SchippeWreck
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|  #1 Posted on 10.6.05 1631.56
Reposted on: 10.6.12 1632.14 | Well, i got to see Batman Begins last night, thanks to my wife being a WB employee. And basically, it rocked in every conceivable way. (I'm stopping short at starting a thread in Movies, since no one else can take part until the movie's out.)
But the reason I'm here is that now that I have Batmania again, I was hoping you kind folks could help me out with some essential Bat stories from recent years. I haven't read any Batman titles in over a decade, and I need to know what are the best of the best to pick up.
I have read Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke, Death in the Family, and Dark Knight Strikes Back (more a Superman story really), but if anyone could point me in the direction of any other must-reads, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance! | Promote this thread! |             | J. Kyle
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| #2 Posted on 10.6.05 1718.47
Reposted on: 10.6.12 1728.53 | I'm gonna throw in the suggestion you visit the TPBs for the Adventures series b/c Dini, Templeton, and co. really capture the essence of the characters as well as telling some fun stories.
Also recommended: Knightfall/Knightsend/Knightquest because actually seeing somebody outsmart Batman, someone replace Batman, and then Batman come back to prove that he ain't Flash/Arrow/Lantern and that he will not be phased out is incredibly enjoyable.
"The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" are good for some retro feel.
And "The Last Laugh" and "Mad Love" are REQUIRED if you like the Joker. | HairRaiser
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| #3 Posted on 10.6.05 2316.02
Reposted on: 10.6.12 2317.20 | | A couple in particular I really liked were Cataclysm + No Man's Land (6 TPBs total) and the anime-feel "Child of Dreams". | Tenken347
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| #4 Posted on 11.6.05 0824.34
Reposted on: 11.6.12 0824.57 | | Well, you might want to pick up Batman: Year One, because the movie is supposed to be inspired by that. I though Year One was pretty decent, but it came off as a little bit more about James Gordon than about Batman. | odessasteps
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| #5 Posted on 11.6.05 1119.28
Reposted on: 11.6.12 1119.51 |
To go along with the movie, I'd recommend the back-in-print Ra's Al Ghul trade. I believe it's all denny stories and maybe all Denny/Neal stories.
Some of the Elseworlds are pretty good too. | Pizza Pasta
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| #6 Posted on 11.6.05 1805.29
Reposted on: 11.6.12 1809.35 | Picking from recent stuff that you will find most easily in your local bookstore:
Hush Vols. 1 and 2 were sort of the biggest Batman story of the last few years. Many comic fans turned against the story, though, because of its controversial bait-and-switch villain, but the art was gorgeous and I enjoyed it as a whole thoroughly. When I returned to collecting comics around two years ago, this was one of the purchases that motivated the decision.
War Games Vols. 1 and 2 (so far) collect a run that basically covered every single Bat title for the better part of six months. It's goal was to take Batman back to a solo, dark vigilante position as raw chaos erupts all over Gotham and affects all of his large supporting cast. It's been decent, but like I said I'm deliberately picking from what you'll find easily available that you don't already own. | Big Bad
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| #7 Posted on 12.6.05 0111.35
Reposted on: 12.6.12 0126.00 | I'd recommend the Officer Down and Contagion storylines as well....they're all in the trades.
If you want a negative recommendation, stay away from the Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Fugitive storylines, since it's all a bunch of meandering nonsense. Batman: Broken City is also pretty weak. | Freeway
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|  #8 Posted on 12.6.05 0117.29
Reposted on: 12.6.12 0127.15 | Originally posted by Big Bad
I'd recommend the Officer Down and Contagion storylines as well....they're all in the trades.
If you want a negative recommendation, stay away from the Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Fugitive storylines, since it's all a bunch of meandering nonsense. Batman: Broken City is also pretty weak.
Broken City was good if you went in with low expectations. It had a tough act to follow in Hush, and Azzarello & Risso did a pretty good job...except in comparison to the twists & turns of Hush. | It's False
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| #9 Posted on 12.6.05 1331.43
Reposted on: 12.6.12 1334.15 | IGN comics has an amazing feature in which they'll review 60 Batman graphic novels. 35 of the reviews are already up with the top 25 coming later this week.
Bat-reviews! | Cerebus
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| #10 Posted on 13.6.05 1523.26
Reposted on: 13.6.12 1523.30 | I was at a BOOKS-A-MILLION recently and found a pretty cool graphic novel that has the first ten Batman stories in chronological order. It was Vol.#1 and I think it said they were gonna put out a new one every 3 months . Now if they'll do this for Superman, I'd be happy.
What was wrong with Murderer and Fugitive? Well, besides the big 'reveal' I suppose, but up to that point, it was pretty good.
I'd suggest the first BATMAN/SUPERMAN trade cause Jeph Loeb really writes a good Batman. Also, pick up JLA: TOWER OF BABEL where we find out Batman had a plan to take out the JLA should the need arise and Ra's Al Ghul (from the movie) gets a hold of the plans and uses them.
Then, of course, for actual BATMAN books, TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST and THE CULT are always great reads. | Freeway
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| #11 Posted on 13.6.05 1859.00
Reposted on: 13.6.12 1859.01 | Originally posted by Cerebus
I was at a BOOKS-A-MILLION recently and found a pretty cool graphic novel that has the first ten Batman stories in chronological order. It was Vol.#1 and I think it said they were gonna put out a new one every 3 months . Now if they'll do this for Superman, I'd be happy.
What was wrong with Murderer and Fugitive? Well, besides the big 'reveal' I suppose, but up to that point, it was pretty good.
I'd suggest the first BATMAN/SUPERMAN trade cause Jeph Loeb really writes a good Batman. Also, pick up JLA: TOWER OF BABEL where we find out Batman had a plan to take out the JLA should the need arise and Ra's Al Ghul (from the movie) gets a hold of the plans and uses them.
Then, of course, for actual BATMAN books, TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST and THE CULT are always great reads.
The first JLA trade is also pretty damn good as a Batman showcase, and I must also second the love for Tower of Babel, especially in light of recent DCU events (Identity Crisis, The OMAC Project, new issues of JLA and the upcoming Infinite Crisis). And Gotham Central is vaguely related to Batman, and is apparantly quite good. Two trades are available now. DC's also printed a trade called The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. Year One is great. Dark Knight Returns is great. The Long Halloween is probably my favorite Batman story.
(edited by Freeway420 on 13.6.05 1801) | GodEatGod
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| #12 Posted on 20.6.05 1632.32
Reposted on: 20.6.12 1633.05 | | One of my favorite Bat-stories, probably just because it's the one that got me into Batman in the first place, is "The Last Arkham", the first four or five issues in the Shadow of the Bat series. Especially fun if you watched the movie, since it extensively features the cameoed Mr. Zsasz. I think it's probably available in a trade somwhere. | Mild Mannered Madman
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| #13 Posted on 22.6.05 2226.20
Reposted on: 22.6.12 2229.01 | Originally posted by Pizza Pasta
War Games Vols. 1 and 2 (so far) collect a run that basically covered every single Bat title for the better part of six months. It's goal was to take Batman back to a solo, dark vigilante position as raw chaos erupts all over Gotham and affects all of his large supporting cast. It's been decent, but like I said I'm deliberately picking from what you'll find easily available that you don't already own.
War Games was only 3 months long. It was kinda iffy.
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