Top 40 Batman Trades poll - One Year Later

[nepenthes]

Okay, just so I understand before voting: We are voting for best trades, right, and not groups? Because if that's the case there'd be no reason not to vote for both Batman and Son and RIP, since they're separate trades. Or is it like Knightfall, where you'd vote for Knightfall, and not Knightfall vol 1, or something?

No, if they're part of a group you're voting for the group. One trade from each group only. So yeah please count The Morrison Batman Run (B&Son, BGlove, RIP, RoBW) as being similar to Knightfall in this way.

Hope that makes sense. I didn't want people posting lists where ten out of twenty spots were taken up with Morrison books.

[Jeff Brady]

Just to clarify: A vote for Batman & Son would also include Black Glove and RIP, but not Batman Reborn, Batman Inc, or Return of Bruce Wayne?

If I wanted to vote for the entirety of Grant Morrison's arc from Batman & Son to Inc, what would be the best way to express that?

Edit: answered as I was typing. Thanks!

[ffritts]

I love your list, off the beaten path a bit and a couple I had forgotten about

Thanks I like most of everything involving Bat stories but only a few really speak to me.

[csis]

Okay, that was tough. I probably own around 40 Batman trades, but that isn't so many separate groups when you consider Morrison's Batman is 4 or 5 books, Knightfall is 3, Murderer/Fugitive is 4, etc.

1. Batman and Robin: Batman and Robin Must Die!
2. Batman and Son
3. Batman: Year One
4. The Man Who Laughs
5. Batwoman: Elegy

6. The Black Mirror
7. Batman Inc.
8. Batman: Year 100
9. Batgirl: The Flood
10. Robin: Year One

11. The Dark Knight Returns
12. A Dark Victory
13. Gotham Central: Jokers and Madmen
14. Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
15. The Long Halloween

16. Under the Hood
17. Batgirl: Year One
18. Bruce Wayne: Murderer?
19. Hush
20. No Man's Land

I'll probably get some flack for my ordering, but I ordered it by how much I enjoyed them, and yes, I DO enjoy Miller's Batgirl more than I enjoyed TDKR.

[jgiannantoni05]

I changed my list some, some moving around, some additions with Prey and Monster Men now making the cut.

1. Dark Knight Returns
2. Batman RIP (Grant Morrison Batman run) (I'm trying to cover all of Morrison's current run on all Batman titles with this vote)
3. The Killing Joke
4. Batman Year One
5. Arkham Asylum Anniversary Edition

6. Strange Apparitions
7. Long Halloween
8. Blind Justice
9. Gothic
10. Mad Love

11. The Cult
12. Tales of the Demon
13. Robin Year One
14. Prey
15. Batman and the Monster Men

16. Dark Legends
17. Knightfall 1: Broken Bat (Knightfall crossover)
18. Joker: Devil's Advocate
19. A Death in the Family
20. Venom

Forging this list was hard. Serious weighing goes on in the mind. Lots of different ways stories can be well-written and favorite.

For any curious readers of my list, the 6-10 rankings are very hairsplitting rankings, if I could put them all on the same ranking level, I would.

[kevink31593]

I'm pretty happy with the list I submitted last year. I wanted to add The Black Mirror to it, and I had a hard time deciding what to take off so I could fit it in. It ended up taking the place of Batman: Year 100.

I've also changed my mind a bit about the order, after having re-read a few of these in the past year.

1. Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Broken Bat
2. Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying
3. Batman: Year One
4. Batman: Venom
5. Batman: The Last Arkham
6. Batman: No Man's Land Volume 1
7. Gotham Central Vol 3: Unresolved Targets
8. The Joker: Devil's Advocate
9. Batman: Death and the Maidens
10. Batman: The Black Mirror
11. Batman: Heart of Hush
12. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
13. Batman: The Long Halloween
14. Batman: Strange Apparitions
15. Robin: Year One
16. Batman: Evolution
17. Batman: RIP
18. Batman and Robin: Reborn
19. Batman/Dracula: Red Rain
20. Batman: Tales of the Demon

[Vil_Dee]

I'm glad I could add new things to the list. It gets kind of sad when years and years go by and the list doesn't change. Like that horrible waste land of comics between NML and the Morrison run.


1. The Killing Joke
2. The Dark Knight Returns
3. Arkham Asylum
4. Batman: Year one
5. Batman and Son/Black Glove/RIP
6. Batman and Robin vol 1-3
7. NML
8. Dark Victory
9. Long Halloween
10. Joker: Devil's Advocate
11. Knightfall
12. Black Mirror
13. Prey
14. Batman: Four of a Kind
15. Gothic
16. Venom
17. Death in the Family
18. The Last Arkham
19. Batman: Vampire
20. Thrillkiller

[Trey]

No, if they're part of a group you're voting for the group. One trade from each group only. So yeah please count The Morrison Batman Run (B&Son, BGlove, RIP, RoBW) as being similar to Knightfall in this way.

