Batman Event Checklist: DEATH OF THE FAMILY

[Nova2814.1]

As the others have said, you can follow the Death of the Family just by reading the books your normally get. The likes of Batgirl, Suicide Squad, etc tie into the main story, but they usually don't have a direct impact on it.

Throne of Atlantis will be different, because that's an actual crossover. Part 1 is in Justice League, then continuing in Aquaman, then back to JL, and so on. So the 5 issues (JL #15 - 17 and Aquaman #15 & 16) will be one full story. You probably would get by without getting the Aquaman issues (I'm assuming from your post you're already getting JL), but it might be a bit like watching a 5-act TV programme or play and skipping Acts 2 and 4.

Hope that helps!

[Tra-EL]

As A Superman fan, I absolutley, positively LOVED the first issue of the Joker arc with Detective Comics #13 (I think, I haven't really closely followed.) Went to pick up the monthly Action Comics and I couldn't help but pick up Detective Comics #14 and #15 (I apologize if these are wrong titles, I didn't get a chance to pull them out of the bag yet and I may be mixing them up with the other 1 million Bat-titles but I gotta see what's going on with the Joker arc, haha.)

[doordoor123]

Don't buy any of the tie ins they will just be a waste of money. Just read the main Batman title by Snyder and Capullo. Its completly self standing and you don't need to read any of the other books to understand the story. Same goes for all the other crossovers, they are just trying to steal your money.

This is actually more of a general story arc question. as a noobie comic book reader - the death of the family arc seems kind of daunting. a little because of the cost - but mostly because of how many books there are.

i just started getting comics about 4 months ago - 1 issue before the death of the family started. so i have been buying the whole arc cause i want to get the full story. however. catwoman mostly sucked, batgirl is ok, suicide squad was friggin awful, but batman is AWESOME. I will probably end up getting the whole arc anyway and just hoping that the next couple batgirl are good suicide squad becomes ok and the rest are good.

the big question though - is this how arcs normally are? if so i dont want to get involved with them anymore. the justice league is just starting a "throne of atlantis" story arc where its 3 aquamans 3 justice league. that i can get into. just 3 books i wouldnt normally get. but i already have 12 books on my pull list, i dont want to be picking up another 7.

and if it is how arcs normally are... is it worth it to keep up with buying them? the batmans ive read like 4 times a piece and love those, but the rest i have literally said "eh" bagged and boarded them and tossed them in my box after 1 read.

so yeah... can you guys help me out or is this just something that everyone is dealing with?

Yeah, that is pretty much how it is. You could complain that it is too much at once because you can't pay for all of it, but you get the story much quicker as it comes out twice a month.
What I usually do is pick up those books and I won't buy a couple books for a month and then I pick up those books I didn't pick up the next month. But you have to make sure it is books that don't sell out. That way I am not buying everything at once. I am still spending the same amount of money, but it is split up between months.

[BreezyBigDaddy]

So how do you know if it is a major cossover?, which books are vital to the night of the owls stroryline? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Owls Only Batman and Nightwing or ...

[theDarkestKnight]

So how do you know if it is a major cossover?, which books are vital to the night of the owls stroryline? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Owls Only Batman and Nightwing or ...

None of them are. Except for maybe Nightwing and Red Hood, all the other night of the owls crossovers were a waste and just and excuse to have Talons running around Gotham killing high ranking people. They did not affect the main Batman title at all.

[nepenthes]

The core Owls storyline is Batman 1-6 (collected in trade The Court of Owls) then Batman 7-12 (City of Owls). The tie-ins occurred across issue 9 of various Batfamily titles and will be collected in their own trade Night of the Owls, as Darkest Knight mentioned they were mostly unimportant to the main story, with the small exeption of maybe Nightwing. DC will put out interviews and checklists in advance of any crossovers so we know what's the deal otherwise you can always just come here and ask.

[SteHo98]

I am really loving the 'Death Of The Family' Batman series so far - can't wait for the future issues. However, I'm up for collecting all of the facial issues within the 'Death Of The Family' event(e.g Batman/Robin/Joker on the front of the issue.) I currently have Batman #13(which has batman on the front cover with a flip-back cover of Joker placed over it) and Batman Detective Comics(which I am not aware of the issue no.); they're near enough the same covers. Does anybody know the cheapest place I can find all the facial Death of The Family covers?

[BatWatch]

Honestly if you want them cheap, wait six months and buy them off MyComicShop or in your local store. With a little luck, you can grab them for half price...of course it is hard to guess what the market will do, but I imagine there will be some cheap copies floating around.

[batman23]

The prices for some of the DOTF tie ins and main Batman title have only gone up. The only way to get a cheaper price than cover price is to buy digital.

[SteHo98]

Yeah, some of the comic book websites I checked out were either selling those specific comic books at a high price or they didn't have them in stock. Also, catching them in the UK could decrease those chances of completing my collection!

I don't like buying comic books digital; don't have the feeling I own them.

[batman23]

Your best bet might be eBay? Not sure though, haven't checked on prices in a while.

And same here, I like having the physical copy.

[BatmanReturns]

I've looked at ebay; have to say that the seller 'a-place-in-space' is selling DC Comics (and others) at a relatively cheap UK price: £2.25(including delivery!)
Anywho, I've just brought Batgirl #13,14 and 15 as well as Batman&Robin #15! Should arrive before Christmas with some luck.

[adamisme]

Hey all, not a regular Batman reader, but I've heard good things about the current storyline, is it something worth getting in single issues or at this point wait until its out in trade?

[Gr8whitemonster]

I would say that it is definitely worth picking up individually. Also, make sure you pick up the tie-ins as, at least in my opinion, they really add to the overall story. Personally, I can't get enough of the Joker, so it's a no brainer. Definitely pick it up as it is an awesome story and you won't regret the purchase.

[The Nuke]

Definitly hunt down the previous issues, and catch up. It's worth it.