Best Batman Comics for New Readers, Current Titles, Top Trades and Recent Events

[Haytil]

Can anyone tell me where Under The Red Hood comes in the Batman reading order/timeline?

I keep my bookshelf in reading order/timeline order. Here is how it looks in the vicinity of "Under the Red Hood:"

Gotham Central.......Hush.......Broken City........Under the Red Hood.......Face the Face......Paul Dini's Run (Detective, Death and the City, Private Casebook, Heart of Hush)........Morrison's Run (The Black Glove, R.I.P.)

Specifically, the issues in "Under the Red Hood" were published in Batman, directly between the issues from "As the Crow Flies" and "Face the Face." I don't own "As the Crow Flies," but those issues come directly after "Broken City," hence the order on my shelf.

[nepenthes]

Can anyone tell me where Under The Red Hood comes in the Batman reading order/timeline?

Wikipedia is fairly current: the others stop around 2006 from which you can pick if up on the front page on this thread

Complete list of Batman trades: reading order

batmantrades.com almost all of the tpbs in reading order, up to 2006
Batman comics at Wikipedia an excellent general reference on story arcs, character bio's, publishing history
The Batman tpblist includes issue numbers, can be helpful

[Elric of Grans]

I have just recently started reading Batman (this week!) and this thread is a God-send. I doubt I would have tried without the help provided here. I have, so far, read Year One (enjoyed), The Dark Knight Returns (OK) and The Long Halloween (my favourite so-far). I just have a couple of questions on going forward.

Firstly, the major villains. I know a little bit about them from the movies, but I would like to know them better. Are there any particular tales that are especially good reading to understand them, or should I read whatever and just pick it up as I go along?

Secondly, New 52. I plan on starting this now, but there are just so many Batman-related ones I am at a loss. I could use just a little help here!
* `Batman' is presumably the standard comic and well-worth following. Please correct me if I am wrong!
* `Detective Comics', I am guessing, is less beating up on the Joker and more digging into the seedy underbelly. Am I getting the right idea?
* `Batman & Robin'. What is the tone of this one? Is it aimed at a different demographic to the `standard' Batman?
* `Batman: The Dark Knight' sounds like it is a grittier version of the series. Less heroic `POW' and more `three ribs broken... I can still stand!'?
* `Batman Incorporated'... I just have no idea. Is it like Batman-only Justice League or something?
* `Nightwing' sounds interesting. How does the tone compare to `standard'? Is the demographic different?
* `Batgirl' also sounds interesting, but I have heard bad things about. Again, what is the tone/demographic and is it worth reading?
* `Batwoman' I have heard good things about, but I have no real idea how it fits into the universe. Should I just jump straight in, or is it quite different?
* `Catwoman' is another I hard heard bad things about. Lots of bad things. Has it bombed, or is it worth reading? From the comics I have read so far, she seems an interesting character.
* `Batwing'... perhaps I am just being prejudiced, but even the cover picture looks silly. Is it actually any good, or more of a niche audience?

[andthegunslinger]

I'm hardly an authority on this. Others here will kick my ass with their knowledge Elric but to the best of my ability...

#1

Sure, read whatever as you go along, or don't. The choice really is yours. There are a ton of villians in a ton of comics, you couldn't read them all if you tried. (And I'm sure some have tried!) It depends which villians you want to follow. Personally I think you should read the ones that interest you the most. When it comes to reading the current arcs, there's only ever really one villian at a time for several months. It's not like you're going to be bombarded with 5 new ones every week.

I think the best advice would be to check out this post: http://forums.comicbookresources.com...1#post14811230 (inc. the links at the bottom) and take a read of any that interest you. Doing this, you'll easily stumble across some great villian stories. Don't worry too much about becoming an expert, read the stories and you'll pick stuff up as you go along. The Killing Joke and the Man who Laughs for example from that list are Joker origin/backstories while Knightfall and Birth of the Demon are Bane stories.

#2

I personally only read Batman, Detective and The Dark Knight so I'm again not an authority on all of the titles.

I always like to think of the Batman releases as a TV show, lets hypothetically say that the Batman universe is... an episode of Family Guy. (Tortured metaphor on it's way!) Now the "Batman" standard comic is like an episode that features the Griffin family. It is pretty much the centre of the story and you could watch episode after episode (read issue after issue) of just them and it'd be business as usual.

