking a bubble bath/shower combo. From there, the story ends with Creeper making his way from Arkham Asylum before he comes across a marquee poster that mentions how his actually identity serves as “Gotham’s Voice Of Sanity” and that it’s “the creepiest thing” he’s ever seen.
Next up, we focus on a superhero team called the Outsiders as they look to stop a bloody resurrection in a story called “Seeing Is Believing” (Writer: Michael Siglain, Artist: Kelley Jones, Colorist: Michelle Madsen). We begin within the group’s jet as they learn from Alfred Pennyworth that it’s their “turn” to take care of something that Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman normally takes care of. Specifically, it’s the Cult of the Blood Red Moon performing a ritual once every three years in order to bring their queen back to life. They eventually arrive outside “Castle Dracula” before the team’s leader named Brion Markov a.k.a. Geo-Force tells Roy Raymond, Jr. a.k.a. Owlman to inform the group as to what they’re up against. As such, Roy explains that the cult dates back to 1591 and was ruled by Mary Seward a.k.a. Mary, Queen Of Blood who was rumored to be a vampire since she led the group for several centuries. For several years, she’s fought Andrew Bennett who’s “allegedly” the vampire that turned her into a creature of the night. Then about two decades ago (which would’ve been 1989), she was killed by a supposed female vampire named Deborah Dancer who didn’t share the same weakness to sunlight that she had. As such, their mission is to prevent the cult from resurrecting Mary. After hearing this explanation, Tatsu Yamashiro a.k.a. Katana was able to discover from his tonal delivery that he doesn’t believe this even though they had a former teammate named Looker who’s also a vampire. Owlman simply says that it was before his time, yet Rex Mason a.k.a. Metamorpho tells him that these fiends are real. The team then arrives outside of the castle as Geo-Force tells Roy to head inside first in order to do some recon before they join him. During this whole excursion, they’re unaware that some mysterious being is observing them from afar. Raymond then reaches the rooftop before using his infrared lenses to observe the ritual in progress, to which Brion instructs him to make his way inside from above while they split up and reconvene within. Markov then tells Katana to take Jefferson Pierce a.k.a. Black Lightning and Violet Harper a.k.a. Halo to wait up at the main gate while he goes with Rex into a side tunnel in order to defeat any guard that they come before they let their team in. However, Creeper doesn’t wait around for them to execute their plan as he decides to just climb the wall and head in himself. They then regroup inside the castle before they’re suddenly met upon by some undead guards known as Familiars. Jefferson tries to attack with his electric power, but it doesn’t remotely harm them and ends up making them stronger.
With their element of surprise gone, Geo-Force tells his team to go stop the ritual while he takes care of these fiends as Pierce decides to stay put and help him. After Brion disorients the Familiars with his Earth Manipulation ability, Black Lightning then uses his own power to manipulate their bio-electric fields and remove electricity from their bodies which knocks them out. Down below, the rest of the team manage to defeat the remaining Familiars before Owlman spots the nearly-complete ritual with Mary being brought back to life. After remembering Alfred’s key tip in that they’ll need to use silver, he then has his comrades round up the remaining beasts. Jack and Violet manage to do so before Tatsu slices them with her sword (which has silver in it, apparently). Meanwhile, the female cult leader places Mary’s ashes onto the pentagram center as the ritual seems to be working. However, it turns out that Mason was pretending to be the ominous smoke as he then defeats her with a single hit. From there, Markov and Pierce rejoin them as the latter struggles to hold the Familiars off with his lightning. Fortunately, Halo defeats them by turning into a bright light and eradicates them. With their mission complete, the Outsiders proceed to take their leave. The tale then ends sometime later Deborah manages to resurrect her beloved, yet he’s furious of being brought back as he strangles her as it’s revealed that he’s Andrew Bennett a.k.a. “I…Vampire”.
