Batman Books
We have put together our top 5 Batman books to read. With so many Batman tales out there, it's tough to determine which you should read -- or at least which you should read first. We've gone through well over 70 Batman books to compile our list of the top 5 batman books.
We wont put these Batman books in any certain order as it was hard enough to get the list to our top 5 let a lone figure out which book is number 1. So without further ado here is our list..
1)Batman: Arkham Asylum
Written by: Grant Morrison
Art by:Dave McKean
To dress up like a bat and risk your life every night requires some measure of insanity. Grant Morrison confronts that issue directly in Arkham Asylum as he puts Batman inside the famed looney bin. What's it like looking at the inmates of Arkham? It's like looking in a mirror. This topsy-turvy graphic novel parallel's Batman's race through the Asylum with Amadeus Arkham's descent into madness in the 1920s.
2) Batman: The Killing Joke
Written by: Alan Moore
Art by: Brian Bolland
A funny thing happened on the way to the insane asylum... The origin of the Joker has long been a mystery. That is until Alan Moore exposed a "possible" origin for the Clown Prince of Crime. For the first time we are shown the Joker as a sympathetic character, of a good man driven to insanity by a pair of unfortunate accidents. In fact, the Joker attempts to earn sympathy from the Batman of all people through a heinous act.
3) Batman: The Long Halloween
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Art by: Tim Sale
The Long Halloween is the only Batman story of the past 15 years to crack the top five. It's a deserved recognition as Loeb's year-long tale is a benchmark that, like the other great Batman tales in the top five, will resonate with creators for many years. Taking place early in the Batman's career, The Long Halloween returns Batman to his proper role as a detective. This mystery is confounding and the true identity of the killer is not easy to piece together with the breadcrumbs Loeb leaves. Yet it's impossible not to have fun guessing and the shocking twist at the end will rattle around in your brain for a good long while.
4)Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Written by: Frank Miller
Art by: Frank Miller
Prior to 1986, futuristic tales of heroes were often fluff and fancy. They were joking tales, they were forgettable farce. Frank Miller forever changed the landscape of superhero tales with The Dark Knight Returns, a futuristic imagining of a Batman without hope. Having been retired for ten years following the death of Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne finds himself compelled to don the mantle of the bat once more. This in turn revives the insane criminals who'd been almost comatose for the past decade.
5) Batman: Year One
Written by: Frank Miller
Art by: Dave Mazzucchelli
The best Batman story ever told, Batman: Year One defined the Batman for a new generation. This parallel story follows Jim Gordon as he arrives in Gotham from Chicago and Bruce Wayne as he returns from many years of training abroad. Both find that Gotham is a dying city overwhelmed by corruption from top to bottom. Through Gordon's eyes we see Gotham as it appears to the man on the street. Through Bruce Wayne we see the city from a distance as one might look to solving a complex puzzle. Both men want to save the city, but each follows a different path. It's Year One that shows how these two paths came to meet and an indelible partnership formed.
