Hallo!! So you replied to me on twitter the other day with your Batman Comic list thingy (its late and im tired while asking this) and I was wanting to ask if you know any really good Mr. Freeze comics I should look for and read? Love that dude fr
Hi! I'm happy to!
so the tl;dr on Mr. Freeze is that he's basically a totally different character in comics that came out before the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice" in 1992 than in comics that came out after that episode. The DCAU version is really the definitive version of the character, and the popularity of that portrayal changed how he was portrayed in comics afterwards. And honestly...the majority of his good stories have been told within the DCAU and its various connected comics. He's unfortunately an extremely underutilized villain in the comics even after BTAS made him popular. So, that being said, here's a few good Mr. Freeze stories.
DCAU-verse:
Batman: The Animated Series S1 Ep. 14, "Heart of Ice"
Many of Freeze's major non-DCAU comic appearances can be found in Batman Arkham: Mr. Freeze, and here's a list of his most prominent (and decently-written) appearances in the comics:
Batman (1940) #121 (Freeze's first appearance)
Detective Comics (1937) #373
Batman: Mr. Freeze (by Paul Dini)
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #190-196, "Cold Snap" and "Snow"
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #201-203, "Cold Case"
Gotham Central #1-2, "In the Line of Duty"
Batman: Gotham Knights #59, "Fire and Ice"
Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze
He also shows up as the co-villain (along with Penguin) in the Detective Comics "City of Crime" storyline (Detective Comics #800-808, #811-814) and as a supporting villain in the final arc of Cassandra Cain's Batgirl solo, Batgirl (2000) #65-73.
Do you have any recommendations for Superfam, Wonderfam, Flashfam and Arrowfam comics? I read your Batman starter list and I'm working my way through it, but I also wanted to try something different. Thanks!
Sort of, yeah! I put together a Wonderfam starter recs list awhile back; you can find it here.
Flashfam....I'm not nearly as familiar with, but Mark Waid's Flash run and Jeremy Adams' Flash run (both starring Wally) are fantastic, as is Impulse (1995). The Arrowfam is also generally out of my capacity to rec properly besides recommending Titans (1999) for Roy, Birds of Prey (1999) for Dinah, and a few scattered Arrowfam comics here and there (like Hard-Traveling Heroes, Quiver, and the Green Arrow Rebirth run).
And of course Young Justice (1998) if you want to read more Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, and Kon-El.
....honestly, I would ask @ectonurites and @secretlystephaniebrown for Superfam recs. I have my own favorites, but they both know infinitely more about the Superfam than me and would be able to give you a much better "starter recs" list than I would. I would personally recommend Superman: Birthright and Superman Smashes the Klan as good intro comics. Everything after that kind of depends on what characters you want to read more about.
Hi! I was looking to see if you know of many comics with Batman's villains at the lead!? (Besides Harley and Selina, who've had multiple series and are pretty easy to find). Other than the "Joker" Novel and Penguin: Pain and prejudice, i couldn't find any. Any good suggestions for Joker, Ivy, Two-Face, or any other villian from the Batman universe?
the tldr is that Ivy has several, Two-Face has a handful, the al Ghuls have a couple, and everyone else has had a couple of single issues starring them.
In general, the Batman Arkham series functions as a Batman Rogues Gallery "Greatest Hits" collection. While most of the stories collected in these trades don't feature the rogues as a protagonist, they all explore the characters and their backstories/motivations and feature them in a starring role!
On principle, I generally refuse to recommend Joker comics. Clown man has enough stuff starring him and they're generally easy enough to find without me promoting him more than he already is. Also, to be honest with you I occasionally go out of my way to avoid stuff starring him because he's frankly bored me ever since DC decided to emphasize him as a psychopathic serial killer instead of a funny villain with a clown gimmick.
However, The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman vol. 1 #251) is a fun read, Joker: The Man Who Laughs and Joker's Last Laugh are both good, and Batman: The War of Jokes and Riddles is decent as well. Another fun one that's a little out of the box is Superman: Emperor Joker.
Other than that...I generally recommend the following for Ivy:
Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy (basically an 'Ivy Greatest Hits' collection)
Batman: Poison Ivy (1997)
No Man's Land (yes, it's long. No, Ivy's not a 'lead'. yes, it's also ground zero for Ivy's redemption arc and features her in a major role)
Gotham City Sirens (2009)
Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder (specifically Vol. 2, Family Tree, and Vol. 3, Rotworld: The Green Kingdom)
Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016)
Poison Ivy (2021) by G. Willow Wilson (curently ongoing)
Ivy also pops up in Ram V's Catwoman (2018) run and pretty consistently in Harley's solo books after 2015.