We then have a story featuring the Caped Crusader where human-based terror can strike even within some safe comforts in a narrative called “Trick And Defeat” (Writers: Art Baltazar & Franco Aureliani, Artist: Sergio Carrera, Colorist: Mariano Lucas Morales). We open at Wayne Manor where the Wayne Foundation is holding its annual Halloween Charity Ball where everyone but Bruce himself is in costume, to which Alfred then notices that doesn’t seem to be having a good time. Wayne then asks about Dick Grayson and if he’s doing his homework, to which Pennyworth says that the young lad has been inundated with school work due to him also being out on late-night patrols over the past two weeks with Bruce himself. As such, Alfred has allowed Dick to have some extended trick-or-treating time before telling Wayne to act surprised once he shows up in his costume. Afterwards, Bruce makes his way to the stage as he begins the charity auction. Suddenly, the party gets interrupted by some thieving party-crashers led by Drury Walker a.k.a. Killer Moth as they subdue the attendees (which includes James Gordon) before robbing them. James then mentions that his police radio was taken, thus preventing them from calling for back-up, to which Pennyworth then brings up how they need to somehow get the “Bat Signal” illuminated before he and Wayne give a knowing look to each other. Alfred then manages to trip one of the thieves who lands into the food table which distracts Killer Moth long enough for Bruce to free himself from his rope bonds. The perps then try to stop him, yet he manages yet he manages to take them out with some precise hits. However, he’s then held at gunpoint by Drury before being recaptured. Just then, the door bell rings as Walker then approaches who he assumes are trick-or-treaters. He soon sees a pair of kids dressed up as Batman and Superman as then tries to give them candy, yet they manage to surprise him with a pair of hits that knock him out. With the charity party saved, the story ends with Bruce, Alfred and their guest discovering that the trick-or-treaters were actually Batgirl and Robin.
We now follow a particular version of the Boy Wonder who’ll need to save the day against a certain dental disaster in “Cavity Search” (Writer & Inker: Derek Fridolfs, Pencils: Dustin Nguyen, Colorist: Dylan McRae). We begin with Damian Wayne being furious with his dad for placing him on monitor duty at the Wayne Foundation Tower, yet his investigative computer skills have led him to various reports about a fiend who collects teeth. He then manages to go through various descriptions, reports and files before he finally identified the suspect as a perp named Sugar Tooth. He was a dentist named Dr. Sander Sharp who used to operate a family-based office within Gotham’s Metro District, yet things went gravely downhill for him after the Joker kidnapped his twin daughters before executing them with permanent smiles on their faces. This resulted in him losing his mental stability as he then used archaic tools to mutilate his patients, which ultimately cost him his practice. He then became a rogue doctor and continued his cruel performances as he now dedicates himself to “destroy every smile” that crosses his path, since he sees them as the Joker taunting him. As for Damian’s situation, his father made sure that his son didn’t try to swipe any of his vehicles due to them having “advanced vocal authorization and fingerprint encryption coding”. He then triangulates Sugar Tooth’s various operational drop spots before discovering that his hideout is the Koko Candy Factory, which used to be a city fixture until it ultimately closed down due to “hard times”. Inside the building, a young girl is tied to a dentist’s chair as Sander prepares to mutilate her. Robin then narrates about how this kind of abandoned building is easy to break into, yet he doesn’t like holding up until the right time to strike comes along. Just then, he emerges from the shadows and engages the fiendish dentist. Despite being held at bay by a dentist’s lamp which allows Sharp to subdue him, Damian was able to string him up before riding out with the young girl on a motorcycle. Later, he meets up with Batman and Alfred who’re cleaning the Batmobile after it was pelted by several eggs. From there, the story ends with Sugar Tooth behind bars as he’s surrounded and mentally tortured by fellow prisoners who all have fixed smiles on their faces.
