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  1. #1
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    Default Batman Fan Coming off a Hiatus-Where do I start?

    Forgive the novice fan asking for such simple advice. If you were starting your collection all over and needed a run of 10-20 Batman comics to read and get you going again, what would you pick? I am looking for some consecutive issues that will lead me into collecting again. Preferably 80's or 90's but you all are the experts so I am open to suggestions.

    Thanks for indulging a previously retired Batman fanatic.

  2. #2
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
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    80s-90s means Post Crisis so the rough chronology would be

    Batman Year One
    Batman Gothic
    Batman Prey
    The Man Who Laughs (post-2000 remake of golden age story but fits in the timeline)
    The Long Halloween
    Dark Victory (Long Halloween sequel that's also the 99-2000 version of Dick Grayson origin)
    Batman Second Chances
    Legends of The Dark Knight by Alan Davis
    The Killing Joke
    A Death in The Family
    Batman The Caped Crusader Vol. 1
    Batman The Caped Crusader Vol. 2 (include a flashback to the 80s version of Dick Grayson origin)
    A Lonely Place of Dying (bundled with A Death in The Family usually)

    That should cover the beginning, early years, and the first decade of Post Crisis Batman. The one that's available in trade, anyway.

    Correct me if I'm wrong

    I'm not including Shaman because there's no new collected edition.
    Last edited by Restingvoice; 07-05-2019 at 10:00 PM.

  3. #3
    Astonishing Member Clark_Kent's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Henrythe8th View Post
    Forgive the novice fan asking for such simple advice. If you were starting your collection all over and needed a run of 10-20 Batman comics to read and get you going again, what would you pick? I am looking for some consecutive issues that will lead me into collecting again. Preferably 80's or 90's but you all are the experts so I am open to suggestions.

    Thanks for indulging a previously retired Batman fanatic.
    If you're looking for 80's-90's, I'd recommend picking up the Batman: Contagion tpb. There will be some characters you may not know, but google is your friend there.

    Although, if you really want 20 consecutive Batman comics to reignite the fire, you can't go wrong with Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman. Start at issue #1 and just go for it. Snyder isn't my favorite writer, but his Batman run is user friendly. Runner up would be Loeb & Lee's Batman: Hush, which is also a trade paperback with 12 consecutive issues. It even has an animated movie coming out soon.
    "Darkseid...always hated music..."

    Every post I make, it should be assumed by the reader that the following statement is attached: "It's all subjective. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you, and vice versa, and that's ok. You may have a different opinion on it, but this is mine. That's the wonderful thing about being a comics fan, it's all subjective."

  4. #4
    Mighty Member jb681131's Avatar
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    BRONZE AGE
    • Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus - or - Batman by Neal Adaman book one & two
    • Tales of the Batman: Len Wein
    • Batman: Strange Apparitions + Batman: Dark Detective <- Batman by Steve Englehart


    MODERN AGE - early years
    1. Year One + The Man Who Laughs <- Batman by Frank Miller and Joker story by Ed Brubaker
    2. Batman and the Monster Men + Batman and the Mad Monk <- Batman by Matt Wagner
    3. Batman: Prey + Batman: Terror <- Batman by Dough Moench
    4. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth <- Iconic Joker Story by Grant Morrison
    5. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell <- Batman by Dan Slott
    6. The Long Halloween + Dark Detective + Catwoman in Rome <- Two-Face Saga by Jeff Loeb
    7. Robin: Year One + Batgirl: Year one <- origin stories
    8. A Death In The Family + A Lonely Place Of Dying <- Story of Robin 2/3
    9. Birth of the Demon + Son of the Demon <- Ra's Al Ghul's story
    10. The Killing Joke <- Joker story by Alan Moore


    MODERN AGE - End of Gotham - Chuck Dixon's run
    1. Knightfall Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-3
    2. Batman: Contagion + Batman: Legacy
    3. No Man's Land Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-4



    MODERN AGE - New Gotham - Greg Ruckas's
    1. New Gotham Omnibus vol.1-2
    2. Gotham Central vol.1-4
    3. Bruce Wayne: Murderer ? + Bruce Wayne: Fugitive
    4. Batman: War Games (new edition) vol.1-2



    MODERN AGE - Hush Saga
    1. Batman: Hush <- by Jeff Loeb again
    2. Detective Comics: Detective + Detective Comics: Death and the City + Detective Comics: Private Casebook <- Paul Dini's run part.1
    3. Detective Comics: Heart of Hush + Streets of Gotham: Hush Money + Streets of Gotham: Leviathan + Streets of Gotham: House of Hush <- Paul Dini's run part.2



