Comics Top 13 Batman Stories

[Deadshot 666]

Honorable Mentions

Hush

The Court of Owls

Robin: Year One

A Death in the Family

Strange Apparitions

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

Tower of Babel

Batman: Gothic

Batman: Ego

Gotham by Gaslight

"Heart Of Ice"

Batgirl: Year One

Catwoman: The Dark End of the Streets

 

 

 

13) Batman: Earth One

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Gary Frank

 

While this graphic novel just came out a few weeks ago and it's another retelling of Batman origin story it manages to take familiar well-known characters and make them feel wholly new and their dynamic with one another is, in many cases, entirely different but by the end they reach a full circle to put these characters in their place in something of a series of "ooooooh" moments that really add to different way of looking at these characters.The changed characters are Alfred who's "gun-toting badass",Gordon who's nearly broken man and the shining star of the book Harvey Bullock who is a hot-shot Hollywood cop who's come to Gotham to solve Wayne's murder case.Another nice touch is being able to see Batman eyes that actually help to make him feel like more of human character than most other Batman stories and like Batman: Year One it does great job of focusing on times where he fails as Batman.The beautiful characterization, interesting new direction,with stunning artwork makes it an easy recommendation and one of the best Batman stories in recent memory.

 

12) Batman Reborn

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Frank Quitely, Philip Tan

 

"Morrison has gone on record as stating that he views this title as a cross between the '60s Batman television show and the films of surrealist David Lynch, and he couldn’t be more on-point. This book is a complete tonal shift from what we’re used to from his Batman work, but it’s also a refreshing break from some of Morrison's lofty ideas.

 

With new villain additions like Mr. Toad and Professor Pyg, Morrison proves that he isn’t satisfied with retreading the same characters from years past; he wants to build up a mythology all his own. If you’re up to it, we suggest you go all the way back and read Morrison’s run from the beginning, but if you just want the best of the best, Batman & Robin is it."

- Jason Serafino

 

 

11) Batman: Black and White

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

 

"Here's a novel concept: Take the best writers and artists in comics, give them only a handful of pages to work with, and ask them to create complete and compelling stories about the Dark Knight. The result is the fascinating, varied, and sometimes hilarious Batman: Black & White. If Batman's legend were a diamond, this book would show you every facet.

 

Some of the stories in B&W are larks, some are very serious. Each shows a slightly different side of the Batman. My personal favorite is the Neil Gaiman/Simon Bisley romp "A Black & White World" which imagines Joker and Batman as actors playing out parts within the pages of a comic book."

"Here's a novel concept: Take the best writers and artists in comics, give them only a handful of pages to work with, and ask them to create complete and compelling stories about the Dark Knight. The result is the fascinating, varied, and sometimes hilarious Batman: Black & White. If Batman's legend were a diamond, this book would show you every facet.

Some of the stories in B&W are larks, some are very serious. Each shows a slightly different side of the Batman. My personal favorite is the Neil Gaiman/Simon Bisley romp "A Black & White World" which imagines Joker and Batman as actors playing out parts within the pages of a comic book."

- Hilary Goldstein

 

10)Batgirl

Writer: Bryan Q Miller

Artist: Pere Perez,Dustin Nguyen & Lee Garbett

 

While this may seem like a odd choice for the best Batman stories since he doesn't play a big role in this series but at the end of the day it's still set in Gotham City with a familiar cast of characters and brings something most Batman stories don't have which is ability to tell fun stories.Why people enjoy this series is why people love Spider-man they share a familiar tone that no matter what happens the story will still be fun and put a smile on your face which isn't that common in comics today.

 

The main character Stephanie Brown is probably the most likely character in Batman universe who is fun,funny and has something to prove as well.The dynamic she shares to the Bat-family especially Damian and Babara are both interesting and make for great reading.It builds great cast of characters and guest stars like Supergirl who makes a great appearance in the series.

 

The series made Stephanie Brown this decade's definitive Batgirl with maybe one best runs in any Bat- book.So it's sad to see DC has no plans at this moment to do anything with Steph.

 

9) Mask of The Phatasm

 

Mask of the Phatasm does something every few Batman stories have done well which is have great love interest for Bruce Wayne that makes people care about their relationship and the character itself as well as making the character emotional.Scenes with Bruce Wayne building up to be Batman and guilt about feeling happy with his new love interest Andrea Beaumon help make this story unique to most others.It takes the best elements from Batman:Year one with him becoming Batman and how he can strike fear in them.The story is tragic it fits what Batman origin story should be focusing on characters and makings as invested in them.Every scene is handled with care with clever writing,acting and animation so it’s sad that this movie was box office bomb due to poor advertising and awareness.

