What batman graphic novels should i read

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. A number of 1-shots. Batman: Streets of Gotham Vol. Batman, Incorporated- Vol. Batman: Gates of Gotham. A mad bomber with a centuries old grudge is out to level Gotham city. This story delves into the history of the city and how that history has impacted the entire globe. Batman: Eye of the Beholder. Batman: The Black Mirror. Consider this the ceremonial passing of the torch from the Grant Morrison era to the Scott Snyder Batman era. Snyder and Capullo books are marked below like so.

If anything, Snyder and Capullo gave us a new great run to talk about for years. Batman, Vol. You have two options with New 52 Batman. DC Comics: Zero Year. This will not advance the Batman Zero Year story much, but will provide some New 52 companion issues. Batman: The Night of the Owls. Detective Comics: Faces of Death.

Batman, Incorporated, Vol. The series essentially continues operating as if the New 52 never happened, which is totally cool if you enjoyed Batman, Inc. Batman and Robin: Born to Kill. Detective Comics: Scare Tactics. Batman and Robin: Pearl. The Joker: Death of the Family. Detective Comics: Emperor Penguin. Batman and Robin: Requiem. Detective Comics: The Wrath.

Batman Eternal, Vol. Arkham Manor. The Joker: Endgame. You should read Batman 35 to 37, and then read the tie-ins above. From there you can move to Batman 38 to Batman Vol. Batman survives, as always, and you can check out the full DC Rebirth reading order here.

This era of rebirth kicks off with a group of talented writers. DC Universe: Rebirth 1. The Rebirth Era begins with a one shot that sets up a couple important plot points for Rebirth including the Batfamily. Detective Comics Vol. Nightwing Vol. Batman: Night of the Monster Men. There is some overlap with the first Bat-family crossover and the subsequent collections, but this will give you the crossover in its intended order.

Batgirl Vol. All-Star Batman Vol. Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad Reading Order. Justice League vs. It also spins out into a Batman run Justice League Team which functions as an epilogue of sorts.

Justice League of America Vol. One of the most important crossover events in Rebirth, this series follows up on a thread from DC Universe Rebirth about the mysterious button. Batman: Detective Comics Vol. A Lonely place of living occurs at the same time as another Mr.

Catwoman Vol. Heroes in Crisis. The collection includes a couple of other Heroes in Crisis Tie-ins, but the price is the only story you need to read for Batman. Mythology starts a new run on Detective Comics by Peter Tomasi which will continue to the end of Rebirth. Detective Comics The Deluxe Edition. The Batman Who Laughs.

Batman: Universe. Though initially intended to be a ground breaking event, the effect of Doomsday Clock was dramatically reduced. James Tynions run is broken into two parts, the pre-Infinite Frontier part which was intended to be his entire run initially with it ending with Joker War. However, fan reception and a major editorial shift resulted in him getting to become the lead writer on Batman for Infinite Frontier.

As such there is a fairly clear shift in his run. Dark Designs leads directly into Joker War. Collects: Batman: Pennyworth R. Dark Nights: Death Metal. Death Metal wraps up Rebirth and sets up Infinite Frontier. Future State teases a possible future that Gotham could face and a very powerful group that will change Gotham forever called the Magistrate.

The world is very fleshed out and introduces major storylines like The Next Batman. Every book can be read in any order, but I believe this order will maximize enjoyment of the event. One of Batman's greatest enemies is Ra's al Ghul AKA the Demon's Head, the centuries-old leader of the League of Assassins whose relationship with Batman is unlike any of his other villains, as Ra's originally chose Batman to be his successor.

Barr and Jerry Bingham that explored his complicated relationship with Talia al Ghul that would go on to have a major impact on Batman's mythology. Batman's extended family includes a number of costumed allies that play a large role in his storylines over the years, and there are a couple of essential storylines that not only affected the Bat-family but also had a lasting impact on Batman.

Batman would stay in a dark place until 's A Lonely Place of Dying introduced Tim Drake as the new Robin, launching a new era for the dynamic duo. Batman would experience one of his greatest losses when he first encountered Bane during the Knightfall storyline from the 90s, which first broke the Batman before introducing a new character to don the mantle of the bat.

After Bruce Wayne was able to recover and take back both his city and his cowl, he nearly lost his allies to plague in 's Contagion and Legacy before 's Cataclysm destroyed Gotham. Batman's past would come back to haunt him a number of times in storylines like 's Batman: Hush or 's Under The Red Hood, both of which were adapted into feature-length direct-to-video animated movies.

Hush introduced a brand new villain who manipulated some of Batman's biggest enemies into taking down the Dark Knight in an extremely personal attack that explored Bruce Wayne's past while the return of the villainous Red Hood a former costumed identity of The Joker completely shook up Batman's world and re-examined one of his most tragic moments.

When Grant Morrison took over the core Batman titles, he took inspiration from classic stories to help bring them into modern continuity while further developing Batman and his family with the introduction of his son Damian Wayne in 's Batman And Son.

While Batman and his related characters weren't given a full reboot like the rest of the DC Universe, the New 52 did serve as a good jumping-on point for new readers while still embracing most of Batman's established history. Batman's early days were also given a modern overhaul in Zero Year while the Super Heavy storyline introduced yet another brand new armored Batman. It tells the sidekick's tragic story with real heart — while also using it to bolster the exploration of Bruce Wayne, now given the chance to be something of a father figure to another orphan seeking vengeance for their parents' deaths.

Here, the Dynamic Duo is born. There have been all kinds of Joker origin stories over the years, and none is definitive — not even Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's celebrated take, which is masterfully told in this short, sharp, one-shot comic that accentuates the equal-but-opposite relationship between Batman and the Clown Prince Of Crime. If The Killing Joke's sadistic treatment of Barbara Gordon hasn't aged well, it's otherwise a thrilling delve into who the Joker may have once been — a failed comedian who was only 'one bad day' away from becoming a raging psychopath.

In a city where half of the force is corrupt, a masked vigilante is a more effective crime deterrent than a badge, and super-villains are a major threat, what does it mean to be an officer of the law? A smart, grounded, and totally gripping run of books. Kicking off a fresh continuity in DC's New 52 series, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's story introduced a fascinating new foe for Batman to face: the Court Of Owls, a shadowy cabal of owl-mask-wearing figures who have been pulling Gotham's strings for centuries.

The story is filled with political theories and uses the media as a mode of storytelling, even including a "rehabilitated" Joker appearing on a late-night show and murdering the host. Batman's violence and methods of crime-fighting become so intense that President Reagan sends Superman to stop his old friend. After Batman stops Joker and Superman diverts a nuclear warhead, the two heroes go toe to toe in the most famous fight in comic book history. Joker's origin story was always a mystery in the comics but was finally addressed in Batman : The Killing Joke.

The story uses flashbacks to explain how The Joker was a failed comedian, lost his wife, and was dropped in a vat of acid by a young Batman. In the present, he also shoots Barbara Gordon in the spine, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Joker also kidnaps and tortures Commissioner Gordon, but fails in his mission to drive Gordon insane.

Batman ends up stopping The Joker and even offers to help him, which Joker refuses. However, he does tell Batman a joke that even makes The Dark Knight chuckle. Although the shooting and abuse of Barbara Gordon became controversial, The Killing Joke is a well-written masterpiece by Alan Moore and beautifully drawn by Brian Bolland.

Thanks to the success of Haunted Knight , Loeb and Sale continued their Batman stories and garnered praise from both fans and critics. The story was incredibly detailed and left readers on the edge of their seats. The art is beautifully drawn and captures the dark side of Gotham, Batman, and all his rogue's gallery.