Detective comics vs. Batman/Action Comics vs. superman

[king911]

What is the difference between each? is one better than the other?

[4thHorseman]

They used to have one storyarc go through both titles (sometimes they still do), but now it's usually different storylines in each book. Other than that and different writers/artists on each book, it's the same characters.

[Trademark]

Back in the 40s when the Superman and Batman titles were first published, Action Comics and Detective Comics were anthology comics featuring lots of different characters each in their own short mini features, while Superman and Batman were solo comics that only had stories with their title characters. Today, the main difference is that the books have different creative teams which is important if you're the type of reader that follows writers. Basically the following titles have the following writers, so pick and choose based on which one you like:

Action Comics: Geoff Johns
Superman: Kurt Busiek
Detective Comics: Paul Dini
Batman: Grant Morrison

[shaxper]

Back in the 40s when the Superman and Batman titles were first published, Action Comics and Detective Comics were anthology comics featuring lots of different characters each in their own short mini features, while Superman and Batman were solo comics that only had stories with their title characters.

In addition, Superman and Batman were initially quarterly titles, while Action and Detective were monthly. Action and Detective were considered the characters' primary titles for many years, while Batman and Superman were just a place to go for an additional fix.

I don't read Action or Superman, but the primary difference between Batman and Detective right now is that Detective consists mostly of one-shot stories that begin and end within the span of a single issue. They also always center around a mystery to be solved. Batman tends to use more story arcs and, with Grant Morrison writing, the stories tend to be a little more "out there". I personally find the Detective Comics stories more satisfying. Incredibly strong characterization, good stories, and you get the satisfaction of an amazing story well concluded after only one issue, instead of waiting five or six issues for an arc to conclude (as happens in most other comics these days).

I should also point out that both Detective and Batman are intertwined in a major crossover right now, so you might wait for that to conclude before trying either title.

[king911]

i read batman, and just read the last 10? issues of detective comics, which i enjoyed alot mainly due to the short stories. I loved the one with the Joker and Robin. So i was just wondering is Detective comics were always better than Batman, same for supes

[Captain Jim]

Not always; it depends on who's writing them. It's varied over the years.

[shaxper]

i read batman, and just read the last 10? issues of detective comics, which i enjoyed alot mainly due to the short stories. I loved the one with the Joker and Robin. So i was just wondering is Detective comics were always better than Batman, same for supes

Honestly, that was probably the best issue in the entire Detective run.

Detective and Batman don't really have distinct identities apart from each other. It's just the current writers that have given them their current personalities. Both Morrison and Dini have been invited to stay on the titles for as long as they want, though. Prior to Dini's arrival, I felt Detective was the inferior title. Since Dini's been on the book, though, it's been one of my favorite books out there.

[Babylon23]

At the moment, Detective is definitely more of a mystery/detective title, while Batman is more of a superhero adventure book.