Next up, we now get to yet another Bat-Family member who’s traveling the globe in order to do some soul-searching within a tale called “Our Father’s Sins” (Writer: Ariel Thomas, Artist: Matt Triano, Colorist: Michael Atiyeh). We open within a cemetary as Tim Drake a.k.a. Red Robin narrates to Bruce Wayne (who was assumed to be dead at the time) about how he’s been thinking about death “and graves” a whole lot while knowing that nothing seemed to ever bother him, except for bats which he idolized and did so out of love, to which Red Robin assumes that everything that they do is ultimately “for someone’s approval” just as he reaches his deceased father Jack’s grave. In his civilian guise, Tim has slowly made his way to their “secret island” known as Janitzio (which is located within the inbound Mexican lake of Pátzcuaro) where he has some mixed emotions. Even though the island is bustling with lots of people, he doesn’t feel alive inside due to Bruce being gone. He then mentions that when they were here, Wayne was nervous due to him not being able to console him while Drake wondered why. Ultimately, Tim discovered that their shared problem was that the both of them had learned to be children and men. After checking into a hotel, Drake proceeds to walk around the island as he narrates about how he and Bruce last came here to take in the Day of the Dead festivities shortly after Jack and Captain Boomerang killed each other (which occurred in “Identity Crisis”). Tim’s only interest back then was on a particular reverend who was a key figure in Mexico’s independence from Spain named José María Morelos as he then asked Wayne how a single person could do so much for his city, to which Bruce would simply smile in response. Drake then narrates about how he’s forgotten what it’s like to be mystified or excited, yet he’s never forgotten the villain who took his father’s life. He then flashes back to said moment where Tim asks why the citizens are able both “dance and celebrate the dead” while not feeling “empty and forgotten”, to which Wayne says that it’s why he brought him here since nobody is really gone due to everybody looking for their own way. He even mentions that Day of the Dead allows the Mexicans to honor their deceased while also rejoicing in life along with the possibilities that lie beyond it, yet Drake narrates about if Bruce really did believe that since Tim was “too young” to remotely question anything he told him. As they walk through the evening-lit streets, Wayne adds that people do things like “candy and cigarettes” in order to feel better and try to make sense of things. Tim then asks him what he did to make any sense of anything once his folks died, yet he doesn’t get a response as Drake narrates about how Bruce hid his pain and sadness within his guise of Batman. With him not handling any emotion while Tim not handling the sudden rush of emotion, they then suited as Bruce tells him to get immersed within something and that everything he does must be towards doing a single thing. Just as they begin to leap across the Janitzio, Robin asks him if the feeling goes away. Batman tells him that it never does since their heartfelt feelings will vary on a day-to-day basis, yet they must do what they think would make their deceased one proud in order for it to become more bearable as time goes on. And so, the story ends with Tim narrating about how it did make him feel better knowing that’s someone like him who’s also alone. Although he sees Bruce in the wrong since every single day has constantly felt challenging, he’ll have his own Day of the Dead and celebrate Wayne’s life for now and for when he’ll see him again.
We then have another one page tale that features Rose Wilson who will ultimately be seen as “The Lady Who Lives Down The Lane” (Writer: Amy Wolfgram, Pencils: Pow Rodrix, Inks: Marlo Alquiza, Colorist: Andrew Elder). We kick things off with a trio of trick-or-treaters standing outside the boundary of a particular house as they talk about a woman who lives there and how nobody has seen her face & lived, with one of them mentioning that her dad drove her crazy enough for her hair to turn white and that she even poked her own eye out. Another one of them believes that she’s capable of reading the future, yet the head of the group thinks that she’s just a crazy old lady who doesn’t hand out candy and that he’s not afraid of her. They then approach the house as they discover that it’s occupant is Ravager, to which she then takes off her mask and reveals her missing left eye which scares the trick-or-treaters away as she takes this moment in, which brings the story to an end.
Next up is a tale featuring a youthful speedster who must deal with a familiar foe who’s using a famous folklore for some real terrifying torment amongst the “Mirror Games” (Writer: Joe Harris, Artist: Andrei Bressan, Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo). We open with a group of women within a bathroom as one of them lights a candle at a sink & mirror and explains that a certain lady’s name must be said three times, yet another lady is skeptical about this. However, she’s the one who gets put through this as she says “Bloody Mary” twice. Before he can say it one last time, the mirror suddenly shatters and the candle goes out before it’s revealed to be Evan McCulloch a.k.a. Mirror Master as he now holds the group’s youngest member hostage with a shard of glass while warming them to not say Bloody Mary again. Later, the cops have the house surrounded while Halloween is occurring as a few trick-or-treaters talk about whether or not Bloody Mary is actually real all while our featured hero overhears them while speeding on by. The officers then talk amongst themselves about how one of the kinds was able to sneak away in order to call the police. While they wait for the hostage negotiator to arrive, they then wonder who’s behind the whole hostage situation before our hero then narrates about how he knows that Mirror Master is behind this given what he’s hearing.
