Batman

Who is Batman?

Batman is Bruce Wayne, rich socialite by day and costumed crime-fighter by night. Shattered by witnessing his parent’s murder while still a child, a young Bruce Wayne makes a promise to fight crime and injustice throughout his life. He leaves his home city of Gotham for years to train his body and mind to perfection. Upon his return, he uses his new skill to become Batman. Since then, Batman has watched over Gotham City, and sometimes the planet itself, as one of its greatest heroes. He has been a founding member of the Justice League, been a mentor to four different Robins and three different Batgirls, kept Gotham safe during a massive earthquake, killed the most evil villain in the DC universe, died, and kept the entire planet safe from numerous intergalactic threats. For more information and to see where these adventures take place make sure you keep reading.

Quick History

Batman made his first appearance in 1939 and has been a major figure in DC Comics ever since. Created by the creative team of Bob Kane and Bill Finger, he is often sited as one of the greatest superheroes of all time. Since his inception, he has stared in comic books, prose novels, movies, televisions shows, and basically any other form of media in existence.

During this time, Batman was a central figure as he stared in both Detective Comics and his own solo comic. From his creation until around the 70s, Batman comics mostly followed the same format. This format saw most of his adventures begin and end in one issue, a common format for the time. Basically he would discover a crime, solve it, and the status quo would be returned, all in one issue.

Over time, these stories would evolve into full length sagas staring the Dark Knight.

 

Powers & Abilities

Batman does not have any real superpowers in the traditional sense, he is a normal, unenhanced human being, yet he still manages to be one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe. His power comes from his years of both physical and intellectual training, allowing him to become an amazing fighter and the world’s greatest detective.

Batman, as Bruce Wayne, has access to the entire Wayne Family fortune and uses it in his crusade against crime. This is how he is able to afford the numerous gadgets, vehicles, and technology that he has access to. These funds also typically extend to the rest of the Bat-Family.

Greatest Hits

Year One (1987)

Written by Frank Miller with art by David Mazzucchelli, this gritty retelling of Batman’s origin story has been a fan favorite since the day it came out. This story is a modern retelling of how Batman became who he is today as it depicts the first year of crimefighting. Being an origin story, this is a perfect collection for anyone to jump in and start reading Batman or simply a great collection for anyone looking to learn more about his history and past. This collection will be very familiar to anyone who has seen Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, as the film was heavily inspired by Year One and many scenes from it are near direct adaptations from this comic.

Read this if you are looking for a gritty and somewhat dark version of Batman’s origin story, or if you want to see a comic version of Batman Begins.

Collected in Batman: Year One.

The Killing Joke (1988)

This story is arguably the most well critically acclaimed piece of Batman history and was created by one of the all time biggest names in comics, Alan Moore. Originally intended to be an out-of-continuity story involving Batman and the Joker, the story ended up having large and lasting impacts in comics, specifically in the history of Barbara Gordan (aka Batgirl). This story is a brief yet insightful look into the Joker as a character, giving a possible backstory to his madness and insanity. It also gives a unique perspective into the Joker and Batman’s relationship, asking “will Batman kill the Joker?”.

Read this if you want a fantastic story about the Joker or just want to experience one of the biggest stories in Batman’s history.

Collected in The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition.

The Long Halloween (1996-1997)

The Long Halloween is one of the best examples of Batman as a book about a detective, rather than just a crime fighter. This out-of-continuity story is about a mysterious holiday killer and Batman’s attempts to put a stop to him. Written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale, this collection reads almost as if it were Batman staring in his own Sherlock Holmes story while throwing in some action and adventure just for good measure. Plus, since the story stays away from the rest of Batman’s continuity, it can be read perfectly by itself and doesn’t rely on any other comics to set it up.

Read this if you want to read a stand alone mystery story about Batman tracking a killer.

Collected in Batman: The Long Halloween.

Hush (2002-2003)

Jeph Loeb’s second entry on this list, this collection is a real treat for both new and old fans of Batman. It features a really intriguing and mysterious story, wonderful art by Jim Lee, and nearly every major character in the Batman universe. This story has a ton of different member of the Batman universe in it with heroes, including Nightwing, Commissioner Gordon, Catwoman, and even Superman, and villains, including Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and the Joker. This collection is like someone introducing you to all of the characters in the world of Batman while also telling you a mystery at the same time.

Read this if you want a good mystery story packed with a ton of characters.

Collected in Batman: Hush.

The Court of Owls (2011-2012)

This storyline is the one that launched the New 52’s series. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo, the story was a near instant hit and was given a great deal of praise as one of the best Batman stories ever. This is probably one of the most modern Batman classics and, because of this, is still extremely relevant to the Batman comics which are still coming out.

Read this if you want an intense introduction to the modern world of the Bat.

Collected in Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review) and Vol. 2: The City of Owls.

 

Trade Timeline

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	Detective Comics		Batman
Nov-11	1	Vol. 1- Faces of Death	1	Vol. 1- Court of Owls (review)
Dec-11	2		2
Jan-12	3		3
Feb-12	4		4
Mar-12	5		5
Apr-12	6		6
May-12	7		7
Jun-12	8	Vol. 2- Scare Tactics	8	Vol. 2- The City of Owls
Jul-12	9		9
Aug-12	10		10
Sep-12	11		11
Oct-12	12		12
Nov-12	0		0	Vol. 6- Graveyard Shift
Dec-12	13	Vol. 3- Emperor Penguin	13	Vol. 3- Death of the Family
2012	A1		A1	Vol. 2- The City of Owls
Jan-13	14		14	Vol. 3- Death of the Family
Feb-13	15		15
Mar-13	16		16
Apr-13	17		17
May-13	18		18	Vol. 6 Graveyard Shift
Jun-13	19	Vol. 4- The Wrath	19
Jul-13	20		20
Aug-13	21		21	Vol. 4- Zero Year- Secret City
Sep-13	22		22
Oct-13	23		23
Dec-13	24		24
2013	A2		A2	Vol. 6- Graveyard Shift
Jan-14	25	Vol. 5- Gothtopia	25	Vol. 5- Zero Year- Dark City
Feb-14	26		26
Mar-14	27		27
Apr-14	28		28	Vol. 6- Graveyard Shift
May-14	29		29	Vol. 5- Zero Year- Dark City	Batman Eternal
Jun-14	30	Vol. 6- Icarus	30		1,2,3,4	Batman Eternal Vol. 1
Jul-14	31		31		5,6,7,8
Aug-14	32		32		9,10,11,12
Sep-14	33		33		13,14,15,16,17
Oct-14	34		34	Vol. 6- Graveyard Shift	18,19,20,21
Nov-14					22,23,24,25	Batman Eternal Vol. 2
Dec-14	35	Vol. 7- Anarky	35	The Joker: Endgame	26,27,28,29,30
2014	A3		A3
Jan-15	36		36		31,32,33,34
Feb-15	37		37		35,36,37,38,39	Batman Eternal Vol. 3
Mar-15	38		38		40,41,42,43
Apr-15	39		39		44,45,46,47
May-15	40				48,49,50,51
Jun-15			40		52
Jul-15
Aug-15	41	Vol. 8- Blood of Heroes	41	Vol. 8- Superheavy
Sep-15	42		42
Oct-15	43		43
Nov-15	44		44
Dec-15	45		45
2015
Jan-16	46		46
Feb-16	47	Vol. 9- Gordon at War	47	Vol. 9- Bloom
Mar-16	48		48
Apr-16	49		49
May-16	50		50
Jun-16	51		51	Vol. 10- Epilogue
Jul-16	52		52

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