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I've read Arkham Asylum and, based on the comments people have made on this board, I borrowed The Dark Knight Returns from the Library.
What other Batman novels are worth reading and what are ones that should be avoided at all costs?
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Hardcovers I own...Son of the demon, Bride of the demon, Child of dreams, Batman / Deadman, The Chalice, and Catwoman:selina's big score....All are great . Some notable yet b/c grade are fortunate son and red rain trilogy.
Notable and good TPBs/prestige are Strange apparitions (rogers/englehart/wein, evolution, The cult, killing joke, gotham by gaslight, doom that came to gotham, The Ankh, Scottish connection, Harley Quinn, Mr freeze, poison ivy, batman/grendel......other I can't heartily recommend
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Batman: Gothic (by Grant Morrison) is damn good. Collects an early "Legends of the Dark Knight" story arc.
Batman: Holy Terror and Batman: Master of the Future (both elseworlds) are also worth a read.
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Birth of the Demon (the ony Demon book worth getting)
Batman: No Man's Land 1-5 (best crossover I've ever read)
Killing Joke
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I agree with R3x's suggestions... I would also go with Dangerous Dames and Demons (this is based on the animated series, but they are amazing stories done by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm), Long Halloween, Year One, Evolution...
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What about "Officer down"? Is that one worth getting?
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Child of Dreams is good at it's worst and amazing at best.
Killing Joke is a classic.
Year One, also a classic.
Strange Apparitions is slightly outdated, yet still very good.
Gotham by Gaslight and Doom that Came to Gotham aren't bad, at least notable for the art.
There's one that I can't remember the name, but the basic plot is Bruce Wayne and Etrigan are one and the same. It was beautifully painted, and not bad storywise.
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What about Grant Morrison's Arkham? Is tht any good?
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Damn good book. Pick it up and read. NOW!
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"year one" and "the dark knight returns" are manditory. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. everything else is pure speculation. as a longtime batfan, i'd recomend:
the killing joke is not a personal fav, but others love it, so you should check it out.
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I'm surprised no one's mentioned Dark Victory yet. I've not personally read it, but it's one of my friend's favorite Bat-stories... I also like the Prestige format oneshot by Loeb/Sale called Madness starring Bats and the Mad Hatter. 'Course, I'm a Mad Hatter fan, so what do I know? ![[wink]](images/icons/wink.gif)
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quote:
Originally posted by Projoe:
What about Grant Morrison's Arkham? Is tht any good?
It's good.
Hey, you're from Dallas, too, huh? Where do you do your comic shopping?
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quote:
Originally posted by CrisLander:
What about "Officer down"? Is that one worth getting?
No. Firstly, it's not really a graphic novel, and secondly, it was terrible.
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quote:
Originally posted by Chewy Walrus:
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Dark Victory yet. I've not personally read it, but it's one of my friend's favorite Bat-stories...
I also like the Prestige format oneshot by Loeb/Sale called Madness starring Bats and the Mad Hatter. 'Course, I'm a Mad Hatter fan, so what do I know?
That was a Good one... Madness. That was the Halloween Special, right?
Dark Victory I've not read, but the Long Halloween was good.
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I've read DV, but not LH. For the most part it was good, but because I read the sequal first I felt I was missing something. It wasn't until after I finished the boom that I learned the two books were related. quote:
Originally posted by Animalman:
Hey, you're from Dallas, too, huh? Where do you do your comic shopping?
I go to Titan Comics over on marsh and northwest highway. Where do you tend to get your fix?
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quote:
Originally posted by Projoe:
I go to Titan Comics over on marsh and northwest highway. Where do you tend to get your fix?
Sorry it took so long to reply, I must've missed this topic.
I shop at the Lone Star Comics at the Preston/Forest shopping center. I go to Titans sometimes. I'd go there more often, as the selection is far and away the best of any comic shop in Dallas(and probably any in Texas), but it's also a bit pricey and a good 15 minutes farther away from my house than Lone Star is. Plus, I know the Lone Star guys better, so I'm more loyal to them.
