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  1. #1
    Mighty Member C_Miller's Avatar
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    Default Best "Off The Beaten Path" Stories

    I did a quick search for a topic like this, but I wasn't sure how to word it. So if there's already a topic like this, I apologize.

    So, obviously when people ask for the best Batman stories, you tend to hear Year One, The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns and now Morrison's epic. Then of course, you hear about things like No Man's Land, Knightfall, a Death in the Family, Black Mirror, Court of Owls, Hush, ect. Maybe Dark Knight, Dark City if people are digging a bit deeper. Honestly, as someone who's read all of the "classics," I'm getting a little sick of the somewhat broken record response to the "Best Batman comics" question.

    Batman is a character who's been around longer than my Dad's been alive and has switched genres more times than some characters have had individual stories, so I'm looking for more obscure stories to check out. So tell me some of your favorite single issues and arcs for someone who has read all of the first few levels and wants to go deeper.

    I'm especially fascinated with some of the more workhorse types for lack of a better word. The ones typically mentioned were kind of created to be something special. I'm looking for some great stories that were part of runs or part of Batman and Detective Comics proper, but anything will do.

    Let's see what you got! I appreciate anything you all can throw at me.

  2. #2
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    As I've said before, a favorite of mine is a little story from the 60's=70's period is titled, "Die Small Die Big". A better archivist than I am has posted the cover before. I also grew up with "80-Page Giants" and comics that cost 10 cents (I nearly had a cow when they went up to 12 cents).

  3. #3
    Formerly known as teej teej's Avatar
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    Detective Comics #647-649 by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle is a favorite of mine. Besides it being a fun story that's not totally dissimilar to an episode of the '66 series, it's also the first appearance of Stephanie Brown.

    Batman #309 by Len Wein and John Calnan is also kind of endearing in a strange way. Wein's whole run is one my favorites and certainly one of the best from that era but that one issue is the one that is most memorable.
    But are you the only metal that's liquid at room temperature?

  4. #4
    Mighty Member nepenthes's Avatar
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    Some of my personal favorites that are not often mentioned are

    Batman by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones
    Azrael: Deaths Dark Knight
    Detective No.27
    Black & White all editions
    The Last Arkham, Akham Asylum: Living Hell and Arkham Reborn they all kind of go together
    Contagion
    Turning Points
    DKSA if you haven't already read

    I suppose if you're done with the "first few levels" ha you can also work your way up this list here - for books that are less commonly mentioned but still highly regarded enough to make the list - see if anything catches your interest.

  5. #5
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    These come to mind:

    Milligan's tec stories
    Nine Lives
    The Doom that came to Gotham

  6. #6
    Metahumane MykeHavoc's Avatar
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    Most of the best "off the path" titles tend to focus on elements outside of Batman himself. Although usually held in high regard, I didn't see you mention Gotham Central. That's as far as I'm concerned required reading as much as anything else listed.

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