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Batman Graphic Novels...recommendations!

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jmdajr

Member
I'm looking for some new batman to read, So so far I've been through...

Batman:Year One
250px-Batman_407.jpg


Batman The Dark Knight Returns
250px-Dark_knight_returns.jpg


Batman: The Killing Joke
250px-Killingjoke.JPG


Batman:Arkham Asylum
250px-Arkham.jpg


and trying to finish...
Batman_thelonghalloween.jpg


It's funny, always loved the cartoons, videogames..movies...
Never actually read ANY of the comic books until now.

If I'm missing something cool let me know. Thanks!
 

Sotha Sil

Member
I've only read the classics mentioned in your OP; good stuff.

You really don't have to finish The Long Halloween, though. Hated the predictability of its plot, the monster-of-the-month concept, and the stupid Godfather references.
 

Captain Pants

Killed by a goddamned Dredgeling
If you end up liking The Long Halloween, you should read the sequel.
vOnbK.jpg

Catwoman: When In Rome takes place in between the two stories and is kinda cool.
xM2Kp.jpg

Hush is another favorite of mine.
jwaI6.jpg
 

W Hudson

Member
jmdajr said:
which one is that?

Its a graphic novel just called "Joker", I believe. As far as recommendations, I really like the Knightfall saga (I believe its collected in 3 volumes), although I know there are a lot of mixed feelings towards it.
 

jmdajr

Member
Sotha Sil said:
I've only read the classics mentioned in your OP; good stuff.

You really don't have to finish The Long Halloween, though. Hated the predictability of its plot, the monster-of-the-month concept, and the stupid Godfather references.

I don't really have a problem with it.
 
Lazy vs Crazy said:
All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder is the only Batman book you'll ever need.

I just finished reading this yesterday. Man, it's pretty bizarre, but in a *slightly* good way. I mean, Miller pretty much just mocks the Batman universe, but I found it pretty amusing. Looking forward to the conclusion! :lol :lol
 
jmdajr said:
which one is that?
'Joker' by Brian Azarello (spelling probably butchered). Stars a nolan films style joker and is told from the perspective of some random thug/mobster/whatever you wanna call him in the joker's employ.

Good ones not mentioned:
Anything else by grant morrison, who wrote the arkham asylum book you already read, tends to be polarizing: I personally liked the stuff but some hate them with a fiery passion.
He wrote Batman: Gothic (older book, not part of his recent run as author), Then three volumes of batman: Batman and Son, The Black Glove, and Batman RIP, in that order. (If you read these and the ending of RIP seems to make zero sense, it's because it bleeds over slightly into the dc crossover book Final Crisis, a one-volume deal also by morrison). Then there's two or three volumes of 'Batman and Robin', then another regular batman book titles 'Time and the batman' which is either just collected or not quite out yet. Then there's 'The return of bruce wayne' which is optional reading in my eyes for ending in a kinda unsatisfying way. Eventually they'll collect his new book, batman, inc. so if you need more bats in a year or two,, look for that.

there's also 'Whatever happened to the caped crusader?' by Neil Gaiman.

I think the streets of gotham series by paul dini is supposed to be good but i haven't read it myself
 
Most of those are trades.

ljk4c.jpg


I recommend picking up Gotham Central volumes. Batman isn't the star, it's more about the GPD and how they deal with Gotham freaks and their relationship with Batman. If you're into crime dramas, this is a really great pick up.

Also probably has the best Joker story ever in the third volume.
 

MechDX

Member
Batman-_The_Ultimate_Evil_(graphic_novel)1and2.jpg


One of the best Batman stories. Blends the lines of comic fiction and reality nicely. I would recomend the novel as well:

41DTBVFJWYL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
The whole of Batman Cataclysm and No Man's Land encompasses 7 trades and really was one of the best "events" ever, those books were simply amazing

Trinity by Matt Wagner was a great mini-series that dealt with the first time Supes, Wonder Woman and Batman teamed up

Also, Morrison's run on JLA had some FANTASTIC batman stuff, especially the first story arc ("I KNOW YOUR SECRET!")
 
jmdajr said:
my wallet!:)

Check them out at the library! I just read All-Star Batman and Robin this week and am currently reading Superman: Red Son right now.

I had no idea our library system carries comics -- it's amazing! :lol
 

Melchiah

Member
Dork Knight said:
Check them out at the library! I just read All-Star Batman and Robin this week and am currently reading Superman: Red Son right now.

I had no idea our library system carries comics -- it's amazing! :lol

Same here. I've read most of Vertigo's best graphic novels and many many others via library. I can just search their website by writers or titles, and reserve them (maximum of 30 books at a time), and they'll be posted to the nearest library. And it costs only 0.50€ per book. :D
 
Melchiah said:
Same here. I've read most of Vertigo's best graphic novels and many many others via library. I can just search their website by writers or titles, and reserve them (maximum of 30 books at a time), and they'll be posted to the nearest library. And it costs only 0.50€ per book. :D

You have to pay? That sucks! It's totally free where I'm at. Blows my mind! :D
 

Melchiah

Member
Bleepey said:

I should hunt this down, as I've only read the aftermath.


