Been reading alot of batman recently...

[Silver Knight]

And I wanted to know if their is any Batman family stuff that I can pick up now that remains true to the mythos and is not buggered by this crisis bull#$%. I have to admit im a marvelite but Batman is really the only DC charecter I like, well maybe Green Arrow but im unsure weather to invest in him or not. Anyway Ive been reading alot recently like Dark Knight returns, strikes again, year one, something about Ra's al Gul and zombies a few years ago, and I just finished reading all three acts of War Games, and have just read the first few pages of War Crimes. I have always loved Batman but reading these great stories have rekindled my love, so is their any Bat stories that dont get bogged down buy all this crisis jive?

Also I have a few questions:

When exactly did Barbara Gordon get shot?

When did Cassie cain replace her? When did she learn to speak?

When did Commisioner Gordon step down or retire or whatever?

I havent read batman since early to mid 90's so this information would really help.

[The_Paladin]

Dude what's wrong with the crysis stuff? I personally really like the crysis stuff and i'm sure there is a lot of other fans that do as well. What's ur problem with the crysis stuff?

[4thHorseman]

The only one I can help you with (since I've only been reading the Bat titles on and off until recently), is that Barbara Gordon was shot in the Alan Moore graphic novel "The Killing Joke". One of the best Bat stories IMO, and you should definately check it out.

If anything, the current bat titles aren't messing with the Crisis stuff really (though Dini is supposed to have a tie in issue with Haryley Quinn). But Morrison is writing the Batman books, with Dini writing the Detective Comics (with a few fill in issues from others). I would advise those as well.

Otherwise, a few ones I suggest:

Hush vol 1 and 2
Arkham Asylum
No Man's Land

[I Must Break U]

i'd like to make a suggestion too. which would be "the man who laughs" it's like a joker year one. The story is awesome. And it accompanies killing joke and batman year one very well.

[DWEarhart]

Also I have a few questions:

When exactly did Barbara Gordon get shot?

When did Cassie cain replace her? When did she learn to speak?

When did Commisioner Gordon step down or retire or whatever?

I havent read batman since early to mid 90's so this information would really help.

Babs got shot in The Killing Joke. It is a possible Joker origin talke told by Alan Moore, drawn by Brian Bolland. Possible meaning it did or didn't happen, though this crisis bull@$*& is showing that his origin from Killing Joke didn't happen, but Barbara's paralyzing did. Good story, great to have.

Cassie came around during No Man's Land, available in tpbs. Her and her origins tread all the way through the Bruce Wayne/Batman - Murderer/Fugitive tpbs, and beyond. To me, the Murderer/Fugitive is a great story, and is worthy of having in a collection.

Gordon retired during the Officer Down story, also available in tpb. If you like crime novels and noir tales, it's worth looking into, but he has since resumed being commisioner after Infinite Crisis. Get it if you wish. It's a very street-sense tale, and as far as major super villains go, there's not much of a payoff, but I liked it. Also, if you like crime and noir tales, I highly recommend the Gotham Central tpb collections.

Hope this helps.

p.s. Batman: The Man Who Laughs (as noted above) is a good story as well. So is Arkham Asylum. I feel that Hush can be lived without. It was a good idea, but so far, has gone nowhere. Too many last minute details screwed up the long term plans for it. But if you want a good Batman super-hero tale, it's worth a look.

[Silver Knight]

Dude what's wrong with the crysis stuff? I personally really like the crysis stuff and i'm sure there is a lot of other fans that do as well. What's ur problem with the crysis stuff?

Because I dont give a crap about all the multiverses and timlines, I just care about Batman.

And thx all

[Christopher Cross Is God]

i'd like to make a suggestion too. which would be "the man who laughs" it's like a joker year one. The story is awesome. And it accompanies killing joke and batman year one very well.

That one seems almost impossible to get. Anyone know where one can obtain this comic at a reasonable price?

[Gary Joyce]

That one seems almost impossible to get. Anyone know where one can obtain this comic at a reasonable price?

I have never seen it anywhere at a reasonable price but wish you luck none the less.

[Christopher Cross Is God]

And I wanted to know if their is any Batman family stuff that I can pick up now that remains true to the mythos and is not buggered by this crisis bull#$%. I have to admit im a marvelite but Batman is really the only DC charecter I like, well maybe Green Arrow but im unsure weather to invest in him or not. Anyway Ive been reading alot recently like Dark Knight returns, strikes again, year one, something about Ra's al Gul and zombies a few years ago, and I just finished reading all three acts of War Games, and have just read the first few pages of War Crimes. I have always loved Batman but reading these great stories have rekindled my love, so is their any Bat stories that dont get bogged down buy all this crisis jive?

Also I have a few questions:

When exactly did Barbara Gordon get shot?

When did Cassie cain replace her? When did she learn to speak?

When did Commisioner Gordon step down or retire or whatever?

I havent read batman since early to mid 90's so this information would really help.

I'd say get these tpb's:

The Long Halloween
Batman and the Monster Men

and these comics:

Batman Gotham Knights #9 .......A good issue with Hugo Strange....Part 2 of a 4-part storyline. I personally didn't care for the previous issue (#8) for various reasons, and don't have parts 3 or 4.

Batman Gotham Knights #54 .....Joker-focused issue

Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #137-141 ....A 5-part storyline called Terror, which features Hugo Strange & Scarecrow. I have 3 of the issues, and it seemed to be a solid storyline from what I remember.

Nightwing #41-52 (In particular, #52, which is an enjoyable read guest-starring Catwoman) ......A lot of people rave about Nightwing #1-40, but I haven't gotten those yet, so I can't say anything about them. But 41-52 were surprisingly very good.

Robin #85 ......Joker

You might also want to get Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #15-20, which is the Venom storyline (The drug used by Bane)......I only have issue #17, which wasn't bad at all. I've noticed people saying good things about the entire storyline.

[cactusmaac]

Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush, Venom, Sword Of Azrael, Knightfall, Detective #27, Batman: Year 100, Broken City, Batman: Black and White v1-3, Ego, Arkham Asylum, The Killing Joke and Batman vs Predator are all worth reading.

[Silver Knight]

Forgot to mention I read Batman 100, but also this week I read all of Batgirl year1, which I have to say was extrodanary. I wish DC would fix it so Babs can come back, it really sucks what they did to her. Its not like they cant, after this Final crisis is over they can put the DCU into whatever order they want.

Ive seen Hush, whats it about?

Also is the current stict Batman and Nightwing comics ok to read with out the crisis bs? Whats the current story's?