    MODERN AGE - Batman vs. Death
    1. Under the Red Hood Omnibus
    2. The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul
    3. Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus vol.1-2
    4. Batman: The Black Mirror <- first story by Scott Snyder
    5. Absolute Batman Incorporated
    6. Batman: Gates of Gotham <- pre-new52 by Scott Snyder




    MODERN AGE - Other Stories
    • Batman: Snow
    • Joker by Brian Azzarello
    • Batman: Mad Love <- first appearance of Harley Quinn in the main comics timeline
    • Two-Face: Jeckyll & hyde
    • Penguin: Pain & Prejudice




    MODERN AGE - New52
    1. Batman: Night of the Owls (omnibus)
    2. Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of Violence+ Batman, the dark knight: Mad + Batman, the dark knight: Clay <- Batman by Gregg Hurwitz
    3. Batman & Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus
    4. Batman: Death of the Family Saga (omnibus)
    5. Batman: Zero Year (The Complete Collection)
    6. Batman: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-3 + Batman & Robin: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-2
    7. We Are... Robin vol.1-2 + Robin War




    MODERN AGE - Rebirth
    1. Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by Tom King
    2. Batman: Detective Comics Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by James Tynion IV
    3. Poison Ivy: Cycle of Live and Death
    4. Batman: White Knight + Batman: Curse of the White Knight (upcoming) <- Batman by Sean Murphy
    5. Batman: Metal <- Big Batman Event




    ELSEWORLDS
    • Batman & Dracula: Red Rain + Batman: Bloodstorm + Batman: Crimson Mist <- by Doug Moench
    • The Doom that Came to Gotham <- by Mike Mignola (Hellboy)
    • Batman: Earth-One vol.1-2
    • Li'l Gotham <- by Dustiin Nguyen
    • The Dark Kngith Returns <- by Frank Miller
    • Batman: Year 100 <- by Paul Pope

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member Clark_Kent's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jb681131 View Post
    BRONZE AGE
    • Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus - or - Batman by Neal Adaman book one & two
    • Tales of the Batman: Len Wein
    • Batman: Strange Apparitions + Batman: Dark Detective <- Batman by Steve Englehart


    MODERN AGE - early years
    1. Year One + The Man Who Laughs <- Batman by Frank Miller and Joker story by Ed Brubaker
    2. Batman and the Monster Men + Batman and the Mad Monk <- Batman by Matt Wagner
    3. Batman: Prey + Batman: Terror <- Batman by Dough Moench
    4. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth <- Iconic Joker Story by Grant Morrison
    5. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell <- Batman by Dan Slott
    6. The Long Halloween + Dark Detective + Catwoman in Rome <- Two-Face Saga by Jeff Loeb
    7. Robin: Year One + Batgirl: Year one <- origin stories
    8. A Death In The Family + A Lonely Place Of Dying <- Story of Robin 2/3
    9. Birth of the Demon + Son of the Demon <- Ra's Al Ghul's story
    10. The Killing Joke <- Joker story by Alan Moore


    MODERN AGE - End of Gotham - Chuck Dixon's run
    1. Knightfall Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-3
    2. Batman: Contagion + Batman: Legacy
    3. No Man's Land Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-4



    MODERN AGE - New Gotham - Greg Ruckas's
    1. New Gotham Omnibus vol.1-2
    2. Gotham Central vol.1-4
    3. Bruce Wayne: Murderer ? + Bruce Wayne: Fugitive
    4. Batman: War Games (new edition) vol.1-2



    MODERN AGE - Hush Saga
    1. Batman: Hush <- by Jeff Loeb again
    2. Detective Comics: Detective + Detective Comics: Death and the City + Detective Comics: Private Casebook <- Paul Dini's run part.1
    3. Detective Comics: Heart of Hush + Streets of Gotham: Hush Money + Streets of Gotham: Leviathan + Streets of Gotham: House of Hush <- Paul Dini's run part.2



    MODERN AGE - Batman vs. Death
    1. Under the Red Hood Omnibus
    2. The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul
    3. Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus vol.1-2
    4. Batman: The Black Mirror <- first story by Scott Snyder
    5. Absolute Batman Incorporated
    6. Batman: Gates of Gotham <- pre-new52 by Scott Snyder




    MODERN AGE - Other Stories
    • Batman: Snow
    • Joker by Brian Azzarello
    • Batman: Mad Love <- first appearance of Harley Quinn in the main comics timeline
    • Two-Face: Jeckyll & hyde
    • Penguin: Pain & Prejudice




