Recommendations for first time Batman comics

Bah, Hush was fun. Not particularly heady or memorable, but an enjoyable read.

I always liked McKean and Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. But, I’m not a huge comic fan. I just like McKean’s art style.

And hell, some of the better ones are Elseworlds titles, anyway.

I would also throw in Batman: No Mans Land - a 5 volume ark dealing with the after effects of a major earthquake decimating Gotham - If you want the actual EQ event book - then Ii think its called Cataclysm. If you want to go even further back in that timeline, Contagion is a book that takes place just before the quake.

War Games is another great 3 volume ark, with War Drums being the prequel and War Crimes finishing up that ark.

Under the Hood, Face the Face and some of the Superman V Batman books are fun too.

If you are getting The Long Halloween, then let me add my vote for Dark Victory - it wraps that ark, and also written by Loeb and Sale as is Haunted Knight - another enjoyable book. I really like everything these guys did on Batman.

The one book that did not float my boat was DKR 2, set waay in the future, it seemed messy and jumbled and is nowhere as good as Dark Knight Returns IMHO.

No Man’s Land, War Games, Under the Hood, and Face the Face are strictly for continuity junkies. I should know, I am one, and I did get a sort of enjoyment out of them as a result, but they are not Good Batman Stories and should not be recommended in that context without big warnings.

I like 'em, I am recommending 'em.

The poster asked for peoples opinions on good Batman books, and in my opinion, they are bloody good ones. In your opinion they are not, fair enough, but don’t you think that telling other people what and what not to recommend is a bit much? (unless of course you are Tim Sale, Jeph Loeb, Frank Miller or the ghost of Bob Kane in disguise? If so, then reveal yourself)

Edit: BTW, even though this isn’t my thread, there are a few books that have been suggested here that I don’t have and I will be adding them, so I think we should keep this thread going for the education of all Bat -Nerds.

Thinking it over, I’m fond of the Batman in the [decade] series of books DC has done. They give you a really good idea of how the character evolved over time, and an idea of how the character works in the context of individual stories from different eras. A first-time reader might enjoy them just as a nice general overview of who Batman has been over the years.

That’s just, like, your opinion, man.

No one’s suggesting Knightfall?

I picked up Year One and The Man Who Laughs yesterday. I’m halfway through The Man Who Laughs and am having a good time reading this. Thanks for the good recommendations, folks!