I want to start reading batman comics which ones are the best to read.
Quote from: Creature Of The Night on Wed, 6 May 2009, 05:13
I want to start reading batman comics which ones are the best to read.
I'd say to start with the pre-Robin Kane/Finger comics, or the Dennis O' Neil/Neal Adams comics.
;)
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That and the Returns adaption. Forget the rest. :D
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Wed, 6 May 2009, 15:03
That and the Returns adaption. Forget the rest. :D
I wouldn't go that far when talking about Forever... although, the art in B&R's comic adaptation sort of "WOW's" me a bit, considering how it sort of showed how the movie should've been like visually.
I'm real big fan of the Long Halloween and Dark Victory miniseries. They are very cinematic and have a sort of Godfather vibe to them. Christopher Nolan said they were an inspiration for his films, yet I get more of a Tim Burton vibe off of them.
In my opinion if you like Keaton's Batman, you gotta check out Frank Miller's work.
Quote from: Batmoney on Wed, 6 May 2009, 20:29
In my opinion if you like Keaton's Batman, you gotta check out Frank Miller's work.
Ah, great opinion! I've always found TDKR to have been one of the stories Burton had in mind while developing Batman Returns.
I go with the minority here, but check out Batman/Dracula Trilogy (three books: "Red Rain", "Bloodstorm", "Nosferatu") by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones. It's elseworlds, but all the Batman basics are here (it's still a Gothic City, Batman still wears the classic outfit and battles crime using technology and a few kicks, Alfred is here, Gordon as well), he simply battles Dracula and turns into a vampire himself, and lots of interesting stuff happens featuring other villains. A very entertaining read with a nice gothic horror vibe and illustrations/plot that you can easily associate with music composed by Danny Elfman (when I read it many years ago I was listening the Batman scores or Sleepy Hollow).
My faves are The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Arkham Asylum, Year One and The Dark Knight Returns.
There's a lot for me. To name a few, I love the pre-Robin Finger/Kane comics, the O'Neil/Adams run, most of the graphic novels, the B:TAS comics, & the Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle run.
Dark Victory, Haunted Night, Long Halloween and all those that may be tied in, they're very good. I think they are a good read if you enjoy the new Nolan series especially. Still good regardless, but I saw a lot of stuff in TDK that reminded me of those.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 8 May 2009, 03:38
My faves are The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Arkham Asylum, Year One and The Dark Knight Returns.
I forgot about Year One! For me that is Frank Miller's best. Love David Mazzucchelli's artwork too. I had a harder time getting into the Dark Knight Returns, but I found it to be interesting, and hey if Batman could beats Supes, He can beat anybody from either DC or Marvel hands down!
Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory can go together fairly well as a trilogy, though the first chain in that link is a bit loose (especially when it comes to Catwoman).
The Killing Joke
Arkham Asylum
Any sort of collection/anthology you can get your hands on, be it Batman of the 40s, The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, Batman: Haunted Knight, Batman by Tim Sale, or the Knightfall collections. With the monthlies often a complete mess to follow (IMO), this is your best bet to find some classic one-shots from yesteryear.
"Identity Crisis" from 1990, by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. I know its a unique choice but this story was like reading a Hitchcock book. I loved its mystery and turned the pages as fast as I could. Its still my favorite. The second place belong to "The Killing Joke"
Revised list:
Year One
The Monster Men
Mad Monk
The Man Who Laughs
Long Hallowen/Dark Victory
Haunted Knight
The Dark Knight Returns
The Killing Joke
the long halloween/dark victory
batman: the cult (a personal favorite)
batman: gothic
batman: two-face (the BEST harvey story ever written, even beyond long halloween)
batman: the riddler
detective comics no. 27-37 (the genesis)
Some to name:
Batman Knightfall (Knightquest & Knightsend included)
Batman: Strange Apparitions
Batman: Year One
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Last Arkham
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth
The Killing Joke
Birth of the Demon
I'm suprised noone has mentioned Hush in their lists.
It's definitely one of my favourites.
At the moment I am finishing Heart of Hush and will start Englehart's Batman: Dark Detective next.
I forgot to add Arkham Asylum to my revised list!
Since most of you put out the whole top 6, Ill do the same. So:
1. The Killing Joke - Moore/Bolland
2. Identity Crisis (Scarecrow story, Batman #455 ) - Grant/Breyfogle
3. Letters To The Editor (Anarky story) - Grant/Breyfogle
4. Stone Cold Killer(Detective Comics #616) - Grant/Breyfogle
Its also the spookiest Batman comic Ive ever read (this and Mignola's Sanctum)
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5. Images (Joker story, Legends of the Dark Knight #50) - O'Neil/Blevins
6. Batman Venom - O'Neil/Braun
Arkham Asylum is 100 percent my favourite Batman comic story.
This review I wrote brought it all back:
http://www.batmanmovieonline.com/forum/index.php?topic=287.0
they did one in 2007 where the scarecrow didnt need his gas and one where zatana guest star fighting the joker.
Picked up the Hush completed edition paperback today. Nice to have both books in one. Reflecting on it again, I do love this effort. The art is obviously breathtakingly good, and worth re-read after re-read for that alone. Which is a real plus, since comics, like films, are a visual medium. Also, what I appreciate about Hush is the story itself. It is pure spectacle and they cram a ton of things in. Namely with the cast. Catwoman. Ivy. Harley. Joker. Harvey. Ras. Huntress. Riddler. Nightwing. Superman. Lois. Clayface. Tim Drake references. Etc, etc. It feels like a Rocksteady Batman game in that sense. And it also has the fantasy angle where anything is possible. No constraints, but still with enough human grounding - which is evident in Batman's relationship with Selina, Harold, Drake's past and Elliot himself. While it may not be on the level of Year One, it's very entertaining and and never boring. And that's the main thing when it comes to escapism, right?