Hope that makes sense. I didn't want people posting lists where ten out of twenty spots were taken up with Morrison books.

I don't understand? Why not if those are considered my favorites? Not to mention they are separate stories with different artists? Kubert, JHW3, Tony Daniel.

But since it is your survey, I will follow the rules.

1) RIP
2) ASBARTBW
3) Batman Inc.
4) TDKSA
5) TDKR

6) Flashpoint: Knight of Vengeance
7) Hush
8) The Long Halloween
9) Batwoman: Elegy
10) The Killing Joke

11) Year One
12) Joker
13) Catwoman: Dark End of the Street
14) Detective (Dini run)
15) Year 100

16) Batgirl: Year One
17) Selina's Big Score
18) Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
19) Mad Love
20) Broken City

[MartinNL]

Last year's poll was such a great reference for a new reader like me. I haven't read classics such as No Man's Land, A Death in the Family and Knightfall yet, but here's my Top 20 for now:

1. The Black Mirror
2. Year One
3. The Killing Joke
4. Batman & Robin (Grant Morisson run)
5. Gotham Central
6. The Long Halloween
7. Dark Victory
8. Batman (Grant Morisson run)
9. Arkham Asylum
10. Dark Knight, Dark City
11. Gotham Noir
12. Batman Incorporated
13. Batman: Hush
14. Red Robin: Collision
15. Batwoman: Elegy
16. Nightwing (Chuck Dixon run)
17. Under The Red Hood
18. Batman: Gothic
19. Red Robin: The Grail
20. All-Star Batman & Robin

And yes I did read TDKR. I can see the importance, but it wasn't for me.

[Jeff Brady]

I wish I had 40 spots instead of 20.

1. Batman: Year One
2. The Man who Laughs
3. Black & White
4. Ego & Other Tails
5. Batman Inc. (all of Morrison)
6. Planetary/Batman
7. Robin: Year One
8. Batgirl: Year One
9. Nightwing: Year One
10. A Lonely Place of Dying
11. Robin: A Hero Reborn
12: Batwoman: Elegy
13. Nine Lives
14. No Man's Land
15. Knightfall
16. TDKR
17. Loeb & Sale's run: Haunted Knight/TLH/DV/Catwoman When in Rome
18. Black Mirror
19. Arkham Asylum
20. Year 100

[darkseidpwns]

I'm glad I could add new things to the list. It gets kind of sad when years and years go by and the list doesn't change. Like that horrible waste land of comics between NML and the Morrison run.


1. The Killing Joke
2. The Dark Knight Returns
3. Arkham Asylum
4. Batman: Year one
5. Batman and Son/Black Glove/RIP
6. Batman and Robin vol 1-3
7. NML
8. Dark Victory
9. Long Halloween
10. Joker: Devil's Advocate
11. Knightfall
12. Black Mirror
13. Prey
14. Batman: Four of a Kind
15. Gothic
16. Venom
17. Death in the Family
18. The Last Arkham
19. Batman: Vampire
20. Thrillkiller

Those 6 years may have been really hard for you,Hush,Fugitive,War Games,Under the Red Hood.I'm guessing you disliked all of them?

[greenthings]

Heheh, I guess there's no way I can stick Paul Pope's "Teenage Sidekick" on my list anywhere, huh? Unless Solo #3 is allowed to count as a trade?

[Jeff Brady]

Those 6 years may have been really hard for you,Hush,Fugitive,War Games,Under the Red Hood.I'm guessing you disliked all of them?

I'm with Vil_Dee. Those stories were awful. From Officer Down until Batman & Son, the books were just miserable for me. War Games/Crimes/whatever was the last straw.

[greenthings]

I wish I had 40 spots instead of 20.

Don't mean to spam up the thread, but.... I'm working on my list, and started reading what I could find of stuff some people have on their lists that I'm not familiar with.

So... wow.

Thank you for having Planetary/Batman at #6, there. Because I am completely floored right now.

[Jeff Brady]

Don't mean to spam up the thread, but.... I'm working on my list, and started reading what I could find of stuff some people have on their lists that I'm not familiar with.

So... wow.

Thank you for having Planetary/Batman at #6, there. Because I am completely floored right now.

Heh. Warren Ellis can certainly spin a yarn.