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[GDJustin]

Batman: Arkham City has gotten me in the mood for reading some Batman. The problem? I'm not a comic book nerd. So I'm not interested in reading Detective Comics #800+, or the New 52 Batman, etc.

Hey... don't give me that look. There's only so many hours of the day and I don't have the time to add comics onto the nerd pursuit pile.

Luckily I happen to know that Batman has a wider selection of stand alone or nearly stand alone graphic novels than many superheroes. I found a few top lists:

http://comics.ign.com/articles/624/624619p5.html
http://blog.flipkart.com/top-ten-greatest-batman-graphic-novels-frank-miller-jeph-loeb-alan-moore
http://www.dccomics.com/sites/essential30/

1) I already owned The Dark Knight Returns (even as a non-comic fan it earned a place on my bookshelf, along with Watchmen):

2) Based on those top lists, I just ordered Batman: Year One, Batman: Hush, The Killing Joke, & The Long Halloween.

3) I skipped Arkham Asylum as it sounded a little too trippy, although it comes highly recommended.

4) What others are top-notch? Knightfall? The Man Who Laughs? Dark Victory? The Cult? A Death in the Family?

Excited about all the excellent Dark Knight reading about to come my way

 

[UnluckyKate]

Does HUSH Count ?

Edit: nevermind, didn't saw it at first

 

[favouriteflavour]

For an offbeat recommendation read Astro City: Confession. The Confessor is the best Batman who is not Batman.

Edit: Also don't limit yourself to older books. Scott Snyder is a current writer and his first collection Black Mirror comes out next month and its really good. I'm also a huge fan of Grant Morrison's run which is getting collection treatment in January (three arcs in a single hardcover) but the single trades are already currently available.

Double Edit: And Batwoman!

 

[FStop7]

The Dark Knight Returns compilation

Killing Joke

Those are both pretty amazing, though very different from each other.

 

[powersurge]

I've heard Batwoman Elegy is pretty good too though I haven't read it yet. After starting to read the new DC 52 Bat books I ordered The Killing Joke and Batwoman Elegy just waitin to get my hands on them.

Good Decision gaf?

 

[GDJustin]

Edit: Also don't limit yourself to older books. Scott Snyder is a current writer and his first collection Black Mirror comes out next month and its really good. I'm also a huge fan of Grant Morrison's run which is getting collection treatment in January (three arcs in a single hardcover) but the single trades are already currently available.

Double Edit: And Batwoman!

I'm not intentionally limiting myself to older books. I'm just grabbing what was at the top of all the list. & I don't know anything about Batwoman.

If you have specific suggestions for newer stuff, lay it on me!

 

[Salsa]

you already have the best Batman novels now

 

[FStop7]

This is a good one. The Many Deaths of the Batman. It's not a graphic novel but rather a compilation of regular issues of the Batman comic from around 1988.

 

[overcast]

I really need to get around to reading Year One and TDK Returns. Also Hush... and The Killing Joke... I've just never got around to it :[

 

[RadioHeadAche]

The Killing Joke is great and pretty short too. I still have The Long Halloween waiting for me.

 

[- J - D -]

You've already listed much of the best ones, but here are a few infrequently mentioned ones that I'm very partial to:

Batman: Black & White vol. 1 (each volume is a collection of standalone stories)
Batman: Going Sane (great Joker story)
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight (Elseworlds)

 

[Jintor]

I'm reading the old Animated Series comics, Batman Adventures. DELICIOUS.

 

[GDJustin]

Regarding comic books in general, despite what I said in the OP I decided to look into the new 52 after all. Maybe new #1s would be a good time to actually get into Batman monthlies. But then I saw this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_52#Batman

WTF, comic book industry? Jesus. I am right in the middle of your target demographic. Young male. Some disposable income, etc. It's like these companies intentionally make their wares as difficult to pick up as a hobby as they can. Is that Ultimate-style Batman reboot/fresh start still happening?

 

[Maddness]

You've got a great selection going on already.


When you're ready to move on to Superman, read For Tomorrow.