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Why is it that everyone is forgetting Devil's Advocate? ![[eh?]](images/icons/confused.gif)
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I can't believe that nobody's mentioned Night Cries. It's a classic
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I was going to mention that. Archie Goodwin was one of the industry's best unrecognized writers.
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob Kamphausen:
"year one" and "the dark knight returns" are manditory. don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I guess that would make me the "otherwise," because I LOATHE those stories. Can't stand them at all. Frank Miller writes great creator-owned stuff, but he can't write Batman to save his life, at least not as far as I'm concerned. I know some people love 'em, but I can't stand 'em. (I tried showing Dark Knight to my youngest sister, and she thought it was the stupidest thing she'd ever seen. Guess I ain't the only one who was turned off by it.)
What would I recommend? Well....
Batman: Child Of Dreams
The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, VOL. 1
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: Black & White, VOL 1 and 2
The Batman Archives, VOL 1-5
Batman: The Dark Knight Archives VOL. 1-3
Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives VOL. 1
The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told
Batman: War On Crime
And I suppose the Neal Adams hardcovers might be worth getting as well.
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I can't believe I forgot to put Batman:Ego by Darwyn Cooke...it's a prestige one shot, but one of the best bat stories I've ever read....
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quote:
Originally posted by King Krypton:
quote:
Originally posted by Rob Kamphausen:
"year one" and "the dark knight returns" are manditory. don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I guess that would make me the "otherwise," because I LOATHE those stories. Can't stand them at all. Frank Miller writes great creator-owned stuff, but he can't write Batman to save his life, at least not as far as I'm concerned. I know some people love 'em, but I can't stand 'em. (I tried showing Dark Knight to my youngest sister, and she thought it was the stupidest thing she'd ever seen. Guess I ain't the only one who was turned off by it.)
What would I recommend? Well....
Batman: Child Of Dreams
The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, VOL. 1
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: Black & White, VOL 1 and 2
The Batman Archives, VOL 1-5
Batman: The Dark Knight Archives VOL. 1-3
Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives VOL. 1
The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told
Batman: War On Crime
And I suppose the Neal Adams hardcovers might be worth getting as well.
I honest to god think you're retarded. The Miller Batman (excluding DKSA) was the character at it's finest. He wrote Batman with depth and character. His Batman had emotions and made sense. Sure he didn't smile and have homoerotic moments on giant typewriters, but you can't have it all.
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I never liked dark knight, but I liked year one. Dark Knight was not Batman..even Miller admits that. It' a possible future Batman..a person he could become....It's not definitive. Just like Kingdom Come isn't...
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quote:
Originally posted by Pig Iron:
I never liked dark knight, but I liked year one. Dark Knight was not Batman..even Miller admits that. It' a possible future Batman..a person he could become....It's not definitive. Just like Kingdom Come isn't...
Granted. Dark Knight is an interesting story, but Year One is the genius work. The frustration Bruce feels before discovering the venting of being Batman. Or Gordon's struggle dealing with orders to hunt Batman versus his instincts.
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I actually didn't like Year One that much(I thought it was good, but not spectacular). I really disliked the background he gave Catwoman and some of the other characters. I thought that was his most human Batman, but his weakest story.
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I picked up Gothic and, although I enjoyed it, I found it quite conventional for a Grant Morrison story.
I also bought Year One which I like a lot. It was weird reading it so soon after The Dark Knight Returns because that novel focuses on a much older Batman, who has come out of retirement and is constantly making mistakes and over-reaching himself by trying to match the things he did in his youth. In Year One he's also making mistakes but it's down to inexperience.
The biggest surprise I got from reading these novels was discovering what a cool character Commissioner Gordon is. Until I read Dark Knight and Year One my mental image of Gordon was of the guy from the 1960s Batman TV series.
In Year One I find Gordon to be a more intriguing character than Batman/Wayne. My favourite parts of that novel were watching how quickly he acclimatises to Gotham City and in a very short period of time realises the Batman is a necessary and decides to work with him.
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