Batman Comics Reading Guide

Batman Comics Reading Guide

The goal of this post is to provide a bunch of launching off points for people depending on what they're interested in. As such, this is not a checklist. These are just suggestions that hopefully provide some context to navigate different eras and get a proper scope of the Batman comic landscape.

The amount of background behind characters and arcs can make it hard to jump right in (though these recommendations are geared to be more beginner friendly than average), so sites like the dc fandom wiki and comicvine are invaluable resources to catch you up on context. However, you can also learn a lot by just opening up a series and picking up the character cues as you go along.

IF I HAD TO CHOOSE JUST ONE...

Batman: Hush (2002) is amazing at introducing so many important characters at an entry level: Bruce, Dick (Robin I/Nightwing), Tim (Robin III), Alfred, Harley Quinn and the Joker, and Gordon. It also reintroduces Catwoman and starts her relationship with Batman, and explores his friendship with Superman and Lois. It also gets into much more about his upbringing than just the night of his parent's murder. My only hesitation is that it came out right before the resurrection of the second Robin, Jason, and lays the early foundation for it, so it's important to have some backstory regarding that going in. The art and the writing is great and while the story line gets intense, it has plenty of lighter interactions and art. It was originally published as Batman #608-619.

FIRST, SOME CONTEXT

There are always 2 ongoing series about Batman/Bruce Wayne and his teams: Batman, and Detective Comics. Depending on the era, these are either totally independent stories (like they are currently) or meant to be read side-by-side. It can be worth reading collected volumes of arcs rather than one of these streams individually.

There are also a bunch of series dedicated to supporting characters and teams that often have a lot of crossover. There will be info panels in the comics that tell you where a storyline started if a crossover happens, and the wiki/comicvine can help guide you if you get lost.

GOLD/SILVER AGE

If you're interested in his goofy Gold and Silver Age comics-start with a highlight collection! I recommend Batman Annual #5 (1963) from the 1940 "Batman" run. My personal favourite sub-era to read is the early 60s because it is both weird and easy to read. This era was almost entirely anthology comics, so it is very easy to bounce around in read one or two stories at a time.

Prominent Series:

Detective Comics (1937–): It was originally an anthology series but (almost) each issue #27 onwards has Batman in it! There are stories about other characters like the Martian Manhunter, and various non-hero detectives in each issue too.

Batman (1940–): A Batman solo series. Often includes three stories in each issue.

World's Finest Comics (1941–): He has a solo story in the first 70 issues. Issue #71 onwards are team ups with Superman!

Batman Family (1975-78): A short bronze age anthology staring Batman, Batgirl (Barbara), and Robin (Dick), however it really focused on highlighting supporting characters like Vicki Vale, Huntress, and Ace the Bat-Hound. It mostly includes reprints but each issue should have an original story as well. This was later merged with Detective Comics for 15 issues.

Prominent Character Issues:

Detective Comics #27 (1939): Introduces Bruce/Batman

Batman #1 (1940): Introduces Selina/"The Cat"

Detective Comics #38 (1940): Introduces Dick Grayson/Robin

Batman #16 (1943): Introduces Alfred (although his last name is Beagle, not Pennyworth)

Superman #76 (1952): Oh no! There's only one room left on this cruise and we have to share (Batman & Superman's first meeting)

Detective Comics #233 (1956): Introduces Kathy Kane aka the first version of Batwoman

Batman #139 (1961): Introduces Bette Kane aka the first version of a Bat-Girl

Detective Comics #359 (1967): Introduces Barbara Gordon aka current canon's "first" Batgirl

Detective Comics #357 (1983): Introduces Jason Todd. (His backstory is rewritten a few years later however)

DARK AGE

These are a few very important comics to Batman's history and you'll often see them referenced. You don't have to read any of them but it's important to loosely familiarize yourself with the contents.

Batman: Year One (1987): When they reset all of DC's continuity, this was the Batman origin they created. It set a new gritty vibe that some people loved, some people hated, but needless to say it is one of the most influential comics DC has ever put out. Features Bruce, Gordon, Selina, Alfred, and Harvey.

Batman: The Killing Joke (1988): This is a majorly influential Joker story and quite dark. It solidified the Joker's modern characterization and parallels to Batman. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl is assaulted and permanently(ish) paralyzed in it.

Batman: A Death in the Family (1988): Robin 2/Jason's death arc. The readers had voted on whether he would live or die. This was the result. Also published as Batman #426-429

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989): Dave McKean illustrated this!!. That's all I should need to tell you. It is a very interesting abstract exploration of Batman and Gotham's rogues and leans heavily on the horror aspect. I'll warn up front that there is a lot of demonization of mental health issues. It established Arkham Asylum as a major part of Gotham lore.

also the very famous but non-canonical:

The Dark Knight Returns (1986): A hypothetical future story where Bruce comes out of retirement. Carrie Kelley is the the new (and female!) Robin and helps him fight the Joker, Two-Face, and Superman. This is the first (and the best) of a trilogy.

MODERN AGE

A lot of new characters were introduced in the mid/late 90s and early 2000s. These include Tim Drake (Robin 3), Cassandra Cain (Batgirl 4/Orphan), Stephanie Brown (Robin 4/Batgirl 5/Spoiler), Kate Kane (Batwoman), Damian Wayne (Robin 5), as well as a focus on Helena Bertinelli (Batgirl 3/Huntress). It also started a third continuous series called Batman: Shadow of the Bat which ran from 1992–2000.