 

[Shogmaster]

Gotham by Gaslight (IIRC) by Mignola was pretty good also.

 

[MattKeil]

Highly recommend Batman: Detective and Batman: Death and the City trade paperbacks. Both runs written by Paul Dini, the guy behind Batman: The Animated Series and the rest of the DC Animated Universe. Really top quality standalone Batman collections.

I'm also a fan of Batman Elseworlds stuff, favorites being:
Gotham By Gaslight & Master of the Future
Dark Joker: The Wild
Speeding Bullets (Superman raised by the Waynes becomes Batman instead of Bruce)
Superman/Batman: Alternate Histories, if only for the Leatherwing story

 

[Mutagenic]

I started reading all the new Batman-related comics again with the new 52 and am now in the same boat, looking for the classic must-read novels. I'll order some of these, they look good.

 

[Pickles the Firecat]

I've heard Batwoman Elegy is pretty good too though I haven't read it yet. After starting to read the new DC 52 Bat books I ordered The Killing Joke and Batwoman Elegy just waitin to get my hands on them.

Good Decision gaf?

Elegy is very, very, very good. If you like it (and you will!) start picking up Batwoman monthly. It's only three issues in (#0, #1, #2). The latest Detective Comics run that Snyder wrote was also fantastic.

Edit:

I'm not intentionally limiting myself to older books. I'm just grabbing what was at the top of all the list. & I don't know anything about Batwoman.

If you have specific suggestions for newer stuff, lay it on me!

Since you're in the buying mood, here is Batwoman: Elegy, which is excellent. And it gives you an opportunity to jump in on a character early, since this + the new Batwoman series is Kate Kane's introduction. Bonus: it's hard to find art being done better than JH Williams on Batwoman:

The Snyder series I referenced above is being collected into Black Mirror, as favouriteflavour mentioned. That run on Detective is probably the highlight of recent comics for me.

 

[KAOz]

Is a must. Probably one of the darker, and more realistic depictions of the Joker. Really good art, like amazingly good, and the storyline is topnotch really.
If you like the Joker, this is a must really.

Hell, it's a must for any Batman fan.

3) I skipped Arkham Asylum as it sounded a little too trippy, although it comes highly recommended.

What? No. That one is a must too. It sounds trippy, but the abstract art, and the way the story is told, is amazing. It's also one of the bigger inspirations for the Arkham Asylum game.
I recommend it strongly. Check out bits and pieces of it around the web, because yeah, it is really good. And shows quite a different approach to Batman.

 

[RichardAM]

I found Hush a little disappointing when I read it. I didn't like the Knightfall arc with Bane much either, but it's still a must- it's too important to skip.

The Long Halloween is awesome, but anything by Loeb and Sale is for that matter. Once you've done it, try Dark Victory or Haunted Knight- the latter is entirely self-contained, a great starting point for any new prospective fan.

Right now i'm reading Grant Morisson's Batman and Robin with

Spoiler

Damian Wayne

as Robin. I love the change in focus and the character dynamics, but it's more contemporary and comes chronologically long after the above. Check it out much later.

 

[favouriteflavour]

I'm not intentionally limiting myself to older books. I'm just grabbing what was at the top of all the list. & I don't know anything about Batwoman.

If you have specific suggestions for newer stuff, lay it on me!

Batwoman: Elegy is very good, Rucka writing and JH Williams on art duties. With the Morrison stuff you have two options, to start at the very beginning with Batman and Son or start at phase two with Batman and Robin volume 1. You won't have a problem starting at B&R as it is very approachable but the final payoff just will not be as satisfying.

Reading order is:
Batman and Son
Batman: The Black Glove
Batman: RIP
B&R vol 1 -3
Time and the Batman
Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman Inc

You can also cram in Final Crisis between RIP and B&R but it is not essential, you'll get what you need in the other books.

 

[Fusebox]

Year One and Dark Knight Returns are god-tier comics

 

[IamMattFox]

Isn't there a good one told from the point of view of various Gotham police that doesn't involve Batman much at all (or any)?