Back inside the house, Evan had ordered the ladies to gather all of their mirrors and place them in the middle of the room. Just as he then tells the women to smash them, he’s suddenly and swiftly attacked by Wally West a.k.a. Kid Flash who wonders why a thief who travels through a mirror-based pocket dimension is now resorting to taking people hostage. McCulloch says that he’s trying to smash mirrors since he doesn’t know if it’s a specific time of day or even if it’s because of Halloween, yet he’s come across someone who’s traveling through the “mirror dimension” and will rip them to shreds if she gets out. Kid Flash then demands to know who this person is, to which the young girl says that it’s Bloody Mary. Because the being’s name was now uttered three times, the mirror shards begin to swirl and reform before the whole group gets met upon by the infamous being. Wally then protects the ladies before he uses a targeted hypersonic wave in order to once again shatter the mirror and defeat the devious female. Afterwards, he decides to go check for any possible fallout while he also wonders what’s happened to his regular foe. From there, it’s revealed that Mirror Master managed to slip away while mentioning that he’s slipped out of tougher situations long before he became the notable figure that he is. He then chastises Bloody Mary for being bested by a youngster before he mentions that he’ll need to stay away from the Mirror Dimension until Halloween is done. However, he accidentally said her name three times during his own personal discussion as the story ends with her emerging from a puddle and dragging him in.
We then set our focus upon a certain Teen Titan for the book’s last single-page narrative who aims to prove that when it comes to certain parts of the chilling Holiday, you’re “Never Too Old” (Writer: Amy Wolfman, Artist: Jon Boy Meyers, Colorist: Chuck Pires). We set our sights upon Titans Tower where Garfield Logan a.k.a. Beast Boy is shape-shifting into different animals, yet Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg tells him that he’s too old to go trick-or-treating. Despite that, Garfield returns as a ghost and tries to get some candy. However, Victor doesn’t remotely buy it and brings this short yarn to an end by telling him to go away.
Next up, the Amazing Amazon will be sharing the spooky spotlight alongside a few young female heroes as they look into a particular mystery in order to answer a certain question: “Haunted Or Hoax?” (Writer: Mandy McMurray, Pencils: Scott Clark, Inks: Scott Clark & David Beaty, Colorist: Ulises Arreola). We begin with an investigator named Allison Whitney who’s in the woods looking for any sign of proof concerning the Forest Lady. As she discovers a marker that was left behind by the mysterious being as well as the discovery of a guy’s severed middle finger along with some mysterious symbols that serves as an “ancient language”, Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman keeps asking questions about what’s going on in the program to which Cassandra “Cassie” Sandsmark a.k.a. Wonder Girl has to explain what’s happening all while they watch this alongside M’gann M’orzz a.k.a. Megan Morse a.k.a. Miss Martian and Lorena Marquez a.k.a. Aquagirl. Wonder Woman then mentions that she dislikes this program before she has to deflect Wonder Girl’s claim that she’s scared and is actually disturbed by it, to which she then takes her leave before Cassandra brags to her friends about how she’s convinced her that it was real. Miss Martian then wonders about whether or not the Forest Girl is real, to which Aquagirl convinces her that they should go check it out since it’s not far from Titans Tower. Meanwhile, Diana continues to ponder about Reality TV before she then spots the three young heroines flying off as she decides to also take flight and discreetly follow them.
Later, Wonder Woman arrives in the same woods that the Forest Girl is supposedly located in as she tries to assure herself that Cassie was simply trying to scare her and that she would’ve heard about any missing person. She then comes across some footprints and markings while reminding herself about the kinds of malevolent figures that she’s gone up against, along with the fact that the same three young superheroines have also fought along with the fact that they’re also Teen Titans. She then hears a noise coming from a cave before she heads inside and discovers some bloody handprints on the wall, to which she then spots some backpacks lying on the ground as a sense of dread comes over her. Diana then runs further into the cave in order to find Wonder Girl and her friends, only to ultimately find them having fun within an internal pool of water as she then proceeds to head out. From there, the story ends Cassandra and company finishing their cave-based fun before Miss Martian has to be reminded by Cassie that the bloodied handprints are actually berry juice while Lorena assures her that what they saw on TV was just a show. They then proceed to fly away, completely unaware that a mysterious being (most likely the Forest Lady) was lurking from afar.
