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Should I read the Batman: Knightfall trilogy?

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hidys

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So I've recently been buying and reading a ton of Batman graphic novels. I just finished reading A Death in the Family and A Lonely Place of Dying and rather enjoyed both stories. Knightfall is clearly a very iconic story but it is long as shit. For those reading this who are unfamiliar this arc is three university text books long.

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So for those who are familiar with the material should I skip this story arc or should I get these massive trades and read them?
 
It's enjoyable enough, but nothing great. The story can really drag at points. Total 90s comic story.

You might want to wait on the omnibi that are coming out next year. Personally, I'm skipping the omnibi since I doubt I'll reread Knightfall.
 
No one is forcing you to read it, there's no deadline. Do whatever you want to do.

Knightfall is essential though if you're at all interested in Bane.
 
The storyline starts off pretty good but gets increasingly more rickety as it unfolds. It loses steam in Volume 2 and it doesn't make much of a recovery, to be honest, but if you're interested in Bane's origins, it's worth a read .

Also, the volumes omit some relevant issues as to what certain characters were up to while the spotlight was elsewhere; it's pretty noticeable, from what I remember, sort of a "Oh, I guess this is just how it's going to be" kind of thing when the book leaves something unanswered. It wasn't the end of the world while reading it, but it would have been nice to have some clarity on a couple things.
 
I've just been reading this recently.

It definitely suffers for being a bit drawn out and unfocused, because it's a big multi-comic event rather than a concise story. I've not read loads of Batman, but it reminded me of Cataclysm/No Man's Land in that regard (although I preferred Cataclysm/No Man's Land to Knightfall).

There's lots of other stuff that I'd recommend reading first. Off the top of my head:

Long Halloween/Haunted Knight/Dark Victory.
Ego.
Year One.
Dark Knight Returns.
Court of the Owls.

Edit: The Heart of Hush is good too.
 
It's pretty good, but as far as megalithic Batman arcs go, it's potentially skippable. If you want to do a megalithic arc, No Man's Land is more interesting. Although it's also drawn-out and messy.

And if you just want something focused and fun, read all the Snyder books starting with The Court of Owls.
 
No Man's Land is better written and a more interesting story, but I still quite liked Knightfall and think it's worth a read. It's fairly long, but it's still a quick read.
 
LewieP said:
I've just been reading this recently.

It definitely suffers for being a bit drawn out and unfocused, because it's a big multi-comic event rather than a concise story. I've not read loads of Batman, but it reminded me of Cataclysm/No Man's Land in that regard (although I preferred Cataclysm/No Man's Land to Knightfall).

There's lots of other stuff that I'd recommend reading first. Off the top of my head:

Long Halloween/Haunted Knight/Dark Victory.
Ego.
Year One.
Dark Knight Returns.
Court of the Owls.

Edit: The Heart of Hush is good too.
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I still need to get around to reading Long Halloween. I've heard nothing but great things.
 
Black Mirror is another I'd add to the recommend list.

As for Knightfall, the last time I read it was right before Rises came out, and I remember that the first volume is great, the second is okay, and the third is some garbage.
 
Firemind said:
Still a better Bats than Dickbat.
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90s kid me LOVED Azrael and Azbats.
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The full-mask, the armor, the spikey bits, the claws... He's pure, 90s angsty darkness in its most distilled form.

As an adult, though? Dickbats is best Bats, by far.
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His dynamic with Damien Wayne as Robin is without question one of the strongest runs in the whole series, and I hold The Black Mirror up as one of the best Batman stories, alongside The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, and The Dark Knight Returns.
 
Loved reading it in the 90's. Thought it was an awesome arc back then. I say 'yes' read it, but if you do, read 'Vengeance of Bane' first. There's no good origin on Bane in Knightfall, and that book is a pertinent set up to the entire arc (and it's a pretty awesome book).
 
The buildup of the first half of Knightfall is better than all the rest, but its mildly worth reading the whole thing. One problem with that collection set is that it doesn't have the whole story. In the original issues, KnightQuest, the middle part of the story, was divided in to two parallel stories: KnightQuest: The Crusade, which details Azrael's activities as Batman, and KnightQuest: The Search, which follows Bruce Wayne's search for Shondra Kinsolving, his doctor and budding love interest. The collected editions do not include The Search for some reason, so Bruce Wayne's situation at the beginning of the final KnightsEnd arc kind of comes out of nowhere.