 

[Mockingbird]

Deserves mention for the origin of Harley Quinn story:

 

[IpsoFacto]

How about Batman: Private Bookcase?

If you guys are into Batman's more Detective vibe, I highly recommend it.

Paul Dini is a great writer.

 

[The Antitype]

NO MAN'S LAND

The whole concept of Arkham City, a wasteland of gang wars cut off from civilization, was basically taken from this series.

One of my favorite Batman storylines ever, and I've read them all.


KNIGHTFALL

Find out why Bane is more than just a muscle-bound lunkhead, and actually one of the more terrifying villains in Batman lore.

Find out just how tense and conflicted the Batman and Robin relationship is.

Find out who that Azrael guy is, and why he's such a fucking badass.

 

[Maddness]

Find out who that Azrael guy is, and why he's such a fucking badass.

I'm probably the only guy who thinks Azrael is complete horse shit with his lame ass Spawn Armor.

 

[wackojackosnose]

Isn't there a good one told from the point of view of various Gotham police that doesn't involve Batman much at all (or any)?

Gotham Central.

Awesome series which I would have loved to have added it to my comic book collection, if not for the fact that the climax it builds up to fizzled out into the superhero crossover war at the time (i.e. the Crispin and Montoya stuff specifically). Really enjoyed all of the series apart from the the ending. They really should have just kept it self contained.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb comics are probably good places to start but eventually I think you'll come to realise how over-rated they are. Year One and The Long Halloween are really the only ones that still hold up for me. Hush and DKR? Eh.

My personal favourites tend to be:
No Mans Land
Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive
Batman and Son (and going into the rest of Morrison's Batman/B&R/Batman Inc run)

And to round out the rest of the 'universe':
Batgirl (2000-2006 with Cass Cain)
Gotham Central
Nightwing: Freefall and The Great Leap (Tomasi was doing amazing things with his run right up until Batman RIP forced them to cancel it)
Batwoman: Elegy

 

[Flavius]

Great recommendations in this thread, but one that I do not see here that I highly recommend:

Batman: Prey storyline from Legends of the Dark Knight. A great, classic-feeling Hugo Strange story, with a determined, heavily flawed Bruce Wayne figuring out how best to do what he feels so compelled to.

One of my all-time favorite Batman tales, and I've been reading them for over 30 years now.

 

[Blue Submarine No. 6]

There are a lot of good recommendations here so far ~ I'll just add a couple:

Batman Cacaphony - a cool story and great art, I really liked this book... it essentially stands alone, but if you want to go on from there you can look at Batman Widening Gyre (for masoquists only: it leaves us on a nasty cliff-hanger and as yet has no sequel)...

Batman War Drums and War Games Vols. 1 - 3 - This is a long arc spanning four books but it's worth it, imho... It's a great look at the contemporary "team" Batman, with Oracle, a couple of Robins, and various other crime fighter allies, and several of the classic Bat Villains as well. I really enjoyed it...

Batman Black & White Vols. 1 - 3 - Someone mentioned volume 1 already, and I agree that is the best, but they are all worth reading...

...and since you've already got The Long Halloween, you really should pick up Dark Victory, which is a direct sequel...

 

[GDJustin]

Batwoman: Elegy is very good, Rucka writing and JH Williams on art duties. With the Morrison stuff you have two options, to start at the very beginning with Batman and Son or start at phase two with Batman and Robin volume 1. You won't have a problem starting at B&R as it is very approachable but the final payoff just will not be as satisfying.

Reading order is:
Batman and Son
Batman: The Black Glove
Batman: RIP
B&R vol 1 -3
Time and the Batman
Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman Inc

You can also cram in Final Crisis between RIP and B&R but it is not essential, you'll get what you need in the other books.

I take it these are compiling monthly issues of Batman?

Any baggage attached to that, since obviously I would just be jumping in? Or with a new book runner is it (more or less) a fresh slate?

If I'm still craving more Batman after all these novels I'll consider diving in, but based on some wiki and Amazon reading, it seems a little bit a like a mess.