Our penultimate tale sees the Scarlet Speedster and the Man of Steel having their famous swift-based competition as they each try to make it “To The Finish Line!” (Writer & Artist: Billy Tucci, Colorist: Hi-Fi). We open with Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash narrating about he & Superman are once again in a narrative that’s already been told several time. Even though he’s bested Kal-El loads of times, there’s still the lingering question amongst the masses as to which one of them is truly the fast. As such, they decide to finally answer it via a globe-trotting race with Hal Jordan/Green Lantern using his Power Ring to act as a “Trans-Velocity Observation Monitor” in order for everyone to proper see this contest, which includes both heroes and villains. With the race well underway, Superman is able to be out in front at the start as they zip their way across oceans and dash over mountains while the Flash is barely able to keep up. Eventually, they reach the last major obstacle right before the finish line which is Khufu’s Great Pyramid of Gaza. Allen decides that Kal-El will fly over the ancient structure while he’ll simply vibrate through it as he then manages to pick up enough speed and take the lead. Just then, Superman tells him to stop before there’s suddenly a loud crash. From there, the narrative ends with the reveal that the two heroes were actually a pair of trick-or-treaters and that they were racing each other towards Mrs. Steffens’ house. With the kid in the Flash costume accidentally running into the screen door, the boy in the Superman outfit has to explain it to her before it comes to a comedic close.
Our final story takes us to a familiar office where a trio of hooligans will face a comeuppance that’s faster than a speeding bullet in a tale called “My Turn To Be Scary” (Writer: Joshua Williamson, Pencils: Peter Nguyen, Inks: Marlo Alouiza, Colorist: Michael Atiyek). We begin within Metropolis on Halloween where the Daily Planet is giving a Haunted Grim Reaper Tour of its office, which manages to attract a long line of interested patrons. Just then, a trio of ignorant young men are strolling by while mentioning that the newspaper office isn’t scary while they make fun of the participating kids for getting scared over a “loser in a big cloak” and even call the holiday “stupid”. Kal-El/Clark Kent and Lois Lane (dressed up as the Scooby-Doo characters Fred Jones & Daphne Blake respectively) overhear them before she offers herself and her husband to provide them with a private tour of the office so that they can meet the Grim Reaper up close, to which the guys accept. They all make their way to the 80th Floor before Lois mentions that while the famed newspaper has had plenty of prior editors and writers who’ve worked themselves to death, none of them are as remotely scary as the Grim Reaper who hates how the city is full of hope and searches the hallways for any victim who replace those who were able to elude him. In part, she mentions a particular legend in which the being claims three young souls every year to temper his own hunger. However, the young men aren’t remotely buying her claims. Suddenly, they’re met upon by the Grim Reaper as Clark pretends to trip and fall while the guys fail to hide from the being’s intense heat, bone-chilling cold and forceful winds. He then shifts into his most intimidating and skeletal form as it succeeds in scaring the young men out of the building before it thanks Lane and vanishes. Soon enough, it’s revealed that Superman was pretending to be the Grim Reaper as he used his powers in part of the performance while also using his super-speed to zip back-and-forth as Clark. He then admits to taking some joy out of this as he mentions that Bruce can be scary for the whole year, yet Halloween is his time to be scary. From there, the narrative ends with Lois asking him how he made that final and frightening Grim Reaper form to which Clark says that it wasn’t him.
We then return to Bizarro World where Bizarro Superman flies to his planet’s version of the Daily Planet in order to put on his “costume” for his paper’s Halloween Party, to which everyone is wearing regular suits and dresses. As Bizarro reaches his desk, Bizarro Lois mentions how he’s standing on a jack-o-lantern which serves as the world’s version of standing under the mistletoe since they proceed to share a kiss. Bizarro Jimmy Olsen then decides to take his picture for a Halloween card as the comic ends with him enjoying the celebration alongside Bizarro version of then-DC Comics staff.