And as others are saying, you'll want to read Vengeance of Bane and Sword of Azrael first to get a handle on where those two guys are coming from, as Knightfall doesn't bother to explain much about them.
 
MattKeil said:
The buildup of the first half of Knightfall is better than all the rest, but its mildly worth reading the whole thing. One problem with that collection set is that it doesn't have the whole story. In the original issues, KnightQuest, the middle part of the story, was divided in to two parallel stories: KnightQuest: The Crusade, which details Azrael's activities as Batman, and KnightQuest: The Search, which follows Bruce Wayne's search for Shondra Kinsolving, his doctor and budding love interest. The collected editions do not include The Search for some reason, so Bruce Wayne's situation at the beginning of the final KnightsEnd arc kind of comes out of nowhere.

And as others are saying, you'll want to read Vengeance of Bane and Sword of Azrael first to get a handle on where those two guys are coming from, as Knightfall doesn't bother to explain much about them.
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Oh yeah! Good call on Knightsquest and Sword of Azrael. Totally forgot about those. I remember Knightsquest being a little boring and lame for obvious reasons, but Sword of Azrael was pretty good.
 
So I just finished reading and collecting the entire Knightfall Saga. I quite liked the story, but there are some definite points where the story meanders. Personally, I think the trades leave out some important issues before, during and after the event but I'm a conpletionist so I'm biased.

One thing I will say is if you do plan to read Knightfall I highly suggest reading Legends of the Dark Knight 16-20 - Venom.

If you want and individual issue reading order just ask!
 
I'd say read the first and second volumes at least but the third can probably mostly be skipped. The confrontation between the Batmen is nothing great and the book has some stories after Bruce came back that you might not care about if you just want to see how he was beaten and recovered. And while it's been pointed out that the story of his recovery is missing in those volumes, it's also worth pointing out that it's pretty terrible.

If you really do want to see it all, the omnibus coming out next year really is the way to go. It'll be more expensive but looks to finally collect all the relevant content save The Sword of Azreal.
 
I lapsed in the 90's, so I'd never actually read Knightfall. I picked it up recently to see the source material, and man, without any real context, it's goofy as hell.

I'm now upset Dark Knight Rises didn't include Triad Bird Man, Incongruously-Drawn Tax Collector, and Replacement Bats driving around in his Ridiculous Train Car.
 
Does it include the necessary prelude stories: Legends of the Dark Knight Venom (Batman addiction story), Sword of Azrael & Vengeance of Bane?
 
I'm going to back other people and say read Venom. In fact even if you end up skipping Knightfall, read Venom. One of the best Bat stories ever in my opinion.
 
I'd say skip it or only read the first volume. It's pure 90s garbage for the most part and it's a real shame that Jim Aparo had to draw that shit, what a waste.

From the same era, while also very dated, I find the Death and especially the Return of Superman to be much better. It's certainly not superhero comics at their best but it's a really fun read.

Sword of Azrael is pretty cool though, Quesada was fucking incredible in the 90s. If you want Batman events: Contagion, No Man's Land, Bruce Wayne: Murderer and War Games are worth reading.
 
TruHero said:
I still need to get around to reading Long Halloween. I've heard nothing but great things.
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Oh man, you gotta check that out when you have a chance. One of my favorite comics ever, best Batman thing I've read and just an all around fantastic piece of art. Cannot recommend it enough.

I got through the first couple of volumes of Knightfall and gave up. The section that gets dragged out when Batman
gets the fuck beat out of him and is useless
was terrible and sapped my ability to go on. I've read a lot of the 'classic' Batman arcs and this has easily been the worst one.

Still stuff to enjoy in it I guess but overall I wouldn't have devoted the time to reading it that I did.
 
I think volume 1 is pretty good. Bit as others have said, it kinda loses it from volume 2 onwards.
Plus the artwork and colours are gross, IMO.
 
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