 

http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/smiley-cool.png Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Dave McKean

 

"Take a peek into the minds of Arkham Asylum's criminally insane. Warning: You might not like what you see in there. Especially if you're the type who likes to dress up like a bat and run across rooftops in the middle of the night. The inmates have taken over the madhouse and Batman must enter, fight through his Rogues Gallery, and hope to come out sane on the other side. Each psychosis is brought to frightening reality by the artwork of Dave McKean, the true star of this book.

 

 

Few writers tackle the Dark Knight's sanity, but Morrison does so in a brilliant way. By showing us the manifestation of each villain's psychosis, readers begin to question which world Bruce Wayne belongs to -- Gotham or the mad house? As nontraditional a Batman tale as you'll find, Arkham Asylum is also one of the most exceptional."

- Hilary Goldstein

 

7) Dark Victory

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Tim Sale

The sequel to one of the best Batman stories The Long Halloween further explores the threads left by the original and adds Robin into the mix.Robin addition to the story shows just how much he and Bruce have in common and why Bruce adopted him.It's still like The Long Halloween with the mystery this time about the Hang-man killer and like the original being one the best detective stories Batman has.It continues the focus on Two-face and Falcone family and the war between Mafia and the freaks.This is perfect closture for Loeb and Sale focus on Batman early years and defintive Two-Face story.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Deadshot

[Deadshot 666]

6) Gotham Central

Creators: Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark

 

"The cancellation of Gotham Central is one of the great tragedies of modern comics. Taking a refreshing approach to the world of Gotham City, writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka removed Batman from the equation and instead focused their efforts on the inner workings of the DCU's most notorious police department. The general idea of the series is to showcase how hard working (and sometimes crooked) cops operate in a city that's run by a family of Bats intervening at every possible turn. Better yet, it's the idea of these cops having to accept the help of these superheroes because more often than not, the threats they're up against are beyond the capabilities of a police officer.

 

A crime epic first and superhero comic second, Gotham Central showed the potential of what can be done with superhero comics think outside of the box and dare to showcase a different facet of the world that isn't just dudes punching each other to solve their problems."

-Joey Esposito

 

5) The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Writer: Paul Dini & Bruce Timm

Artist: Bruce Timm & Glen Murakami

 

Now Paul Dini and Bruce Timm are largely know for there involvement in the critical and commercial success that is Batman:The animated series the show that also created Harley Quinn.This graphic novel is not only her first debut into comic but it reveals Harley Quinn's origin story and why she stays with the Joker no matter cruel he is to her.While Batman has a necessary role, this is Harley's book. She is center-stage and shows herself a better joker than, well, the Joker.If you love Batman:The animated series then you will love this comic since it later got turned into one of the best episodes of the show.It has everything that makes the show special and everything that Batman comic should be.

 

4) Batman: Year One

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: David Mazzucchelli

 

" “Year One” focuses on Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham after training abroad for his war on crime. But once he lands on US soil, he realizes that he has the skills and means to fight crime, but not the method.

 

As Bruce undergoes some failed attempts at being a vigilante, a young cop named James Gordon is transferred to Gotham City from Chicago to begin work in the most dangerous city in the country. Unbeknownst to them, they’re on a collision course as their ideals soon make them unlikely allies in their mutual struggle to clean up the city.

 

At the time this story was published, fans weren’t used to such a stripped down, minimalist take on the Dark Knight. There is no Robin, no array of high-tech tools, and certainly no Batmobile in sight; instead, Batman is just a man in a Halloween costume who intimidates the criminal underworld through the use of theatrics and deception. Miller’s script is more hard-boiled crime drama than superhero adventure, and that’s a tone that the character still latches onto today."

 

Without a doubt, the most inspired choice by the company for this book was hiring artist Dave Mazzucchelli. His work on this story is crisp and clean, with the minimal amount of superfluous pencil lines. But it is also incredibly grim and gritty, as he brings a certain believability to the city of Gotham. Twenty-five years later, this is still one of the most iconic makeovers the character has ever undergone."

- Jason Serafino

 

3) Batman: The Long Hallowen

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Tim Sale

 

The Long Halloween as whole lot going for it featuring both a great mystery, among the best told in Batman's long history, and a new look at the Dark Knight's early career, when the status quo of Gotham City was changing.The best example of this is that it shows Harvey Dent leading up to that event that makes him Two-Face that helps make character all the more tragic and interesting.

 

The artwork by Sale is top notch and he even manages to bring an interesting approach that not many artists have not with Batman he gives every villain a new and different look but still familiar to the original designs of the characters.The story about someone in Gotham's deciding to kill someone during the each holiday is very well done one.With each issue tackling another holiday as the year winds round. This new holiday killer has the mob, the cops, Arkham's crazies and the Batman all on edge.

 

"The Long Halloween has all the ingredients of a classic Batman story: A mysterious killer, appearances by notable villains, striking visuals, and an imperfect ending to the case."

