Added by sackdaddy on 21 Oct 2010 01:46

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Batman: Chronological Reading Order

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Recommended Pre-Batman Reading

Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939, and since then has appeared in many of DC Comics’ publications. Originally referred to as "the Bat-Man" and still referred to at times as "the Batman", he is additionally known as "The Caped Crusader", "The Dark Knight", and "The World's Greatest Detective".

Dc The New Frontier TP Vol 01 - Darwyn Cooke

This isn't actually part of the timeline, but it's a great story and will do a fantastic job of giving you some backstory on a few important characters in the DC universe. Well worth the read...

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Crisis On Multiple Earths, Vol. 1 - Scott Fox

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Crisis On Infinite Earths - George Pérez, Marv Wolfman

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7.8

Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1 - John Byrne_vi,Dick Giordano

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Legends: The Collection - Len Wein,John Ostrander

It's best to mix this collection with a few other issues:

- Legends 01
- Legends 02
- Superman [v2 001]
- Legends 03
- Superman [v2 002]
- Legends 04
- Superman [v2 003]
- Adventures Of Superman 426
- Action Comics 586
- Legends 05
- Superman [v2 004]
- Legends 06

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8.4

Justice League: A New Beginning - J.M. DeMatteis,Keith Giffen

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DC: Batman Year 1

8.4

Batman: Year One - Deluxe Edition - Frank Miller_II, David Mazzucchelli_III

Much of Batman Begins was taken from this story. Frank Miller does an excellent job kick-starting the Batman franchise after the Crisis reboot. This is a MUST read for any Batman fan.

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Batman And The Monster Men TP - Matt Wagner

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Batman: Prey - DC Comics

This story is sort of intermingled throughout the Batman and the Monster Men story... but it's fine if you read it immediately afterwards.

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Batman And The Mad Monk TP (Dark Moon Rising)

6.5

Batman And The Mad Monk TP (Dark Moon Rising)... - Matt Wagner

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7.6

Batman: The Man Who Laughs - Ed Brubaker, Doug Mahnke

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DC: Batman Year 2

7.3

Batman: Gothic - Grant Morrison, Klaus Janson

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Batman Tenses Book #1 of 2 - Joe Casey

- Make sure to also read the 2nd part to this story

Batman starts to realize the type of creeps his new professions will put him up against, and also begins to come to grips with his own past.

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Batman Confidential #23 - Andrew Kreisberg

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6.7

Batman Four of a Kind - Doug Moench,Chuck Dixon,DC Comics,Alan Grant

These 4 stories cover the origins and backstory of 4 important Batman opponents: Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow), Edward Nigma (Riddler), and Kirk Langstrom (Man-Bat). An interesting group of stories.

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Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight - Terror

9.7

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight - Terror - Doug Moench

Great story, the beginning of the love story between Bats and Catwoman. Hugo Strange returns and breaks out Scarecrow for a nice 1-2 punch. Good read.

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Batman: Year Two - Fear the Reaper - Alan Davis,Mike W. Barr,Todd McFarlane

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Batman, Vol. 5: Rules of Engagement - Andy Diggle

I'd like to point out that there is more than just Batman in this reading order. I've also included all the important story arcs from the DC Universe. You could almost consider this a Modern DC Chronological Reading order, centered on Batman.

One last note, there were a few stories that I wanted to read, but they weren't ACTUALLY part of the timeline (DC: The New Frontier, Vol. 1 for example)... so if I just picked a spot to include them. I'll make a note of any of these instances.

I've done alot of looking around, and used a combination of these sites to put this list together. Enjoy, any additional thoughts or pointers are welcome. This list will grow as I read through it myself.

- The DCU
- Comic Book Resources
- The Real Batman Chronology Project
- Wikipedia: List of Events in the DC Universe