What were the first Batman comics you read?

[nepenthes]

The ones that got you here..: )

How did you get them and do they still hold up today?


Very first issue



First trade



First back issue

[PyroSikTh]

I'm a newb, so my first on-time issue was probably Batman #24. First trade was A Serious House on Serious Earth, because of the artwork. First back-issue was probably Arkham Unhinged #1.

[BaneofKings]

My first issue was Batman #1 of the New 52 about a year after it began (on Comixology) and my first on-time print issue was #14. First trade was Year One, IIRC.

[Yuvie]

I was never much of a DC fan at all growing up, I was always loyal to marvel as a kid. Once I got a little bit older though, I bought Dark knight returns secondhand & though it sounds like the obvious choice, it was the one that completely changed my perception on Batman, as I always remembered him from the campy 60s show, which I was never a fan of.

Anyway, I loved that read & it's up there as one of, if not, favourite graphic novel experiences. Just loved the dark, gritty feel of it.

I have to say that reading it all these years later, the magic is not there as much as when I was a kid but still will always remain a great read & one that completely changed my perspective on batman & since, has really opened me up to all different styles of Batman.

[Alfreds Butler]

The dark knight returns. I was already a batman fan from the 89 film and BTAS but this made me love him even more. I was 11 and my friend owned a copy, every time I was at his house I couldn't help but look at it. Thinking how badass he was taking out the mutants and fighting superman. Just awesome

[BaneBreaker]

The beginning of Knightfall and some issues of Shadow of the Bat. I was a Marvel kid growing up and never really paid attention to Batman other than the cartoon and movies. Building the entire Knightfall arc is what pulled me back into comics after many years away.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

After The Dark Knight Rises I went on a Batman hype and went to my comic book store for the first time and picked up (they had a 3 for 2 on GN's) ; Long Halloween, DKR and DK2. Read Long Halloween first and it was amazing and I'd say it deffo holds up today. DKR likewise was great, I didn't even try DK2 lol I couldn't get passed the few pages so ended up selling it.

First Bat floppy was the DOTF finale.

[Michael24]

When I was a kid, my dad had a trade paperback of The Dark Knight Returns on our bookcase. Naturally, as a kid I was a Batman fan, so when I discovered it I really wanted to read it. But he wouldn't let me because I was little and he said "It's written for adults, not kids." I snuck it off the shelf one night to check it out, but back then I was really only familiar with reruns of the Adam West show. This book was nothing like that, so I only read a few pages before I decided I didn't like it and put it back. Haha!! Technically, that was my first exposure to the Batman of the comics.

But it wasn't until years later that I really got into comics books, so these are what I consider my real Bat-firsts.

First New Issue - Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1



First Back Issue - Batman #423



First Trade - Batman: The Collected Adventures, Volume 1

[Powerboy]

My introduction to Batman was the 1960s television show and I started reading the comics as a result. I vaguely remember a comic with the Penguin as my first one but I have no idea now what issue it was or what the story was. As it was the Silver Age, it probably wouldn't hold up well now though I enjoy some of the SA silliness.

Probably Batman versus Man-bat in the Bronze Age was one of my first memorable Batman stories though Batman's greatest impact for me was Batman Year One.

[Jim Kelly]

My introduction to Batman was the 1960s television show and I started reading the comics as a result. I vaguely remember a comic with the Penguin as my first one but I have no idea now what issue it was or what the story was. As it was the Silver Age, it probably wouldn't hold up well now though I enjoy some of the SA silliness.

Probably Batman versus Man-bat in the Bronze Age was one of my first memorable Batman stories though Batman's greatest impact for me was Batman Year One.

Shut yo' mouth! I eventually collected all these comics and read them and they remain my favourite comics. If I ever sell off my collection, these will be the last to go. You can bury me with them.

Before or around the time I started buying my first Batman comics, I was loaned a stack of others. So one of the first Batman stories I remember reading was "Death Knocks Three Times" in BATMAN 180 (featuring Death-Man)--gave me nightmares. Also the first two Poison Ivy stories (in BATMAN 181 and 183). Plus a few other BATMAN and DETECTIVE issues. But as I only borrowed these, it took me years to track down the back issues and add them to my collection.

I would guess your issue with the Penguin was BATMAN 190 (March '67).

[Mace Dolex]

I remember it clearly, it was in 1987 and living in South America the comics there were behind by a few years so the first one I read was a reprint of 'Tec 516 and Batman 349 in which Batman infiltrates a crime academy while Robin is in dire clutches by a vampire chick, to me the stories were so serious and mature unlike the silly Adam West show that I was hooked.

My first trade was The Dark Knight Returns, it took me a while to get used to Frank Miller's but since then its become my favorite Batman story.

[oasis1313]

Back in the 50's, when I was about 5, don't remember the exact issue, but it's probably in a box somewhere around here.

[failo.legendkiller]

I can't remember the very first time but I can clearly remember when I started reading comic books regularly.
I'm italian and i was spending my holidays travelling across the Europe, I was walking without a goal in Bonn, Germany when i found a comic book shop.
I couldn't read german and, at that moment, the only words i knew of english was "good morning" or "the cat is on the table".
So I opted for an english/italian dictionary accompanied by this one:
knightfall.jpg

And that's the way i've learned to read english

[CapeandCowl]

The ones that got you here..: )

How did you get them and do they still hold up today?


Very first issue



First trade



First back issue

The earliest comic books I read with the Batman character had to have been in the early 80s and focused on Dick Grayson growing up, and Jason Todd becoming the new Robin. The first trade I read was A Death in the Family in 1989. First back issue was a reprint of Detective Comics No. 27.

[David Murdock]

First new issue:
Batman_Vol_1_673.jpg

First trade:
51Wc983Wt+L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

First back issue:
51QWhGPwvSL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg