Summary

• Start with Batman: Year One (1987) for the definitive origin story and insight into characters like James Gordon and Catwoman.
• Explore Batman's early rogues gallery in Batman: The Man Who Laughs to witness the iconic first meeting between Batman and the Joker.
• Dive into the impactful storylines of A Lonely Place of Dying (1989) and Knightfall (1993) to understand the evolution of Batman and his allies.

For over 80 years, Batman has been a comic book icon, but finding a good place to start reading through his bravest and boldest adventures can be daunting. The reading order for Batman comics changes depending on how readers want to approach the history of The Dark Knight. Some start with his very first appearance back in 1939's Detective Comics #27, while others start with the more recent or most iconic Batman tales, like The Dark Knight Returns.

As a new version of the Dark Knight heads to theaters in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, new fans will be looking to the comics to explore the character and his extended family. With more stories and famous series than can be counted, finding the right route through DC continuity will be easier thanks to our handy guide.

24 Batman: Year One (1987)

Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli

While Batman's mythology had been developed for many years prior to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One four-issue storyline from 1987, it has become the definitive origin story for Bruce Wayne's evolution into the Dark Knight.

Year One also details future police commissioner James Gordon's first year in Gotham as well as other Gotham City characters like the Falcones and Catwoman. Year One also partially inspired Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, making it a must-read for fans of the previous film franchise.

23 Batman: The Man Who Laughs (2005)

Ed Brubaker, Patrick Zircher

Batman: Year One serves as a perfect introduction to Batman and his mission in Gotham City. But Year One primarily focuses on Batman facing off against mobsters such as Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni. This was long before any of Batman's more colorful villains appeared in Gotham, but Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker and Patrick Zircher.

This comic showcases the first canon meeting between Batman and the Joker. This meeting would be referenced several times over the years, most notably in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Death of the Family, which had Joker repeating some of his earliest crimes (like trying to poison the Gotham City water supply, which was first seen here).

22 Batman: Year Two (1987)

Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis, Todd McFarlane

Batman: Year Two may not have the same name recognition as its predeccesor, but it nevertheless had a major influence on the entire mythos of Batman. This 1987 story continued to retell the origin of Batman, after the history revising events of Crisis On Infinite Earths.

The story pitted him against The Reaper, forcing Batman into a position of potentially having to use guns, which he swore never to do. As an added bonus, The Reaper also provided some visual influence on The Phantasm from the animated movie The Mask Of The Phantasm.

21 Batman: The Long Halloween (1996)

Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale teamed up for a few connected series that explored the early days of Batman's mission in Gotham City while also exploring his allies and enemies in 1996's The Long Halloween and 1999's Dark Victory.

The Long Halloween featured important moments in the development of Batman's rogue's gallery as he investigated the mysterious Holiday Killer, while Dark Victory serves as a direct sequel and highlights the new partnership between Batman and Dick Grayson/Robin.

20 Batman: Dark Victory (1999)

Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale

Batman: Dark Victory was the sequel to The Long Halloween. While the first Batman comic book story arc dealt with how his rogues' gallery developed after he started his war on crime, this sequel dealt with him taking Dick Grayson under his wing and turning him into the new Robin.

This was around the third or fourth year of Batman's battle to protect Gotham City, and he had to solve a series of murders while also stopping a mob war between Two-Face and what was left of the Falcone crime family.

For fans who want to follow the career of Robin, there is a Robin: Year One series that follows Dark Victory.

19 Robin & Batman (2022)

Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen

After reading Dark Victory, the perfect next step would be Robin & Batman by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. This story follows the early days of Dick Grayson's time as Robin, including absolutely beautiful watercolor painting that captures the series' fantastical/dream-like energy. The story also provides a fascinating connection between Dick and Killer Croc, having them both grow up in the same circus.

While everyone knows Dick Grayson as Nightwing, few people are as familiar with his Robin days, and this short comic, coming in at only three issues, provides the perfect glance into the early days of the boy who came to define the role of Robin.

18 The War Of Jokes And Riddles (2017)

Tom King, Mikel Janin

Another story that deals with Batman's second year as a crime fighter is The War Of Jokes And Riddles from 2017. This story from writer Tom King sought to give new life and perspective to both Joker and Riddler by giving them a showdown worthy of their legacies.

With artist Mikel Janin delivering unforgettable visuals for this untold chapter in Batman's history, the eight-part story is told in flashbacks as Batman waits for Catwoman's answer to his proposal for marriage.

17 Batman: Son of the Demon (1987)

Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham

One of Batman's most formidable, and most revered enemies is unquestionably Ra's al Ghul AKA the Demon's Head, the centuries-old leader of the League of Assassins whose relationship with Batman is unlike any of his other villains. Unlike those other rogues, Ra's originally chose Batman to be his successor.

While the origins of Ra's al Ghul weren't revealed until 1999's Birth of the Demon by Denny O'Neil and Norm Breyfogle, it was 1987's Son of the Demon by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham that explored his complicated relationship with Talia al Ghul that would go on to have a major impact on Batman's mythology

16 Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989)

Grant Morrison, Dave McKean

Released in 1989 by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth took Batman, and fans, inside the iconic hospital and showcased many of the inmates who had taken over the institution.

This Batman story was a perfect example of how all Batman's villains were mirror versions of the hero himself and showed how they possibly only exist because he is there as well. For fans of the videogames, this is the comic book that also influenced that franchise.

15 The Killing Joke (1988)

Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, John Higgins

When it comes to Batman, it isn't just about the one hero fighting crime in Gotham City, but his entire ing cast. Joker claims the second spot in the comic mythos of Batman, and no better spotlight on the character has ever been released than The Killing Joke.

In Batman: Year One, the story mostly followed Jim Gordon arriving in Gotham and dealing with the new Batman fighting crime. In The Killing Joke, Gordon is pushed to the limit when Joker shoots and paralyzes his daughter Barbara, who is also Batgirl. This entire act of violence was just to try to drive Gordon over the edge, and it was all he could do to not kill Joker, and a lot of that was thanks to his reliance on Batman as a confidant.