There are literally thousands of Batman comics. At more than 80 years old, the Dark Knight is one of the characters with the most published stories , so if you want to immerse yourself in his adventures, it can be a bit complicated and confusing. However, don’t worry. We teach you how to start reading the Batman comics and not miss the most important, nor the masterpieces.
Batman has a multitude of comics of his own, to which must be added his appearances in Justice League , single volumes and other series such as Detective Comics , Legends of the Dark Knight , Batman / Superman …
The Crusader in the Cloak seems immeasurable, and the truth is that it is so.
Any fan looking to get started with Batman will be overwhelmed by the number of options. But if you are one of them, don’t worry, this is the way to start off right.
Where to start reading Batman
This is the easiest part. In Spain, the rights to Batman have been held by ECC Ediciones since 2012. If you take a look at the shelves of your favorite stores, you will see that there are several Batman series right now: The Adventures of Batman , The Dark Knight … Well, forget about moment of the series .
If you start with them, they are continuous series that need to have read the previous issues in many cases. Or they make references to characters and facts from the Batman stories that will make you lose yourself and not enjoy yourself.
For this reason, the first Batman comic you should read is the legendary: Batman: Year One , with Frank Miller in the script and David Mazzucchelli in the ink. Two giants.
The title already says it, we are in the first year of a young and inexperienced Batman who begins his fight for justice in Gotham streets plagued by evil and misery. Not only will we get to read from the beginning, but we will also enjoy one of the best Batman stories ever written. That will make you hopelessly hooked and want to continue.
Fortunately, it is a classic that is constantly being reissued, so it is not difficult to find.
The second comic you must read
From here, there are opinions for all tastes, but the second comic that anyone who wants to get started in Batman should read is Batman: The Long Halloween , by Jeb Loeb and Tim Sale.
It is a limited series of 13 episodes, where a Batman, still in its infancy, faces a serial killer who, for a whole year, ravages Gotham.
This recommendation is also straightforward because it ‘s another of the best Batman stories ever written, and it’s a good unofficial chronological continuation of Batman: Year One .
In this way, we are entering the adventures of the Dark Knight just like him. In addition, we immerse ourselves in the most fascinating facet of Batman, the detective who goes far beyond handing out tow dressed very weird.
With just these two volumes, we will have already read more than 500 pages of Batman, we know his origin and his best abilities: his extreme intelligence , his tireless training and the greatest superpower of all, money .
In this way, we can already dive into other Batman stories.
Where to go
If you liked The Long Halloween , the next recommendation is easy. As a third comic you should read Batman: Dark Victory , also by Loeb and Sale and a continuation of the Halloween story.
However, if you want, you can already jump to other stories and we recommend that you do so with the best graphic novels and limited series . At least a few of them, before diving into one of the current series and collecting it.
The continuity in the Batman series is very messy, as in almost every superhero with a few years of history. So you shouldn’t worry too much about starting here or there , as long as you’re doing it for good comics.
What you guarantee with graphic novels is that you do not miss any of their best stories and that you will learn about the most important events in the history of the Dark Knight, such as who is who among Batman’s villains or the fate of his faithful Robin.
Graphic novels sometimes collect stories purposely made in this format, such as the ones we have seen so far, but others collect the best story arcs from the many Batman comic series that there have been.
For example, a good continuation of the above would be to dive into Batman’s most iconic villain, The Joker , and for that, a good comic is Joker. The man who laughs . It talks about its origins and collects numbers 784 to 786 of the Detective Comics series.
Other recommendations
After that, you won’t fail with any of these other graphic novel recommendations, in almost any order:
Batman: Arkham Asylum , by the legendary Grant Morrison , which compiles in a luxurious volume the confrontation of Batman against some of his greatest enemies.
Batman: The Killing Joke , from another legend, Alan Moore . What can we say, the greatest titans of comics have taken the reins of Batman and masterpieces like these that we are naming come out. Difficult to get it, but right now there is the Deluxe black and white edition.
Batman: Silence , by Loeb and Lee, where once again a multitude of Batman’s enemies ravage Gotham and make life impossible for him.
With those volumes, we will see most of the antagonists and they are stories that will have already hooked us. We will have a good knowledge and we will be able to jump from here to there, choosing what we want without getting lost in the plots.
We would recommend that you continue with graphic novels and compilations and, at the very least, do not miss:
The return of the Dark Knight , by Frank Miller, with an old Batman already, who is measured against Superman and takes us to a dark future and some adult themes. Indispensable cult comic, little more to say.
Batman: Under the Red Hood , another must-see story from the Dark Knight.
How to get started in a Batman series
With this background, you will already have the best Batman. My recommendation is to continue with graphic novels, so that you will continue to delight yourself with the best that its history has given, or to start to continue and collect a series at last.
Currently, ECC has several series if you enter their website . They are Batman: The Detective, Batman: Urban Legends, Batman, Batman / Superman and Batman: Detective Comics . Forget Batman / Fortnite , that crossover with the Epic Games game.
The choice already depends. For those who like more traditional superheroes, Batman / Superman can be a good choice. For those who like the more adult side of mystery there is Batman: The Detective and, of course, you can always walk down the middle street and choose the Batman series to dry.
With these guidelines, you already know how to start reading Batman comics without getting lost in the thousands of options, savoring the best of the best and starting in the right place.
