Batman Reccomendations

[AquaParade]

Lately, I've been on a batman craze, but to be honest I have never really read too many of the comics aside from the ones I would buy every once in a while as a kid. I was wondering if anyone here as any reccomendations on some of Batmans best comics that I could probably find somewhere online to read. Something that will let me jump right in and not be too lost, but also has more available if I get really into it and dont wanna stop reading:) Any reccomendations on a certain run, saga, story, arc, or whatever? If it helps I'm a fan of the Joker and Bane...thanks!

[DrSpengler]

Well, the entire year 1-3 of Batman have been retold and collected in trades. Despite having been written many years apart, out of order, by different teams and going over numerous retcons, they read back-to-back quite well (only a few glaring continuity bumps).

YEAR ONE

Batman: Year One
Batman: the Man Who Laughs (Batman's first encounter with the Joker)
Batman: Four of a Kind (Batman's first encounters with the Riddler, Man-Bat, Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow)

YEAR TWO

Batman: the Long Halloween (HIGHLY recommended quintessential Batman book, tons of villains and the origin of Two-Face)

YEAR THREE

Batman: Dark Victory (Batman takes in Dick Grayson, follow-up to Long Halloween)
Batman: Haunted Knight (good Halloween-centered stories from early in Batman's career; introduction of Barbera Gordon)
Robin: Year One (Dick Grayson becomes Robin)


They all read together very well. The Long Halloween-Dark Victory-Haunted Knight trilogy were don by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, feature practically Batman's entire rogues gallery and tell some *really* good stories. I recommend them the most out of the bunch.

Some others...

Knightfall part 1: Broken Bat (the best installment in the Knightfall arc, feature Bane making Batman his bitch)

Arkham Asylum (Grant Morrison/Dave McKean graphic novel; a surreal telling of the origin of Arkham Asylum, very very creepy)

The Killing Joke (you've likely heard of this; a must-read)

A Death in the Family (the famous Jason Todd story, a good character point for Batman)


As for Elseworlds...

The Dark Knight Returns (can't go wrong with this classic that redefined the character)

Batman & Darcula: Red Rain (good Batman vs. Dracula story, the best of the trilogy; followed up by "Blood Storm" and "Crimson Mist", which were good, but not as good)

Batman: Child of Dreams (if you like manga art, particularly Kia Asamiya's, you'll like this; good story about people who use drugs to become their favorite super villains and could easily fit into the main continuity if they would just acknowledge it)


I own a ton of other Batman TPBs, but those are my favorites and the most easily accessible. If you're into the whole origin thing, then you might also want to check out...

Batgirl: Year One (Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl)
Nightwing: Year One (Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing and Jason Todd becomes Robin)
Robin: a Hero Reborn (Tim Drake becomes the third Robin)

[AquaParade]

Thanks a lot Spengler. That definitley helps! The only one of those I have read so far is The Killing Joke, I beleive.

[DrSpengler]

Just to get a couple more off my chest...

If you're interested in seeing Batman interact with other members of the DCU...

Superman: Man of Steel Vol. 1 (the origin of Superman but also features Superman's very first encounter with Batman)

JLA: Tower of Babel (one of the better Ra's Al Ghul stories; he gets ahold of Batman's secret files on the JLA and uses Batman's own paranoid schemes to take the JLA down one at a time; good story)

And if you're into historical value...

DC Archives: Batman vol. 1 (collects his early Golden Age Detective Comics adventures; fascinating for being the genesis of the character and, unlike other Archive volumes, only costs $20 bucks; also good for WTF-value, as Batman uses a gunand kills people left and right)


The five-volume "No Man's Land" arc is also really good, though a bit pricey considering its length. Gotham is pummelled by an Earthquake, all the villains are set free and Batman and his team have to struggle to bring order to the chaos. First appearance of Cassandra Cain as Batgirl and, sicne your a fan of Bane and the Joker, has Bane *fight* the Joker.


Also, very highly recommended, is the "Under the Hood" arc (collected in two volumes, I believe). The return of Jason Todd and a very cool story. It starts out strong but has a weak finish; the explanation of Jason's return ties in far too strongly with the Inifinite Crisis and due to the One Year Later cliffhanger endings, has a poor conclusion.

[raphael_is_cool]

I'm no big expert but you do need all the Jeph Loeb stuff: great story-telling and my favourite portrayals of Batman.

The Long Halloween
Dark Victory
Hush

Frank Miller's Batman: Year One is really good also but the big retcon that took place may make later stuff confusing.

Knightfall is also great (and massive). Awesome story for the most part if you can get over the dated art.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

If you're really into Batmna, I'd suggest you start getting into Detective Comics. Paul Dini is the current writter and his run as been nothing short of excellent. Plus, the stories are all self contained, so you wont be lost if you miss an issue.

Also, if you can, track down Batman Detective Comics 826. It's a Robin/Joker story thats funny, scary, and kickass.

[Time Mistress]

I also like:

Year Two, no longer in continuity but a good story
Batman: Greatest Stories Ever Told
Superman/Batman Vol. 1 Public Enemies by Jeph Loeb
Batgirl: Year One
Nightwing: Year One
Identity Crisis - I love Meltzer, and this story has some big repercussions for Tim Drake
Also if you can track down the novels of Kinghtfall and No Man's Land they're good reads.

[ZariusTwo]

Tower of Babel: A JLA story, but hey, it's Batman pwning all of them (or at least his weapons), leads into a major development for the comic. (Unfortunatly, JLA has never had a good one since)


"No Man's Land", and "Wargames" are some of the best also, and yes "Under The Hood"...for doing the impossible and making Jason Todd the heir to Batman's badass legacy more so than Tim Drake.

[Time Mistress]

Did anyone mention A Lonely Place of Dying yet? If not, that's the follow up to Death in the Family where Tim become Robin.

[Spawn Guy]

I'd track down Batman and the Monster Men. Great art, nice story, and fits somewhere in Year One continuity.