Overall, this was a fascinating collection of spooky or spook-related stories. Bizarro’s initial story along with his bookending are definitely more comedic and are intentionally humorous in their execution. His display of how he does trick-or-treating within his main tale are rightfully bizarre, while the oddly unique way that he and Bizarro Lois do their version of the Mistletoe for Halloween served as a funny way to close this comic out. Although there isn’t any follow-up to the cover & the initial page of him comedically having others tied up while he reads them these stories and the final joke of him giving kids some odd candy when they already have actual candy was the weakest joke from his time here, the majority of his time within the book was still worth it as he brought a light-hearted feel to help get readers in before he eventually sends them on their way with a comforting note. “Halloween: The Guy Way” allows us to see Gardner with his usual obnoxious personality toned down for this outing, especially since he wants to enjoy the holiday with his fellow Emerald Knights. If there’s any hurdles or conflicts that he faces in terms of rounding up guests, the only major one was with his girlfriend Ice who manages to make him think that she wouldn’t be able to show up only to surprise him in a stunning and sexy way. As for Hal, John and Salaak, they don’t seem to appear within any of the part party scenes as I scoured over those pages and didn’t spot them anywhere. Because of that, it would’ve helped if they definitively confirmed that they weren’t able to attend and it played into Guy’s struggles to find anyone to show up. Not to mention, those moments from his childhood where his poor excuse of a father caused him to have miserable Halloweens back then may have served this tale better had they been integrated in a way where it informs the readers that he’s spent every single year since then trying to have better celebrations of the season than the last in order to make up for that past denying him of a glorious moment. Yes, he still appreciates his father after he passed away but there’s nothing here to indicate that the love for his dad remains after what he went through. Even though it’s ultimately not the strongest story in this stack, it’s still decent since he ultimately gets to enjoy himself in multiple ways alongside his fellow Corpsmen as well as within the intimate comfort of girlfriend. With fine pacing, decent narrative progression and good artwork on display, it allows the audience to have a break from Guy’s usual personality and observe him in a caring, sympathetic and wholesome light. “What Creeps Out The Creeper?” is more of a quick assortment of a few moments that the title character observes from afar before the ending finally answers the title question in a quick way. Given that it’s only a single page in length, it doesn’t have the room to tell much of a story. Not only that, but the first half seemed somewhat scattershot. While the majority of it seems to be the odd things that he manages to see, it’s possible that the awfully-smelling restroom could be him causing some kind of prank that we don’t get to see the set-up and payoff for considering that an “unknown element” was used for it. It’s ultimately fine for what it is as Rouleau’s art style suits the character and this venture, but there’s not much of a narrative setup that helps its payoff deliver as much of a humorous end as it could’ve delivered. “Seeing Is Believing” was a good way to have a team of super-powered young adults engaged with stopping an occult plot. Within the narrative space that this has, it does an effectively solid job of setting up the main situation that our main group has to deal with while also hinting at Deborah Dancer in order to pay her off at the end. Even though it never explains why the Cult of the Blood Red Moon has to wait three years after a failed resurrection of their infamous Blood Queen to try again, the situation has the right amount of peril to be an effective peril for the Outsiders to deal with. Each member of the team gets a fair amount of time to individually shine, though it seems like Geo-Force, Black Lightning and the heroic version of Owlman get more of the focus for this tale. Although Roy Raymond, Jr. does prove his worth within the team, he doesn’t quite live up to the story’s title since there’s no acknowledgment from him afterwards that he’s finally a believer with what he’s just witnessed. Not to mention, both DC and Marvel are no strangers to having some kind of vampire within their respective universes. As such, it’s something that shouldn’t be hard for anyone in those worlds to believe in these kinds of supernatural beings. As for Brion and Jefferson, the former is able to stand out thanks to having enough space to operate as the team’s leader while the latter makes a key discovery on how to defeat the Cult’s Familiars. Sure, Katana & Metamorpho make some helpful strides in the team’s fight while Halo delivers the final bright strike that seals their win. In fact, Creeper doesn’t stand out amongst his teammates aside from causing a little mischief amongst them. Finally, the inclusion of “I…Vampire” at the end was interesting if only for the fact that it pays off the mention of Deborah Dancer at the end. However, he’s a lesser-known character and those who’re unfamiliar with him wouldn’t know why he doesn’t want to be resurrected. Despite those two different hiccups, the story itself was pretty engaging enough through its premise & execution in addition to the decent interactions of our central group, neat artwork and some well-handled plot progression which all came together to help this particular team showcase their