Then "Catwoman" the comic, for example, is like that Cleveland spin-off show they did. Now, Cleveland might make a 3 minute appearance in a normal Family Guy episode, but his own episode is us seeing what happens when he's NOT with the Griffins. The same is true of the tie ins, its other characters role in the grander story. Sometimes Catwoman will enter the Batman story and we'll see what happened in her issue that made her get tangled up in Batman's business, and the two stories will collide and cross over.

As for Detective Comics and The Dark Knight, you've got it spot on. I haven't read Batman & Robin in a couple of years but it used to be very gritty and very action packed. The story that started in 2009 was very very good. The first page of the thread breaks down what each of the tie-ins are like: http://forums.comicbookresources.com...-Recent-Events

My advice is take it slow. Read 1-3 of the current titles and then with any spare reading time you have, read some of the classics. Or even hold off on catching up and read some of the titles in the link listed above.

Whatever happens, you'll read some good stuff :)

[Elric of Grans]

I always like to think of the Batman releases as a TV show, lets hypothetically say that the Batman universe is... an episode of Family Guy. (Tortured metaphor on it's way!) Now the "Batman" standard comic is like an episode that features the Griffin family. It is pretty much the centre of the story and you could watch episode after episode (read issue after issue) of just them and it'd be business as usual.

Then "Catwoman" the comic, for example, is like that Cleveland spin-off show they did. Now, Cleveland might make a 3 minute appearance in a normal Family Guy episode, but his own episode is us seeing what happens when he's NOT with the Griffins. The same is true of the tie ins, its other characters role in the grander story. Sometimes Catwoman will enter the Batman story and we'll see what happened in her issue that made her get tangled up in Batman's business, and the two stories will collide and cross over.

Good analogy. That is a little different to what I had imagined, but a lot more interesting too. Thanks for the tips!

[DV1Band]

I've only been following the recent Batman stuff a little bit.

1) I know a Terry McGinnis was saved by Damien and/or mentored by him... Is this the same one as in Batman Beyond, or a different Terry?
2) If it's the same one, is his brother Matt eluded to at all?
3) Is it remotely possible that Matt could become Robin or the next Batman after Terry?

[FHIZ]

That was an easter egg in Batman 700 that was, and most likely never be touched upon again.

[DV1Band]

Damn. I hope that they really think about using Terry more in future stories... I know that there's Batman Beyond comics, but I'd love to see a real connection between the Bat-Family and Terry. Unlike what they're doing with Spider-Man, it would be a cool setup for when the time comes when Batman's run it's course...

[a fire in london]

Had a question and this looks as good a place as any. Is Nightrunner still in the comics? Loved the character then the reboot happened.

[_original_]

Wow, I just finished The Black Glove Deluxe and Batman: RIP.......mind blown! Incredible stuff, I just don't know how I can go back to regular Batman stories anymore. So what is the next book in Grant's run? The first page of this thread says Batman and Robin vol 1, but I have heard it's Final Crisis...help anybody?

[Eric Chang]

I have just recently started reading Batman (this week!) and this thread is a God-send. I doubt I would have tried without the help provided here. I have, so far, read Year One (enjoyed), The Dark Knight Returns (OK) and The Long Halloween (my favourite so-far). I just have a couple of questions on going forward.

Firstly, the major villains. I know a little bit about them from the movies, but I would like to know them better. Are there any particular tales that are especially good reading to understand them, or should I read whatever and just pick it up as I go along?

Play the arkham games. Lol

Secondly, New 52. I plan on starting this now, but there are just so many Batman-related ones I am at a loss. I could use just a little help here!
* `Batman' is presumably the standard comic and well-worth following. Please correct me if I am wrong!

Generally you wanna pay more attention on the creators, not the titles. Right now you have Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo setting the standard for the bat line of books. And yes it's been good.

* `Detective Comics', I am guessing, is less beating up on the Joker and more digging into the seedy underbelly. Am I getting the right idea?

not necessarily. This is a common misconception about the bat books I think. Detective is just another bat book, back before new 52 when grant Morrison was writing batman, Scott Snyder was on detective, if the reboot never happened I'm pretty sure Snyder would be doing his owl and joker arcs on detective as part of an extended continuous run. Anyway the new 52 issues have been mostly horrible, with batman written out of character, but been awesome since John layman started writing it from #13. This is in my humble opinion anyway.

* `Batman & Robin'. What is the tone of this one? Is it aimed at a different demographic to the `standard' Batman?

It's just another batman book but focusing more on the relationship between Bruce and his son. Eh. It was good when grant Morrison was writing it as part of his huge Damian story.

