Batman: Where to start?

roteixeira

Hello there!

I'm a long time RPG player but I never really cared about classic movies or comics. Shame on me. Last year I decided to give Star Wars a try and I fell in love with it, so I decided to try Batman because, of all films, it was the only one that really appealed to me.

So, I got a small guide on the internet on how to start reading Batman, and here is what they proposed, and that I followed:

1) Batman - Year One
2) Batman - Halloween
3) Batman - Dark Victory
4) Batman - Killing Joke
5) Batman - Hush

I also got Dark Knight 1 and 2, Death in The Family and the first 33 issues of the new 52 reboot.


So, my question is...

Is this little guide right? Am I missing any Batman essential before jumping on the 52 edition? I know it will reboot and erase pretty much everything that was done before, but I guess I should know the real deal before trying the 52. By the way... Is it any good?

Also, I got into this forum through a Google result on a post about what follows the Hush, on which most of the members seems to dislike it. Why? I for one thought it was really good, but I'm quite ignorant about Batman, so...

Thanks for all help.

WetRats

What is it you want out of this?

If it's an understanding of the current interpretation of the character, you probably have a pretty good base.

If you want to understand his history... good luck. There have been a lot of retcons and reconceptions and revisions and reinterpretations and just plain contradictions.

roteixeira

I want to understand the character. I know the story have been told and retold many times, but I wanted to understand the ground of Batman story before getting my grip on something new.

Just to be clear, I haven't read 52, Death in the Family or TDK and TDK 2 yet. I will try to finish all the essentials before getting into the new path of 52.

WetRats

roteixeira said:

I want to understand the character. I know the story have been told and retold many times, but I wanted to understand the ground of Batman story before getting my grip on something new.

Just to be clear, I haven't read 52, Death in the Family or TDK and TDK 2 yet. I will try to finish all the essentials before getting into the new path of 52.

OK.

It's gonna be confusing.

Nothing before the New 52 is canon.

Unless it is.

Or not.

If you'd have asked before you invested in all that, I'd have said to just start with the current stuff.

He's a guy whose parents were murdered in front of him when he was a kid.

He's very rich, and very driven.

He dresses like a bat and fights crime.

Despite the fact that he really doesn't play well with others, he keeps taking on sidekicks.

That's all you really need to understand.

Matt

If it's me, I'm dropping Hush from your list. It looks pretty & featured many characters in his world, but it's more shock & awe then substance.

I can't speak for the current stuff or when Morrison captained the ship starting in 2006.

For me, get the first 100 issues of Legends of the Dark Knight series. Great Batman year 1-18 months stuff. Aside from that, here are the stories that have always defined the character for me:

Year One
The Cult
Venom
Death in The Family
Knightfall
Tower of Babel
Under the Hood

These storylines compose the first 7 of my top 10 & the ones I immediately direct people to. Each story has illustrated what makes the character so fascinating to me.

M

bralinator

You'll do fine by avoiding the New 52 for a while. But, do yourself a favor and don't ignore all of the classic Silver and Bronze Age stories found in collected editions like The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told.

Chuck_Melville

If you can find it in the back issue bins, I'd recommend the late '70's mini-series, The Untold Legend Of The Batman by Len Wein, John Byrne and Jim Aparo. It's a pretty comprehensive of the Batman's origins and training, touching on revelations taken from his then-forty year old career. Sadly, this series has never been reprinted in a trade -- you'll have to dig through the back issues bin in search of them.

nweathington

Or you can just read every issue of The Brave & the Bold you can find (well, the Batman stories from about #59 on). That way you won't have to worry about continuity at all, and can just have fun, and meet a lot of other characters in the process.

Chuck_Melville said:

Sadly, this series has never been reprinted in a trade -- you'll have to dig through the back issues bin in search of them.

Au contraire, mon frere, it was reprinted last year in the Tales of the Batman: Len Wein collection.

Chuck_Melville

nweathington said:

Or you can just read every issue of The Brave & the Bold you can find (well, the Batman stories from about #59 on). That way you won't have to worry about continuity at all, and can just have fun, and meet a lot of other characters in the process.

Chuck_Melville said:

Sadly, this series has never been reprinted in a trade -- you'll have to dig through the back issues bin in search of them.

Au contraire, mon frere, it was reprinted last year in the Tales of the Batman: Len Wein collection.

Ow!! I did not know that!! I shall have to go find a copy!! A must for my bookshelf!!

popestu

Everyone has their own "my Batman". Some like the ninja; some the detective; some love the tech. I liken Batman to 007. A master strategist who can kick your ass and always has something stashed in his utility belt (pouches not those pellets).
Here's my Batman (in no particular order) .

Year One
Dark Knight Returns
Birth of the Demon
Morrison's JLA run, especially New World Order
Morrison's Batman run
Batman 100
The Killing Joke
Arkham Asylum

Evening639

When I really want to understand a character, a lot of times I'll just go bin diving and try to cheaply put together a few small, uninterrupted runs from various titles and time periods that character has appeared in. It can be challenging based on any number of variables so I'm certainly not suggesting everyone go out of their way to subscribe to my method but it can lead to some really great character moments that happen in otherwise forgettable issues.