Dork Knight said:
You have to pay? That sucks! It's totally free where I'm at. Blows my mind! :D

Do they deliver the books to the library nearest you? The 0.50€ fee is for the delivery. It would be pretty hard to try to locate the books from the libraries, as there are about 60 of them across Helsinki.


One time I had reserved about 20 books, and when I went to pick them up from the library, the librarian (who was clearly gay, or the most feminine straight dude I've ever seen) didn't charge me anything. :D
 
Melchiah said:
Do they deliver the books to the library nearest you? The 0.50€ fee is for the delivery. It would be pretty hard to try to locate the books from the libraries, as there are about 60 of them across Helsinki.


One time I had reserved about 20 books, and when I went to pick them up from the library, the librarian (who was clearly gay, or the most feminine straight dude I've ever seen) didn't charge me anything. :D

Yep, everything is free (including books you've reserved that are sent to your library location). Crazy, eh? I don't know how it's free. It's just bizarre to me.
 

Melchiah

Member
Dork Knight said:
Yep, everything is free (including books you've reserved that are sent to your library location). Crazy, eh? I don't know how it's free. It's just bizarre to me.

Free is always better, but the fee around here isn't that bad either. Of course it piles up, when you reserve more books like I usually do. =) If I may ask, where do you live?
 
Melchiah said:
Free is always better, but the fee around here isn't that bad either. Of course it piles up, when you reserve more books like I usually do. =) If I may ask, where do you live?

Yeah, even with a small fee, it's still a great deal. Way better than paying full price for something you may never read again (at least that's the case with me).

I live in San Francisco, btw.

I think I'm going to read Blackest Night and Flash: Rebirth next. All the Batman stuff I want to read (Hush, mainly) is checked out! :p
 

Melchiah

Member
Dork Knight said:
Yeah, even with a small fee, it's still a great deal. Way better than paying full price for something you may never read again (at least that's the case with me).

I live in San Francisco, btw.

I think I'm going to read Blackest Night and Flash: Rebirth next. All the Batman stuff I want to read (Hush, mainly) is checked out! :p

Somehow I wouldn't have expected USA to have such good library services. Dunno why exactly.

I'm thinking about buying the whole Lucifer, Swamp Thing (Alan Moore), and Fables series, once I have spare money. I've read them all twice, but I'm sure I'd read them again, and again, and again.

Hush is quite good. Haven't read the other two, but I'm going to see whether they're available at the library now. We've got quite a long waiting list for the newest Walking Dead books. I think I'm the 18th in line at the moment. So I'll probably get to read it a year and half from now. =/
 
Melchiah said:
Somehow I wouldn't have expected USA to have such good library services. Dunno why exactly.

I'm thinking about buying the whole Lucifer, Swamp Thing (Alan Moore), and Fables series, once I have spare money. I've read them all twice, but I'm sure I'd read them again, and again, and again.

Hush is quite good. Haven't read the other two, but I'm going to see whether they're available at the library now. We've got quite a long waiting list for the newest Walking Dead books. I think I'm the 18th in line at the moment. So I'll probably get to read it a year and half from now. =/

Haha! Yeah, I'm 5th in line for the first Walking Dead book. It'll prolly take me 2 years to finish that series! :lol

BTW: If you haven't read Y: The Last Man yet, I recommend that. Great series, but it's a *lot* of books (I think 10 or 12). Hopefully you won't have to wait for those. :D
 

tim1138

Member
Dork Knight said:
Yeah, even with a small fee, it's still a great deal. Way better than paying full price for something you may never read again (at least that's the case with me).

I live in San Francisco, btw.

I think I'm going to read Blackest Night and Flash: Rebirth next. All the Batman stuff I want to read (Hush, mainly) is checked out! :p

If you're going to read Blackest Night you should probably track down at least the Green Lantern lead ins (Sinestro Corp Wars, Rage of the Red Lanterns, Agent Orange) if not all of the collections of Johns' run to date.

And yes the public library system is a wonderful thing.
 

Melchiah

Member
Dork Knight said:
Haha! Yeah, I'm 5th in line for the first Walking Dead book. It'll prolly take me 2 years to finish that series! :lol

BTW: If you haven't read Y: The Last Man yet, I recommend that. Great series, but it's a *lot* of books (I think 10 or 12). Hopefully you won't have to wait for those. :D

Loved The Walkind Dead graphic novels far more than the TV series.

