Does anyone have any recommendations for Batman runs during the post-Knightfall and pre-Grant Morrison era? We're excluding No Man's Land and Hush, as I already have those. Detective Comics runs during that era would be welcome as well. Thanks!
Does anyone have any recommendations for Batman runs during the post-Knightfall and pre-Grant Morrison era? We're excluding No Man's Land and Hush, as I already have those. Detective Comics runs during that era would be welcome as well. Thanks!
Last edited by Citizen Kane; 11-20-2019 at 05:05 PM.
The Ed Brubaker on Batman and Greg Rucka on Detective Comics runs that culminated in the Murderer/Fugitive cross-overs are worth reading. Collected in the two Batman by Ed Brubaker trades, two New Gotham trades, and the Murderer and Fugitive trades.
(note that the second volume of the Brubaker Batman trades pretty much is 99% content that overlaps with the Murderer/Fugitive trades - you'd probably be saving a pretty penny just tracking down the one issue not part of those crossovers by itself instead of picking up the whole trade)
And though Batman isn't the focus of the book, Brubaker and Rucka's Gotham Central is also worth looking into.
I think Under the Red Hood came out during this period, might be worth reading for the narrative significance it played in resurrecting Jason Todd.
A more obscure recommendation with some caveats is David Lapham's Detective Comics run, collected as "City of Crime" - the third-person narrative style Lapham uses can grow grating for some and though it starts strong I've always found that Lapham fails to satisfactorily resolve all parts of his story by its end - but if you enjoy dark and gritty Batman tales City of Crime definitely delivers the darkness and grit in spades.
Last edited by Hilden B. Lade; 11-20-2019 at 05:05 PM.
Batman: The Long Halloween and Gotham Central's the biggies.
Batman: The Man Who Laughs.
Under the Red Hood.
If you don't mind reading digitally, the DCU app has basically every Batman comic ever published pre-Rebirth. There's a lot of good Brubaker, Rucka, Moench, Dixon stories in this period — in Batman and Detective Comics, but also Gotham Central, Robin, Birds of Prey, and Nightwing.
There's a good amount of cohesion among all of the titles under the editorial of that period, mostly because the crossovers didn't really stop until basically the Morrison run. Basically it goes Knightfall, Contagion, Legacy, Cataclysm, Aftershock, No Man's Land, New Gotham, Murderer/Fugitive, Gotham Central, War Crimes, Under the Red Hood, then One Year Later, then Morrison.
Dixon's Robin and Nightwing run is amazing.
Simone's Birds of Prey is my favorite depiction of Babs.
Batgirl with Cassandra is amazing as well.
Yes yes yes I've got:
So listen/read closely.
Knight fall is a big event, and the start of Chuck Dixon's run.
Chuck Dixon will lead multiple great crossovers.
Right after Knightfall he will write medium size events:
1. Contagion - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...b/4000-220253/
2. Legacy - 2 volumes - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...y/4050-100686/
3. Cataclysm / Aftermath - those events are included in the new No Man's Land omnibus
Alongside those events you can read Doug Moench's run :
* Batman By Doug Moench & Kelley Jones - 2 omnibus - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...es/4050-72486/
But those events are only prequels to what he will write next the impressive No Man's Land:
4. No Man's Land - 4 volumes - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...nd/4050-44947/
During No Man's Land, Gotham will become a warzone and Batman + the GCPD will regain Gotham block by block.
This event signs the end of Chuck Dixon's run and the begining of New Gotham.
New Gotham is an era led by the great Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, making propably the best Batman run to be, in my opinion:
(all the big vilains have been caught during No Man's Land - the gangs and mafias will kick-in and give nice Noir Detective stories)
5. New Gotham - 2 volumes - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...m/4050-101597/
6. Gotham Central - 4 volumes - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/gotha...al/4050-41220/
(Gotham Central is an excellent detective title following the GCPD by Rucka & Brubaker also)
7. Bruce Wayne: Murderer - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...er/4050-32113/
8. Bruce Wayne: Fugitive - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...ve/4050-75550/
alongside in other titles you have a nice gangwar in gotham (to read after new Gotham)
5b. Batman: War Drums - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...ms/4050-35842/
5c. Batman: War Games - 2 volumes - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...es/4050-85555/
5d. Batman: War Crimes - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...s/4000-269626/
Also alongside this big run by Brubaker and Rucka you have some nice mini series:
* Arkham Asylum: Living hell (one of my favorite stories) - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/arkha...ll/4050-34937/
* Dark Knight, Dark City (another one of my favorite stories) - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...ty/4050-80026/
* Batman: Jekyll & Hyde - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...de/4050-43967/
After this big big Rucka / Brubaker run, you have the fun Hush saga that start with Hush by Jeph Loeb but that finishes in Paul Dini's fun run:
What Dini has done with Hush and Catwoman is much much better than what Loeb did.
9. Batman: Hush - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batman-hush/4050-27384/
10. Paul Dini's run - 7 tpb:
--- Batman: Detective
--- Batman: Death and the City
--- Batman: Private Casebook
--- Batman: Heart of Hush
--- Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 1 – Hush Money
--- Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 2 – Leviathan
--- Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 3 – The House of Hush
After Hush, another guy from Bruce's past comes back in the Red Hood saga:
11. Batman: Under the Red Hood - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...d/4000-292973/
11b. Red Hood: Lost Days - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/red-h...ys/4050-40961/
And right before Morrison's run is the comeback of yet another - his greatest enemy:
12. Batman: The Resurrection Of Ra's Al Ghul - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/batma...ul/4050-31003/
And I would also recommand the fun (one of my favorite stories) Joker by Brian Azzarello - 1 volume - https://comicvine.gamespot.com/joker/4050-23571/
I hope it's clear and comprehensive.
And have fun reading all that
Last edited by jb681131; 11-26-2019 at 04:08 PM.