Hey guys,

I've lurked here for a few weeks as I decided whether or not to start a comic collection. I never read a comic in my life, however I was a HUGE superhero cartoon lover growing up in the nineties, i.e. The Amazing Spiderman, X-Men, JLA etc, but head, shoulders and cowl above this was Batman: The Animated Series.

So last week I decided to start my comic book journey, walked into the local store and left with Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (recommended by the guy at the desk) and downloaded/read "Hush" online. Bear in mind, I have a fairly good understanding of the Batman mythos through TV, movies and Arkham games, so I'm not completely lost on character histories.

Since then I've ordered Year One and made a reading order list of Pre-52 comics I think I need. I want the CLASSIC stuff, the stories that define Batman. After that, I want to start on the New-52 stuff and collect that regularly, so I've also done a list of that. (see below)

Is there anything on the list that I don't need (in your opinion) or have missed?

Beyond the B-man himself, I'm also interested in Ra's al Ghul, Nightwing and Deathstroke.

I also prefer the more "modern" artwork, i.e. I liked the art in Hush more than The Dark Knight Returns, or scans I've seen of other older books.

Pre-52

1. Batman: Year One Frank Miller

2. Batman: Year Two – Fear the Reaper

3. Batman: The Long Halloween

4. Batman: Dark Victory

5. Batman: The Killing Joke

6. Batman: A Death in the Family

7. Batman: Arkham Asylum

8. Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

9. Robin: A Hero Reborn

10. Batman: Knightfall

11. Batman: Hush

12. Batman: War Drums/Games/Crimes

13. Identity Crisis

14. Batman: Under the Hood

15. The Dark Night Returns

16. JLA: Tower of Babel

New-52

1. Batman: Detective Comics: Faces of Death

2. Batman and Robin: Born to Kill

3. Batman: The Dark Knight: Knight Terrors

4. Batman: The Court of Owls

5. Batman: Night of the Owls

6. Batman: The City of Owls

7. Batman and Robin: Pearl

8. Batman: The Dark Knight: Cycle of Violence

9. Batman: Death of the Family

10. The Joker: Death of the Family

11. Batman and Robin: Death of the Family

12. Batman: The Dark Knight – Mad

13. Batman and Robin: Requiem for Damian

14. Batman: Zero Year – Secret City

@thedemonshead: I'll start out by saying welcome to the comic world! Batman is definitely a great character to launch off with. You have a great list there, however I have a suggestion for you. Considering you picked a great time to start reading, since the New 52 was just launched, you don't necessarily HAVE to read the Pre-52 story arcs to follow what is currently happening. Now, that's not to say some items on your list are (in my opinion) a must-read, simply because their beautifully written. What I'm saying is, if you're looking to just catch up on the history of Batman and start following his current work, you just simply have to brief up on common knowledge stuff (i.e Different robin's and their history, among other things), and start reading the New-52 arcs. The thing about Batman (and Green Lantern), is that most of the events that occurred before the New-52, carry over into the New-52 (ex- The Killing Joke, Bane breaking Batman's back, etc.). OR you could start from scratch with the story arc Zero Year, and then work into the story arc called Court of Owls and then Night of Owls and then Death of the Family. I also HIGHLY recommend the ongoing arc in Detective Comics called "Icarus." I cannot speak more highly of this story arc. I also have another recommendation for you. I like to document all the comics I purchase on Comixology, which is how I read my comics, and I format them in the preside order that the story arc derives them to be in. It would be a GREAT help to beginners if you're interested. It's just a word document that can be sent by email. Just let me know. I hope I was enough help, if you have any more questions I'm around to answer anything.

That's a VERY good list. However, patrickborkland makes a good point that you could start by reading the in-continuity stories. I'd also suggest that instead of going by a chronological order, try to read the type of stories that interest you the most. Now, Batman Year One and Dark Knight Returns are amazingly written, but so are The Long Halloween and Dark Victory (and since they were written by the same writer around the same time, I suggest you read these in pairs). What really matters is how you like your Batman stories -- most comics are extremely fond of labeling themselves with genres, so it'd help if you ask which kind of genres you normally prefer. Within Bat-lore you have those straight up action/superhero epics like Knightfall and DKR (though I warn you, reading DKR now might seem a bit dated. It's politically condensed, and really expects you to sort be familiar with the characters or their popular reputation beforehand), or Crime Noirs like The Long Halloween.