 

2) The Killing Joke

Writer: Alan Moore

Artist: Brian Bolland

 

"The Joker. Batman's greatest foe. His goal is chaos, but the beauty of his madness is the incredible amount of thought he puts into each caper. In the Killing Joke, the Clown Prince of Crime decides he wants to prove that, given the right push, anyone would fall into madness. To go about this, he torments down-to-earth Jim Gordon. All the while, we're given glimpses into the Joker's origin and see what pushed him over the edge.

 

The Killing Joke isn't just a brilliant origin story for comics' most famed villain, it also clearly defines what separates the good guys from the crazy guys. When push comes to shove, the sane ones shove back; the crazies allow themselves to go over the edge."

-Hilary Goldstein

 

1) Batman: The Black Mirror

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Jock & Francesco Francavilla

 

Now The Black Mirror may not have Bruce as Batman but the story works so much better becuase of it.It shows why Gotham City should be called "the City of Nightmares" showcasing with story main villian James Gordon Jr.What makes James Gordon Jr such a great villain is he's a twisted mirror reflection of both his father Jim Gordon and Dick Grayson.Like the joker is to Bruce who also makes appears in this story,But what James a more interesting villian is he has personal connection with these characters which makes it all the more twisted showing what Gotham can do to people.

 

Everything about Black Mirror is brilliant starting with Snyder's dark and spooky scipt on how Gotham corrupts its heroes, formfitting its challenges to the characters that experience them.He even fleshing out both Gotham City itself and characters within Gotham city's histories.There's also excellant artwork by both Jock and Francesco Francavilla with Jock handling the Batman-centric chapters and Francavilla the Gordon installments.While both of their styles are different they work together well with their approach they take to each chapter with especially Francavilla's art adding to the creepy atmosphere of the story.

 

The Black Mirror is not only the defining chapter of Dick Grayson's stint as the Dark Knight but the best Jim Gordon story since Year One as well as being one best stories about Gotham City as a whole.

 

 

Well that's done!

Edited July 19, 2012 by Deadshot

[AwersomeOne 109]

sweet, i should give some of these a read http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png, oh hey deadshot how do you feel about DC with the whole tim, casandra, and stephanie stuff going on? (tumblr is going crazy , well not all of tumblr, but a group of dc fans on tumblr)

[SquareSora 133]

wow this is very nice. i should start reading more of batman.

[Deadshot 666]

sweet, i should give some of these a read http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png, oh hey deadshot how do you feel about DC with the whole tim, casandra, and stephanie stuff going on? (tumblr is going crazy , well not all of tumblr, but a group of dc fans on tumblr)

 

Idk I don't think DC will listen to them either way but i understand why their mad about DC ignoring and not letting writers use characters they like since they don't want to have one than one version of a Hero.It's wasting character people like but the fans can go little overboard but at least i can see why their doing it.

 

wow this is very nice. i should start reading more of batman.

 

Yeah you might as well there's tons of great Batman stories out there

 

Best reader friendly stories are probably 1-6 knowing base around Year One does help you enjoy The Black Mirror more but is not needed.

And 10-13 are newer reader friendly as well.Snyder's Court of Owls is also good place to start reading and Dark Victory you need to read The Long Halloween before hand.

[AwersomeOne 109]

ya i totally agree with you deadshot, although DC is messing with the bat family, im still anxious to see where they are going with this http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png(lol hoping for the best you could say ), oh and ya I loved the court of owls story line, although batman and robin 1-8 is (for me anyway) giving court of owls a run for its money (i love the father son dynamic in the story line http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png)

[Deadshot 666]

ya i totally agree with you deadshot, although DC is messing with the bat family, im still anxious to see where they are going with this http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png(lol hoping for the best you could say ), oh and ya I loved the court of owls story line, although batman and robin 1-8 is (for me anyway) giving court of owls a run for its money (i love the father son dynamic in the story line http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png)

 

Overall i think DC is doing good job with the Bat family while they are ignoring characters the comic have been solid and one's that aren't good are getting new writers.Yeah Batman and Robin has been pretty good but the flashback moments really thought off the pacing of the story,#8 was really good conclusion issue as well really fleshing out father/son dynamic.

[CardCaptorDeadpool 386]

I can't remember the episode  name but there was a Justice League Episode where a man with power over dreams battles with he Bat but he beats him by whistling!

[Deadshot 666]

I can't remember the episode  name but there was a Justice League Episode where a man with power over dreams battles with he Bat but he beats him by whistling!

Well it's probably  "Only a Dream" or "For the Man Who Has Everything". I also left off all Bruce Timm stuff  mostly, since that i could make it's own list of best bat related stuff he was part of.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Deadshot

[kalnet 1,198]

Dude. You should like totally join/get a job at http://www.comicvine.com/ . Seems like you can be one awesome staff over there if they ever hired you.

 

Also I would love to see what you recommend for Spiderman stories someday.