Comic book herald batman

A harrowing look at addiction through the eyes of one of the most dangerous men in the DC universe.

Batman: Haunted Knight

Collects: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloweeen Special #1, Batman: Madness – A Legend of the Dark Knight Halloween Special. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission.

This isn’t quite the classic “plot of a movie happens and then a Predator shows up” because the Predator arrives so early in the first issue, but really, the comic book medium doesn’t have the luxury of giving us time to wait around.

Gibbons quickly builds an on-going gang war that doesn’t depend on pre-existing stories and then topples the status quo with the violent arrival of the Predator.

It’s up to the Bat family, GCPD, and a few unlikely heroes to keep the city alive long enough for the country to come to its senses.

Batman: Cataclysm

Collects: Detective Comics #719, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73, Nightwing #19, Batman #553, Azrael #40, Detective Comics #720, Catwoman #56, Robin #52, Batman – Isles of Men #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #74, Batman Chronicles #12, Nightwing #20, Batman #554, Batman: Huntress & Spoiler #1, Detective Comics #721, Catwoman #57, Batman: Arkham Asylum – Tales of Madness #1, and Robin #53

Batman: Road to No Man’s Land Vol.

1

Collects: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75, Batman #555, Detective Comics #722, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #76, Robin #54, Batman #556, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77, Batman #557, Detective Comics #724, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78-79, Batman Chronicles #14, Batman #558-559, Detective Comics #725-726

Batman: Road to No Man’s Land Vol.

2

Collects: Azrael: Agent of the Bat #47-49, Batman #560-562, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-82, and Detective Comics #727-729

Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol. 1

Collects: Batman: No Man’s Land #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #83, Batman #563, Detective Comics #730, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #84, Batman #564, and Detective Comics #731.

Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol.

2

Collects: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #117, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #85, Batman #565, Detective Comics #732, Batman Chronicles #16, Batman: Legends of the the Dark Knight #118, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #86, Detective Comics #733, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #119, and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #87

Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol.

3

Collects: Batman #566-567, Detective Comics #734, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #88, Batman #568, Detective Comics #735, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #121

Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol. 4

Collects: Detective Comics #736, Batman #570, Detective Comics #737, Batman #571, Detective Comics #738, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #92, Batman Chronicles #18, Batman #572, Detective Comics #739, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #125, and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #93.

Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol.

5

Collects: Batman: No Man’s Land #0, Batman #573, Detective Comics #740, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #126, Batman #574, Detective Comics #741, and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #94

Batman: Evolution

Collects: Detective Comics #742-750

Batman: Turning Points

Collects: Batman: Turning Points #1-5

Batman: Officer Down

Collects: Batman #587, Robin #86, Birds of Prey #27, Catwoman #90, Nightwing #53, Detective Comics #754, and Gotham Knights #13

Evolution and Officer Down are essentially No Man’s Land: Aftermath, as the players adjust to New Gotham.

This could take place in canon, or it could not. Note that this overlaps with the above Neal Adams artist edition.

A good starting place for Bat-fans just trying to get the best and most essential Batman stories through the years!

Batman: Strange Apparitions

Collects: Detective Comics #469 to #476, #478, #479

Immeasurably influential late 70’s run on Batman from storytellers Steve Englehardt, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin.

Nevertheless, it’s a major story that follows up on other books in the order like “The Button.”

Comic Book Herald’s complete Doomsday Clock reading order!

DC Rebirth Batman by James Tynion IV

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. The inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest

Collects: Detective Comics #667-675, Shadow of the Bat #19-20, #24-28, Batman #501-508, Catwoman #6-7 and Robin #7

Batman: Knightfall, Vol.

3: Knightsend

Collects: Batman #509-510, #512-514, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #29-30, 32-34, Detective Comics #676-677, #679-681, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #62-63, Robin #88-9, #11-13 and Catwoman #12-13

Batman by Doug Moench & Kelley Jones, Vol. 1

Collects: Batman #515-525, 527-532 And 535

Batman by Doug Moench & Kelley Jones Vol.

2

Collects: Batman #536-552 & #555

Batman: Vampire

Collects: Batman/Dracula: Red Rain, Batman: Bloodstorm And Batman: Crimson Mist

Batman: Prodigal

Collects: Batman #512, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #32, Detective Comics #679, Robin #11, Batman #513, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #33, Detective Comics #680, Robin #12, Batman #514, Batwman: Shadow of the Bat #34, Detective Comics #681, and Robin #13

Batman: Anarky

Collects: Detective Comics #608-609, Batman Chronicles #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40-41, and Anarky #1-4

Batman: Contagion

Collects: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48, Detective Comics #695, Robin #27, Catwoman #31, Azrael #15, Batman #529, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #49, Detective Comics #696, Batman Chronicles #4, Catwoman #32, Azrael #16, and Robin #28

Batman: Legacy

Collects: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53, Batman #533, Detective Comics #700, Catwoman #36, Robin #32, Batman: Shadow of the Bar #54, Batman #534, Detective Comics #701, Robin #33, and Detective Comics #702

JLA: New World Order

Collects: JLA #1-4

You certainly don’t need to read Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s late 90’s JLA as part of your Batman experience, but the first story is a great showcase for Batman, and goes a long way to defining the character’s relation to the Justice League and the DC Universe at large.