One series of books you didn't include in your list is NO MAN'S LAND. I'd highly recommend that series. It was Batman at his worst. Another extremely good OGN not on your list is NIGHT CRIES, it's beautifully illustrated and written by the late Archie Goodwin, and what's amazing about it is that it deal with themes of child abuse, which is kind of central to Batman's lore. Also Alex Ross' WAR ON CRIME is a good starting point. Divide your books into OGNs and Continuities. You've already done a very nice grouping with pre-52 and new-52, which is great. I did the same thing with pre-Crisis and post-Crisis back when I started off.

If you really love reading, and you really love Batman, START with the kind of stories written in Bat-lore that fits your taste. Read DKR first, Year One next, and then The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. Right now I'm trying to catch up on my Golden Age Detective Comics and looking back they were actually very fun and enjoyable.

@patrickborkland: Please correct me if I've misunderstood you, but from my understanding of your post the story arc "Year Zero" leads into the "Owls Arc" yes?

I'm also really intrigued by Comixology (never heard of it before) and your chronological story-arc.

I find the older comics difficult to read digitally, but that's only me and the fact they're scans.

I got digital versions of A Death In The Family, Arkham Asylum, The Monster Men, Death by Design, Hush, Knightfall, Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Son of the Demon, The Court of Owls, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughs, Vengeance of Bane and Year One of a friend yesterday.

So far, I've read Hush (which is awesome) as that was the book I first saw and was what made want to read comics, The Dark Knight Returns, in order to compare the digital with the analogue experience, and glanced at Year One as a preview for when it arrives in the post later this week.

It feels strange reading TDK on a monitor, while the artwork in Hush actually lends itself to a PC. I think I'll buy paper/hardback collections of the classic Pre-52 stuff, but read the New 52 on the computer/tablet.

@navetorment: Thanks for the suggestion of No Man's Land and Night Cries. As for your genre remark, I haven't read enough Batman yet to make up my mind on what genre I like the most, but I'll take it onboard.

This may seem like a stupid question, but what does OGN stand for?

@thedemonshead: The "Zero Year" arc was published after "Court of Owls," and Zero Year (not "Year Zero") is still going on. The last issue to the arc comes out this month. But Zero Year takes place during Bruce's first year in Gotham as Batman. But when it comes to the New-52, Zero Year is the new OFFICIAL history of how Batman comes into Gotham for the first time. In Pre-52, it was "Year One," but now Zero Year includes the official events. When it comes to comixology, I LOVE the way the digital reader formats the flow of panels, but it had the disadvantage of giving you the feeling of not feeling as if you "own" them, because it's not a physical book you can hold. But I still prefer to read on comixology because it's easier to buy your comics online, and then read those comics either on the app (on your iPhone, iPad, kindle, etc) and then it's free to download and read where ever you are. If you are interested in my document then just give me your email and I will send it

@patrickborkland: Thanks, I went and checked Comixology out, and I understand what you mean by not "owning" the comics.

Is there a way to download comics you purchase on Comixology for offline reading?

I've sent you a PM in regards to that document.

@thedemonshead: it's kind of complicated since they changed the app on iTunes. The app on the iPad and iPhone allows you to download the comics you already purchased off of the cloud and read them on your device. In order to purchase them, you go on comicology.com and buy whatever you want

@patrickborkland: any way with Windows? (Windows PC, tablet & phone owner over here)

@thedemonshead: yeah Windows should have a version of a comixology app on both the computer and tablet

I liked Batman: No Man's Land.

If your looking for pre new 52 stories that define Batman despite their new 52 continuity, your list can be altered a little. Year 2 fear the reaper is not exactly essential. It's an ok story arc but didn't really come up often after, and there are better more important stories that influence the character. If you liked Mask of the Phantasm, then it might be worth a read.

No Man's Land is epic. It's a year long event in 4 Batman titles plus several other tie ins (87 issues plus Road to No Man's Land which is another 12 on top of that).

I could go on and on about recommendations but since you mentioned Ra's, I'll just give a few that focus on him. Birth of the Demon from 1992 is his origin story. Legacy is the big 90's Batman VS Ra's story. I know you want modern but the Saga of Ra's Al Ghul reprints some of his original appearances (I don't know if that one is in TPB or not), or Batman 232, 235, 240, 243 and 244 (the actual original story). It's 70's Batman but probably the best of that decade and as influential to modern Batman as about half of your list.

I would not recommend Batman: Year Two – Fear the Reaper.

A Death in the Family and A Lonely Place of Dying are imho also not really good storys, but probably more important.

I would add Batman: The Cult, Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, Robin: Year one, Batgirl: Year One and Nightwing: Year One to the list.