    MODERN AGE - New52
    1. Batman: Night of the Owls (omnibus)
    2. Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of Violence+ Batman, the dark knight: Mad + Batman, the dark knight: Clay <- Batman by Gregg Hurwitz
    3. Batman & Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus
    4. Batman: Death of the Family Saga (omnibus)
    5. Batman: Zero Year (The Complete Collection)
    6. Batman: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-3 + Batman & Robin: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-2
    7. We Are... Robin vol.1-2 + Robin War




    MODERN AGE - Rebirth
    1. Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by Tom King
    2. Batman: Detective Comics Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by James Tynion IV
    3. Poison Ivy: Cycle of Live and Death
    4. Batman: White Knight + Batman: Curse of the White Knight (upcoming) <- Batman by Sean Murphy
    5. Batman: Metal <- Big Batman Event




    ELSEWORLDS
    • Batman & Dracula: Red Rain + Batman: Bloodstorm + Batman: Crimson Mist <- by Doug Moench
    • The Doom that Came to Gotham <- by Mike Mignola (Hellboy)
    • Batman: Earth-One vol.1-2
    • Li'l Gotham <- by Dustiin Nguyen
    • The Dark Kngith Returns <- by Frank Miller
    • Batman: Year 100 <- by Paul Pope
    Did you read the OP?
    "Darkseid...always hated music..."

    Every post I make, it should be assumed by the reader that the following statement is attached: "It's all subjective. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you, and vice versa, and that's ok. You may have a different opinion on it, but this is mine. That's the wonderful thing about being a comics fan, it's all subjective."

  6. #6
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    I'd recommend from the period you asked for:

    The Dark Knight Returns.
    Batman: Year One.
    The Killing Joke.
    A Death in the Family.
    Knightfall.
    The Long Halloween.

  7. #7
    Mighty Member jb681131's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clark_Kent View Post
    Did you read the OP?
    Yes:

    He's open to "suggestion".
    He want's "consecutive stories".
    "Preferable in the 80's/90's" - That doesn't mean he's not open to more.
    He'd like "10-20" stories - I gave more but each era is like a new starting point.

    And All my suggestion are great reads for the most part. (The few lesser good ones are here because they are important to know).

  8. #8
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    I'll second The Long Halloween (13 issues). It touches on a number of classic Bat villains and you don't need to read anything else before it. If you're willing to jump to the 00s, Hush is much the same (12 issues, art by Jim Lee). Both were written by Jeph Loeb.

    The bat titles in the 90s and into the 00s did a lot of interweaving between the three or four titles - first Knightfall, then Contagion/Legacy, then Cataclysm into No Man's Land - all the Bat titles interacted, so it's hard to point to a single in-continuity collection or arc that's a nice "ease you in" story. The 80s has a lot more self-contained stories, but collections are more scattershot. Ten Nights of the Beast, Blind Justice, and the Many Deaths of Batman are all interesting trades from that era.

    One way to go might be to read the Legends of the Dark Knight collections - a lot of the stories take place early in Batman's career w/o a lot of continuity complications - Gothic, Venom, Prey, Shaman, and Faces are all good (Gothic is definitely in print, the others are available digitally).
    Blue text denotes sarcasm

  9. #9
    Censorship Sucks
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    stay away from the current run....unless you want to get out of comics again very fast like.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by jb681131 View Post
    BRONZE AGE
    • Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus - or - Batman by Neal Adaman book one & two
    • Tales of the Batman: Len Wein
    • Batman: Strange Apparitions + Batman: Dark Detective <- Batman by Steve Englehart


    MODERN AGE - early years
    1. Year One + The Man Who Laughs <- Batman by Frank Miller and Joker story by Ed Brubaker
    2. Batman and the Monster Men + Batman and the Mad Monk <- Batman by Matt Wagner
    3. Batman: Prey + Batman: Terror <- Batman by Dough Moench
    4. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth <- Iconic Joker Story by Grant Morrison
    5. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell <- Batman by Dan Slott
    6. The Long Halloween + Dark Detective + Catwoman in Rome <- Two-Face Saga by Jeff Loeb
    7. Robin: Year One + Batgirl: Year one <- origin stories
    8. A Death In The Family + A Lonely Place Of Dying <- Story of Robin 2/3
    9. Birth of the Demon + Son of the Demon <- Ra's Al Ghul's story
    10. The Killing Joke <- Joker story by Alan Moore


    MODERN AGE - End of Gotham - Chuck Dixon's run
    1. Knightfall Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-3
    2. Batman: Contagion + Batman: Legacy
    3. No Man's Land Omnibus (new edition) vol.1-4