* `Batman: The Dark Knight' sounds like it is a grittier version of the series. Less heroic `POW' and more `three ribs broken... I can still stand!'?

It used to exist to showcase this guy David Finch's art, but I don't really know what's going on here anymore.

* `Batman Incorporated'... I just have no idea. Is it like Batman-only Justice League or something?

It's part of this guy grant Morrison's huge batman story that's been going on for years. Basically batman beat death, came back, decided to franchise the bat brand, and... Hmm. I think the first post of this thread sums it up okay.

* `Nightwing' sounds interesting. How does the tone compare to `standard'? Is the demographic different?

its dick Grayson, so less broody, more optimistic. Still a bat book though. Nothing super amazing right now, I guess read it if you're into the character?

* `Batgirl' also sounds interesting, but I have heard bad things about. Again, what is the tone/demographic and is it worth reading?

It's not bad, but Gail Simone has written a better batgirl in the past, IMHO. It's a pretty polarizing book. A lot of people hate it because before new 52 the character was crippled by the joker and sat in a wheel chair as "oracle" working for the bat family behind the scenes, but now she's suddenly back as yet another bat person running around in Gotham.

* `Batwoman' I have heard good things about, but I have no real idea how it fits into the universe. Should I just jump straight in, or is it quite different?

Grab "elegy" first, it's her origin story. The new 52 Batwoman picks up from it. Anyway BEST ART EVER, not too involved with the rest of the bat books, does its own thing really. More supernatural/mythical villains so far. Right now she's in the middle of a story with wonder woman.

* `Catwoman' is another I hard heard bad things about. Lots of bad things. Has it bombed, or is it worth reading? From the comics I have read so far, she seems an interesting character.

Interesting character, but disappointing intepretation here.

* `Batwing'... perhaps I am just being prejudiced, but even the cover picture looks silly. Is it actually any good, or more of a niche audience?

It's kind of a spinoff book from batman inc. it's been pretty good so far, clutter free plot, new character so not burdenned by decades of continuity. Yeah pretty fresh. I think the art is fantastic too.

COOL THAT'S MY BAT INPUT FOR THE DAY XOXO

[batman23]

Wow, I just finished The Black Glove Deluxe and Batman: RIP.......mind blown! Incredible stuff, I just don't know how I can go back to regular Batman stories anymore. So what is the next book in Grant's run? The first page of this thread says Batman and Robin vol 1, but I have heard it's Final Crisis...help anybody?

I know the feeling lol, it's been difficult for me to read any other Batman stories, but wait till you get to Batman & Robin and Batman Inc.

I'm sure there are other people who could be more helpful, but personally next I'd read the Batman & Robin vol 1 and 2, then Return of Bruce Wayne and Batman & Robin vol 3. Also there's a "Morrison's Batman Run" thread, a couple of pages back which should have more information there as well.

[Elric of Grans]

Thanks for the advice, Eric!

Generally you wanna pay more attention on the creators, not the titles. Right now you have Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo setting the standard for the bat line of books. And yes it's been good.

I think that may be something for the future. As a newbie who knows nothing, characters are a lot easier to follow.

It's not bad, but Gail Simone has written a better batgirl in the past, IMHO. It's a pretty polarizing book. A lot of people hate it because before new 52 the character was crippled by the joker and sat in a wheel chair as "oracle" working for the bat family behind the scenes, but now she's suddenly back as yet another bat person running around in Gotham.

Opinions on Batgirl do seem massively polarised. Perhaps I just need to try it myself and see what I think!

Grab "elegy" first, it's her origin story. The new 52 Batwoman picks up from it. Anyway BEST ART EVER, not too involved with the rest of the bat books, does its own thing really. More supernatural/mythical villains so far. Right now she's in the middle of a story with wonder woman.

Thanks for the tip. I shall do exactly that!

[_original_]

I know the feeling lol, it's been difficult for me to read any other Batman stories, but wait till you get to Batman & Robin and Batman Inc.

I'm sure there are other people who could be more helpful, but personally next I'd read the Batman & Robin vol 1 and 2, then Return of Bruce Wayne and Batman & Robin vol 3. Also there's a "Morrison's Batman Run" thread, a couple of pages back which should have more information there as well.

Cool! I'll browse through it.

And yeah, I'll probably get Batman And Robin vol 1 and 2 through amazon this week, very excited!

[dupersuper]

Had a question and this looks as good a place as any. Is Nightrunner still in the comics? Loved the character then the reboot happened.

I think he got a mention or cameo in Batman Inc.