Black Mirror occurs in the wake of Morrison’s seminal run on the character, and features some early, excellent work from Snyder before he would take over during the New 52.

New 52 Batman Reading Order (2011 to 2015)

Following the events of Flashpoint, the DC Universe rebooted as the New 52. In my opinion, Moore is the best comic book writer of all time, and while this isn’t his best work, it’s a formative Batman graphic novel, with lasting ramifications for Batman, Joker, and the Gordon family.

DC Comics is adamant that The Killing Joke remain in Batman continuity, and everything from Arkham Knight to the New 52 have treated this book as sacred text.

Batman: The Cult

Collects: Batman: The Cult #1-4

Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol.

1

Collects: Batman #417-430 And Batman Annual #12

New collection of Jim Starlin’s time writing Batman overlaps with “A Death in the Family” collection below.

Batman: A Death in the Family

Collects: Batman #425 to #429

Batman: Blind Justice

Collects: Detective Comics #598 to #600

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Now known as the beginning of the fantastic Arkham video games, Arkham Asylum is also a beautifully haunting (and immensely popular) graphic novel from Grant Morrison and Dave McKean.

You know, like if he was a diabolically ugly mass murderer from another planet, for instance.”

What Makes The Story Great

Batman vs Predator opens with a championship boxing match, immediately setting the stage for a more brutal version of the battle to come. Includes:

Our Worlds at War (2001)

Identity Crisis (2004)

Seven Soldiers (Feb 2005 to Oct 2006)

Infinite Crisis(Nov.

Donate here!

#1

Batman: Long Shadows

Collects: Batman #687 to #691

Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 1: Hush Money

Collects: Detective Comics (Vol. I felt like the story would have worked better as an “Elseworlds” tale, but make no mistake, this saga of The Batman Who Laughs murdering multiversal Bruce Waynes and attempting to infect all of Gotham is somehow very much in continuity.

Note for those reading outside the collected edition, The Grim Knight one-shot was published after Batman Who Laughs #3.

Batman/Superman#1 to #5

“The Infected” crossover begins here!

Snyder and Capullo books are marked below like so.

Note that if you want everything, including all the Bat-family books and to see how Batman plays in relation to the DC Universe at large, you can check out the Comic Book Herald New 52 Reading Order!

It’s a testament to the strength of both Batman and the creative teams responsible that the Dark Knight escaped the controversial New 52 relatively unblemished.

One that shows the potential of the high concept. Now with Bruce Wayne physically broken and the Predator tearing through Gotham, Batman will have to find a way to beat an enemy unlike any he’s faced before for the sake of his city.

On the surface, a comic centered on slamming together two popular but dissimilar characters seems like a quick cash grab, and while Batman vs Predator is very much a blockbuster comic, it’s a crossover blockbuster comic done right.

The comic would be co-edited by Diana Schutz at Dark Horse and Dennis O’Neil at DC.

Reflecting on what led to the comic happening after so many years of inter-company crossovers being stopped, Gibbons said, “That’s the trouble with fights – someone has to be the loser. Marvel Comics (1996)

Kingdom Come (1996)

DC One Million (1998)

Day of Judgment (1999)

JLA: Earth 2 (2000)

DC Reading Order (2000 to Infinite Crisis)

The Comic Book Herald guide to getting up to speed with the DC Comics of the 2000s.

This also includes all New 52 event reading orders such as Night of the Owls or Forever Evil!

Convergence Reading Order (2015)

A complete, annotated Convergence reading order for new DC comics fans!

DC Rebirth (2016)

Dark Nights: Metal (2017)

DC Rebirth Year Two (2017-2018)

Doomsday Clock (2017-2018)

DC Rebirth Year Three (2018-2019)

Heroes in Crisis (2018-2019)

Event Leviathan (2019)

Year of the Villain (2019)

DC Rebirth Year Four (2019-2020)

Year of the Villain: The Infected (2019-2020)

Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium (2019)

Batman: Joker War (2020)

Dark Nights: Death Metal (2020 – 2021)

DC Future State (2021)

DC Infinite Frontier (2021)

Dark Crisis (2022)

Dawn of the DCU (2023)

Absolute DC Universe (2024 – )