It would probably be illegal for me to not mention the series Batgirl (2000) here for the writing is incredible. However, the hyper-stylized art may make it better as a series to read later on.

There are many prominent story arcs, and you can find collected versions of them as the individual issues were split accross various character's series. Some important ones are:

Knightfall (1993): The villain Bane breaks Batman's back, and a religious zealot vigilante Azreal takes over for Bruce.

No Man's Land (1999): An earthquake destroys Gotham and the vigilantes work to restore order to the quarantined city. Introduces Cassandra Cain and highlights Barbara, Tim, Helena, and Bruce.

Under the Hood (2005): The bloody return of Jason Todd/Robin 2, very often referenced in fandom

Batman and Son (2006): The introduction of Damian Wayne/Robin 5.

Batman R.I.P. and following (2008–9): During this era, Batman is presumed to have died during a major crossover event The Final Crisis. Dick Grayson (the now grown-up Robin 1) takes over as Batman, Stephanie Brown becomes Batgirl, Damian Wayne is Robin, and everyone else is doing weird stuff. A major sub arc is Battle for the Cowl where the former Robins fight for the right to take over as Batman.

There is also a lot of fun crossovers with the justice league if you'd rather not stay in Gotham, here are some good ones:

World's Finest (1990): This is a wonderful Superman & Batman team up from the early 90s and has really great interactions between everyone's various personas. Steve Rude's art is so much fun and his versions of Lois and Bruce Wayne make me want to cry with how beautiful they are.

Kingdom Come (1996): a hypothetical story about the Justice League dealing with a new generation of morally careless heroes. Deeply influential and famous but more importantly, absolutely gorgeous. Do yourself a favour and just go stare and Alex Ross' art for a while (including in 2005's series Justice)

Trinity (2008): A great look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League. The first half focuses on the Trinity's similarities and differences in what they symbolize. It has a very interesting integration of Tarot too. However, they're absent for the vast majority of the second half—focusing on what the rest of the JL does in their absence. You don't need to read all of it.

Superman/Batman (2003–2011): A team up book of the title characters. The first arc is an all time favourite, and it has little crossover with their solo series, making for a read with little need for background context.

NEW 52

The New 52 (2011) relaunch event made a few major backstory changes to the Batfamily. It unparalyzed Barbara and reinstated her as Batgirl. Cass and Stephanie both lost their Batgirl (and Robin) histories and were completely set back to ground zero, ready to be reintroduced with new origins. It does introduce Duke Thomas/Signal to the team, as well as Harper Row/Bluebird (though she is not in many non-N52 books).

Honestly just avoid all of the New-52 for as long as you can, but if you do get tempted later on:

We are Robin (2015) and Robin War (2016): Features Duke Thomas, his friends, and later Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian. If you're going to read anything, read this. It is genuinely very good and worthwhile.

Batman & Robin Eternal (2015) focuses on the whole family (including Harper Row/ Bluebird!!) and re-introduces Cass and Azreal. It has a LOT of family bickering and team ups. Ironically, it doesn't really have Bruce or Damian in it.

REBIRTH & PRESENT

The Rebirth era and following (2016-) does mostly keep the same canon as the New 52 created. However, following the Dark Crisis event (2022), everyone's backstories were merged with their previous incarnations. It is not clear to what degree this effects each character, however Stephanie is back to having been Robin now.

If you're reading the Rebirth era, I recommend starting with the Detective Comics run rather than Batman. This is just personal preference but I strongly stand by it. It highlights lesser known characters (initially Kate/Batwoman, Steph, Cass, Azreal and Batwing, with Tim and Bruce) but most importantly, it's way better written. There are a lot of batfamily crossover events (like Joker War, or Fear State). So yourself a favour and read the collected editions so you catch all of it in one place.

Three major events happen that effect all Batman-adjacent comics, that (because they still fairly recent) I will not detail for spoiler reasons, however: Batman #50 (Sep 2018) and #77 (Oct 2019), and to a lesser degree Detective Comics #940 (Nov 2016), have lasting impacts on the series.

COMIC RECS

Batman and the Outsiders (2019) is amazing. It focuses on Cassandra and Duke. Read Detective Comics #983-987 first. B&tO is continuing off from it.

Batman: The Knight: a 10 issue series about Bruce's training years and the friendships he made. Introduces a prominent character who shows up a lot in Batman #100 onwards. This is just really great

Batgirls: If you like Barbara, Cass, and Stephanie, I highly recommend reading the first arc of this. The art and the story are a lot of fun

All-Star Batman (2016): features Duke Thomas with Batman blasting heavy metal music out of his chest. It's a series of contained stories and doesn't require context from other runs

Task Force Z: Jason is roped into leading a government team of resurrected villains. It is quite an interesting exploration of his current ethics. The rest of the family do make appearances as well.

And additionally:

Wayne Family Adventures: an official (but non-canonical) Webtoon about the various domestic shenanigans of the Batfamily. It's light and funny and heartfelt and updates every Thursday.

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Lastly, I want to recommend my favourite oneshot, and it has absolutely no bearing on any plot, characters, or world:

Batman: Dreamland (2000): It's Batman exploring Area 51 and he looks like this:

What more could you possibly want?