    MODERN AGE - New Gotham - Greg Ruckas's
    1. New Gotham Omnibus vol.1-2
    2. Gotham Central vol.1-4
    3. Bruce Wayne: Murderer ? + Bruce Wayne: Fugitive
    4. Batman: War Games (new edition) vol.1-2



    MODERN AGE - Hush Saga
    1. Batman: Hush <- by Jeff Loeb again
    2. Detective Comics: Detective + Detective Comics: Death and the City + Detective Comics: Private Casebook <- Paul Dini's run part.1
    3. Detective Comics: Heart of Hush + Streets of Gotham: Hush Money + Streets of Gotham: Leviathan + Streets of Gotham: House of Hush <- Paul Dini's run part.2



    MODERN AGE - Batman vs. Death
    1. Under the Red Hood Omnibus
    2. The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul
    3. Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus vol.1-2
    4. Batman: The Black Mirror <- first story by Scott Snyder
    5. Absolute Batman Incorporated
    6. Batman: Gates of Gotham <- pre-new52 by Scott Snyder




    MODERN AGE - Other Stories
    • Batman: Snow
    • Joker by Brian Azzarello
    • Batman: Mad Love <- first appearance of Harley Quinn in the main comics timeline
    • Two-Face: Jeckyll & hyde
    • Penguin: Pain & Prejudice




    MODERN AGE - New52
    1. Batman: Night of the Owls (omnibus)
    2. Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of Violence+ Batman, the dark knight: Mad + Batman, the dark knight: Clay <- Batman by Gregg Hurwitz
    3. Batman & Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus
    4. Batman: Death of the Family Saga (omnibus)
    5. Batman: Zero Year (The Complete Collection)
    6. Batman: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-3 + Batman & Robin: Eternal Omnibus vol.1-2
    7. We Are... Robin vol.1-2 + Robin War




    MODERN AGE - Rebirth
    1. Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by Tom King
    2. Batman: Detective Comics Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-5 (ongoing) <- batman by James Tynion IV
    3. Poison Ivy: Cycle of Live and Death
    4. Batman: White Knight + Batman: Curse of the White Knight (upcoming) <- Batman by Sean Murphy
    5. Batman: Metal <- Big Batman Event




    ELSEWORLDS
    • Batman & Dracula: Red Rain + Batman: Bloodstorm + Batman: Crimson Mist <- by Doug Moench
    • The Doom that Came to Gotham <- by Mike Mignola (Hellboy)
    • Batman: Earth-One vol.1-2
    • Li'l Gotham <- by Dustiin Nguyen
    • The Dark Kngith Returns <- by Frank Miller
    • Batman: Year 100 <- by Paul Pope
    WOW!. Thank you everyone for the input. One of the few communities where you can ask a question and not have 50% of the responses be trolls. I am on ebay now looking into all of your suggestions. I decided I will definitely pick a few choice Joker issues to get ready for the movie. That preview has me more excited for a movie than anytime since maybe Batman Begins.

    Thanks for the suggestions. I can't wait for the issues to come in the mail and get back into this world!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Caldwell View Post
    stay away from the current run....unless you want to get out of comics again very fast like.
    Thanks. I have to be honest. When I looked into subscribing, I felt like a stranger to what I remember from 20-30 years ago. Once I get back into the game I may try some newer stuff just to see how it has progressed.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clark_Kent View Post
    If you're looking for 80's-90's, I'd recommend picking up the Batman: Contagion tpb. There will be some characters you may not know, but google is your friend there.

    Although, if you really want 20 consecutive Batman comics to reignite the fire, you can't go wrong with Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman. Start at issue #1 and just go for it. Snyder isn't my favorite writer, but his Batman run is user friendly. Runner up would be Loeb & Lee's Batman: Hush, which is also a trade paperback with 12 consecutive issues. It even has an animated movie coming out soon.

    Thank you. I am looking for a good LOT on ebay now.

  13. #13
    Uncanny Member Digifiend's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Caldwell View Post
    stay away from the current run....unless you want to get out of comics again very fast like.
    The current run ends soon anyway. Until we see a solicit that says a writer other than Tom King, stick with Detective Comics, which changed creative team only a couple of arcs ago, and not Batman, which has over 80 issues by one writer.
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  14. #14
    Censorship Sucks
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digifiend View Post
    The current run ends soon anyway. Until we see a solicit that says a writer other than Tom King, stick with Detective Comics, which changed creative team only a couple of arcs ago, and not Batman, which has over 80 issues by one writer.
    I wish we had the ability to like comments on here because this one would get a big old fat thumbs up!

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