I've read all Y: The Last Man books, that the libraries here had. I think ten of them. How many books have been released so far? It was ok, but not really one of my favorites. I think every book had similar plot devices; they meet some people, the guy is spotted, there's trouble. =P
 

tim1138

Member
Melchiah said:
Loved The Walkind Dead graphic novels far more than the TV series.

I've read all Y: The Last Man books, that the libraries here had. I think ten of them. How many books have been released so far? It was ok, but not really one of my favorites. I think every book had similar plot devices; they meet some people, the guy is spotted, there's trouble. =P

There's just the 10 of the paperback collections--it was a 60 issue series.
 
tim1138 said:
If you're going to read Blackest Night you should probably track down at least the Green Lantern lead ins (Sinestro Corp Wars, Rage of the Red Lanterns, Agent Orange) if not all of the collections of Johns' run to date.

And yes the public library system is a wonderful thing.

I was thinking about starting a thread to ask if I should read the books leading up to Blackest Night, because my library does have them. You really think it's worth it? I read Green Lantern: Rebirth and I dug that.

So what's the order to Blackest Night lead-ins?

1. Sinestro Corp Wars
2. Rage of the Red Lanterns
3. Agent Orange

???
 
WascallyWabbit said:
The whole of Batman Cataclysm and No Man's Land encompasses 7 trades and really was one of the best "events" ever, those books were simply amazing

I'm surprised it took so long for somebody to mention Cataclysm/No Man's Land. Absolutely superb, and it shows Batman dealing with a situation that is completely out of his control (an earthquake that completely and utterly destroys Gotham City). I also really liked how
Lex Luthor
eventually shows up and plays a pretty important role.
 

Melchiah

Member
tim1138 said:
There's just the 10 of the paperback collections--it was a 60 issue series.

I've probably not read all of them then, because I remember the story being left unfinished;
the guy went to search his girlfriend in Paris
, IIRC.

As we're derailing the thread and talking about other graphic novels than Batman, I recommend Alan Moore's Top 10 to everyone. It's a highly entertaining take on super heroes. From the darker side of comics, I'd recommend Warren Ellis' Desolation Jones, and Garth Ennis' Boys.
 
Melchiah said:
I've probably not read all of them then, because I remember the story being left unfinished;
the guy went to search his girlfriend in Paris
, IIRC.

As we're derailing the thread and talking about other graphic novels than Batman, I recommend Alan Moore's Top 10 to everyone. It's a highly entertaining take on super heroes. From the darker side of comics, I'd recommend Warren Ellis' Desolation Jones, and Garth Ennis' Boys.

Yeah, you definitely didn't finish Y: The Last Man. The ending is kinda disappointing, so maybe you're better off not finishing it. :lol :lol
 

Melchiah

Member
Dork Knight said:
Yeah, you definitely didn't finish Y: The Last Man. The ending is kinda disappointing, so maybe you're better off not finishing it. :lol :lol

Just checked, I'm the 1st in line waiting for the last one of them. No wonder I haven't read it yet then. And apparently I'm not the 18th, but the 4th in line for the Walking Dead. =)


Frackh said:
I would also recommend Gotham by Gaslight. I thought that was a great book.

250px-Gotham_by_Gaslight.jpg

Isn't that the one with the Riddler? If so, it's quite good.
 

Zachack

Member
Dork Knight said:
I was thinking about starting a thread to ask if I should read the books leading up to Blackest Night, because my library does have them. You really think it's worth it? I read Green Lantern: Rebirth and I dug that.

So what's the order to Blackest Night lead-ins?

1. Sinestro Corp Wars
2. Rage of the Red Lanterns
3. Agent Orange

???
The problem is that almost everything from Rebirth/GLC Recharge leads to BN. For GL you should read Rebirth, No Fear, Revenge of the GL, and Wanted (although I think one of those three can be skipped). For GLC it's Recharge, To be a Lantern, and Dark Side of Green.

Then Sinestro (it weaves through GL and GLC).

Then back to GL with Secret Origins (which ties into Rage of the Red Lanterns), then Rage, then Agent Orange, with GLC covering Ring Quest, Sins of the Star Sapphire, and Emerald Eclipse. Then off to BN.

Fortunately the GLC stuff is basically as good as the GL books.
 

tim1138

Member
Dork Knight said:
I was thinking about starting a thread to ask if I should read the books leading up to Blackest Night, because my library does have them. You really think it's worth it? I read Green Lantern: Rebirth and I dug that.

So what's the order to Blackest Night lead-ins?

1. Sinestro Corp Wars
2. Rage of the Red Lanterns
3. Agent Orange

???
If you like Rebirth and your library has the rest, I would just read them in order and go that route. If you just want to dive into Blackest Night than yeah, go Sinestro Corp War (volumes 1 and 2), Rage of the Red Lanterns, Agent Orange, and then into Blackest Night. If they have Green Lantern: Blackest Night grab that as well.
 
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