abilities amongst each other in order to save the day in an effective way. “Trick & Defeat” is the first of three-straight tales involving certain members of the Bat-Family with Bruce Wayne serving as the central figure of this particular tale. Despite Killer Moth getting the drop on him and his guests within his home, he still proves his sharp effectiveness out of costume in breaking free and defeating the goons, even though he ultimately gets recaptured afterwards. As for how this connects to Halloween, having Dick and Barbara pretending to be trick-or-treaters in order to get the drop on the perp was a nice finishing touch. Ultimately, this works with its readers thanks to some decent set-up, harrowing twists and well-executed action which is all presented within some good artwork to boot. “Cavity Search” fits into Damian’s arrogantly ruthless personality since his “punishment” of being placed in the Wayne Foundation Tower while being allowed to investigate via computer has him discovering a low-level kidnapping & mutilation plot. He’s very heavy on the narration which does establish his humorous situation that he’s annoyed by, the main conflict that he’ll deal with and the main adversary that he must defeat. As we discover throughout this tale, Dr. Sander Sharp does have some sympathy for why he’s descended into villainy since anyone would feel the emotional strain of losing their children in some fashion. Even still, his willingness to harm a young girl still makes him bordering on unsalvageable even though we don’t know the full extent of whom he’s previously harmed. As for its ties to Halloween, candy is used in a small way while the Batmobile got egged at some point. For this tale, the characters are mainly stagnant throughout in terms of development or personal progression while its strengths lies in certain area. In particular, it’s the art work showing off a moody color palette, some humorous moments and the feeling of relief that the reader feels by the end. It takes a real world terror and uses its narrative elements in a good way in order to make it work just enough within the Halloween setting in order to make its experience enjoyable from beginning to end. “Our Father’s Sins” uses its Day of the Dead backdrop to tie into the emotional strain that Tim Drake has been going through over the past several years, specifically losing his father Jack via his violent encounter with Captain Boomerang while his father figure Bruce had supposedly died during the events of “Final Crisis”. He’s struggling to cope with these sudden turn of events until he remembers a prior Mexican trip that he had with Wayne that ultimately teaches him how he can properly deal with his personal losses, which is by honoring the deceased and do what would’ve made them proud. This is less of a spook-filled journey and more of a character-driven tale which serves as a nice change of pace for a Halloween anthology comic, especially since it’s coupled with colorfully moody artwork, a casual pace and an emotionally strong feeling that looms large over this. It reminds longtime DC Comics fans of this particular moment within the universe’s history while also helping Red Robin and the readers by discovering how we can deal with this kind of emotional turmoil, thus making this experience work within a different change of pace. “The Lady Who Lives Down The Lane” serves its one-page narrative with some good build up that makes the audience think that they’re talking about an old lady, to which it then delivers a darkly humorous payoff once it’s revealed to be Ravager and that she reveals his own missing left eye in order to scare off some trick-or-treaters. It’s paced really well, the artwork is pleasantly good and Rose Wilson is able to make an impact in just a short amount of time. “Mirror Games” works a famous folklore rite that famously appears in a mirror within a tale that involved a villain that famously uses mirrors in various capacities. Obviously, Bloody Mary serves as the main horror figure for this story while the terror is carried by Evan’s terrifying encounter with her within the Mirror Dimension and on a certain time & month of the year. It may seem a little convenient that he comes across a group of young women who’re trying to bring the infamous spirit onto their mirror, but at least his paranoia from coming across said being is properly felt by those ladies. Also, it makes for an ironic twist ending that he managed to elude the otherworldly female only to accidentally say her name three times while being next to something that’s reflective and wind up captured by her. As the main hero of this narrative, Kid Flash is primarily stagnant due to him managing to overhear about the hostage situation before swiftly dealing with both separate antagonists within the same bathroom. Even still, Wally West still brings some wholesome personality to his costumed identity while the story itself is greatly carried by its creepy atmosphere, dark & moody artwork and proper pacing. All of these elements are able to come together in order to help this become of the comic’s stronger entries as this nicely balances superheroics and horror into a singular package that’s gripping yet satisfying. “Never Too Old” takes the notion of people reaching a certain age and being seen as no longer young enough to remotely trick-or-treat anymore in order to play it for comedy, to which Beast Boy does to humorously executed results while Cyborg’s growing annoyance by this is also as effective. The comedy was solid, the pacing helped it run at slick & smooth as it can and the artwork was colorfully coherent in order to make this comedic one-page tale work.
All featured characters are owned by DC Comics.
