Taking batman to school

[sedwar13]

Hi everyone,

I am a long-time comics fan and high school English teacher who is looking for a good, stand-alone batman story (single issue or two at most) that could be used in an English classroom for a short story unit. The theme of the unit is heroism, and I'm looking for something that really sums up Batman: The self-sacrifice, the border-line obsessive nature of his quest, the pledge to his parents, etc., all the things that make him heroic.

There is some criteria: it has to be pretty contemporary, it has to be appropriate for a classroom (although most batman stories would be) and it can't rely too much on continuity.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I've gone a number of my comics, and have found some, but im looking for stories for grades 9 - 12 and at all levels of learning. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, here's some examples of what I have used: Hitman #34 (his conversation with superman - that sums that character up well, and now im looking for the same with batman), the tangled web issue by rucka and risso ("severance package"), the brian bolland batman black and white story, and a few of brian wood's demo issues.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
-Scott

[Trey]

Hi everyone,

I am a long-time comics fan and high school English teacher who is looking for a good, stand-alone batman story (single issue or two at most) that could be used in an English classroom for a short story unit. The theme of the unit is heroism, and I'm looking for something that really sums up Batman: The self-sacrifice, the border-line obsessive nature of his quest, the pledge to his parents, etc., all the things that make him heroic.

There is some criteria: it has to be pretty contemporary, it has to be appropriate for a classroom (although most batman stories would be) and it can't rely too much on continuity.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I've gone a number of my comics, and have found some, but im looking for stories for grades 9 - 12 and at all levels of learning. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, here's some examples of what I have used: Hitman #34 (his conversation with superman - that sums that character up well, and now im looking for the same with batman), the tangled web issue by rucka and risso ("severance package"), the brian bolland batman black and white story, and a few of brian wood's demo issues.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
-Scott

Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke

Explores his parents, why he is Batman, and the struggles of his burden. It also explores suicide, so don't know if want to go that route with your class.

[willtupper]

I'd recommend you take a look at the book, "Wisdom from the Batcave: How to Live a Super, Heroic Life," by the great Cary A. Friedman.

http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Batcave-Live-Super-Heroic/dp/097619662X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234243523&sr=1-1

Not only does the book contain a ton of great examples for what you might be looking for (the stand-along story, "The Untold Legend of the Batman" comes to mind), it also does the best examination of the attributes that make Batman great that I have EVER seen. Highly, highly recommended.

[nepenthes]

I was gonna say EGO as well. Self contained, distills alot of the central themes in a powerful way, not overly dark or desperate, it doesn't try to be "bad arse". The suicide bit is also very effective, it causes batman to question himself and there begins the tale. Released around 2005 iirc.


I LOVE Severance Package.