dan6433

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62 2006 26 13
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The Greatest Batman Stories

Here's a list of some of the my favorite stories starring the Dark Knight.

List items

  • Said to be the one story arc that renewed interest in monthly titles during the early 21st century, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's "Hush" not only upped the ante for all Batman scribes who followed, but it signaled a comic book revolution in which great writing and amazing artwork went hand in hand. Readers could finally have their cake and eat it too.

  • Generously mining the windfall that is the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee villain Hush, Paul Dini offers up some of his best story-telling yet. Dini has been writing wonderful Batman stories for many years, and he doesn't disappoint in this Detective Comics arc.

  • Fan favorite (though, due to many past deadline issues, that isn't always so) writer, Kevin Smith, took on the Dark Knight in the brilliant mini-series "Cacophony," further exploring the strange villain Onomatopoeia which he'd created during his run on Green Arrow, and probing the psychological dynamic between Batman and his arch-nemesis, the Joker.

  • Matt Wagner, of Grendel fame, spins one of the darkest and most imaginative Batman tales to date in his three part "Faces" arc for the Legends of the Dark Knight series. Featuring Two-Face and an unwitting army of freaks, "Faces" is provocative, intriguing, and too short!

  • Years before giving Bruce Wayne his impish son Damien and then putting Batman through the wringer that would eventually kill him, Grant Morrison wrote the dark and spooky supernatural Legends of the Dark Knight story "Gothic." This five part arc pits the Detective against an immortal Satanist who is hellbent on getting revenge.

  • Peter Milligan's three part "Dark Knight: Dark City" takes the innocently goofy menace that is the Riddler and turns him into a terrifying and unpredictable adversary dedicated to summoning a demon dormant beneath Gotham City. Great riddles, twists and turns, and fantastic artwork both inside and out (covers by the great Mike Mignola and interiors by Keiron Dwyer) highlight DK:DC.

  • Jim Starlin and company were painstakingly building up the fact that Jason Todd was no happy-go-lucky Dick Grayson clone. They were setting an uneasy tone of rebellion and angst all the while, and then--BAM! "A Death in the Family" seemed to come out of nowhere, solidifying the Joker as one of the most dangerous and sadistic villains in Batman's rogues' gallery, and taking Jason Todd from the Bat-family until years later when he returns as a villain.

  • Frank Miller made quite a splash in his four part "Year One" arc in which he retells Batman's origin in gritty realism. The noir overtones not only brought Batman back to his dark roots, but also sparked a frenzy amongst new and devout readers alike.

  • Legendary illustrator Paul Pope's Batman: Year 100 mini-series may be one of the most original Batman stories to ever be told. Part L.A. Confidential, part Blade Runner, Year 100 sees Batman evading thought police and battling corrupt government officials 100 years after his first appearance in 1937.

  • Grant Morrison's zaney Batman and Robin series stands head and shoulders above its contemporary Bat-peers. From deadly carnies and the creepy Pyg, to a revamped Red Hood, to the resurrection of Bruce Wayne using a Lazarus Pit, this series has delved into some strangely unfamiliar yet wildly entertaining territories.

  • Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III's Detective Comics run seems years ahead of its time, mostly due to Williams' innovative and psychedelic sequential artwork. The story finds the new Batwoman helming the Detective series for the first time, and fighting a crime cult led by a whimsical woman who calls herself Alice.

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