For Two-Face (my beloved), read Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (which function as a double feature). Then read any of the following:
Batman: Faces (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #28-30)
Batman: Two-Face (1995)
Batman Annual #14: "Eye of the Beholder"
Gotham Central, which has an extended Harvey-Renee Montoya subplot
Batman/Two-Face: "Crime and Punishment"
Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face (2006)
Two-Face: Year One (2008)
Batman and Robin (2011) 23.1: Two-Face
Detective Comics #1020-1022: âThe Ugly Heartâ
Two-Face: One Bad Day
And for a couple of stories that aren't Harvey-focused but feature him as a prominent antagonist...read Robin: Year One, A Lonely Place of Dying, and Batman: Prodigal.
For the al Ghuls, apart from the Batman Arkham collections you're primarily looking for Tales of the Demon, the Demon Trilogy (Birth of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, Son of the Demon), Batman: The Chalice, and Batman Annual #26 (the prologue to Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, which is also fun). Two of Damian's Robin solos (Robin: Son of Batman (2015) and Robin (2021)) also prominently feature Talia. There are...certainly other options, if you want to read about the al Ghuls, but they're rarely well characterized in those (except Talia's LexCorp CEO arc; all hail Talia's Lexcorp CEO arc).
Clayface (the Basil Karlo version) prominently featured as a protagonist in Tynion's Detective Comics Rebirth (2016) run.
Everyone else...apart from stories where they're the prominent antagonist, there were several Villain takeover issues during the period of Batman and Robin (2011) when Damian was dead, Year of the Villain had a few issues focused on the Batman Rogues, and the One Bad Day series focuses each issue on a different Bat Rogue.
There are plenty of other stories centered on various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, but hopefully this gives you a solid starting place!
Made a post about my 3 things I want to see with every Wonder Woman adaptation, despite needing to do some catching up myself. Related, do you have a link to a Wonder Woman reading list?
As for my Wonder Woman recs list....technically, yes. I made a Wonder Woman starter recs list way back in 2017 right after the movie came out. However, it's outdated, I've changed my opinion on some of the things I said there as I've read more Wonder Woman comics, and it also fails to include several good comics. So here's my current Wonder Woman starter recs list:
Starter comics: These are great comics to read if you're new to Wonder Woman comics or only have a passing familiarity with her:
Wonder Woman: Year One, by Greg Rucka
Wonder Woman (1987) #1-62, by George Perez
Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, by Greg Rucka
JLA: League of One, by Christopher Moeller
The Legend of Wonder Woman, by Renee De Liz and Ray Dillion
Wonder Woman: Historia, by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Wonder Woman (1987) #170, by Phil Jimenez (the Diana-Lois 'Day in the Life' issue)
"Generations" from Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, by Michael Jelenic (Issue #12-13 digitally, Issue #7 print)
Wonder Woman: Our Worlds At War, by Phil Jimenez (warning: this oneshot ties into the "Our Worlds at War" event, so the frame story will probably be confusing, but the majority of the story is a solid retelling of the collective Amazonian history up to that point)
Notes: LOWW is a WWII period piece reimagining of Golden Age Wonder Woman and so has a lot of elements that are not canon to modern Wonder Woman comics. However, it is still a very good comic to read in order to get a general handle on Diana as a character. Likewise, Historia is a Black Label (AU) reimagining of Amazonian history and lore that focuses on Queen Hippolyta, Diana's mother. It is not necessarily 100% accurate to the main universe's depiction of those characters/events, but it is also an excellent starter comic to help you get a handle on the lore and what WW comics are about.
Second-level comics: read these once you have a baseline familarity with Diana and her supporting cast:
Wonder Woman by Phil Jimenez, including Paradise Lost/Paradise Found (which I don't think are in the current Jimenez omnibus)
Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka (his first run on the title), with a particular call-out for the Medusa arc
Wonder Woman: The Circle and Ends of the Earth, by Gail Simone
Wonder Woman Rebirth (2016), by Greg Rucka (Rucka's second run; everything except Year One fits here)
Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors (WW 1942 #212-222), by Len Wein and assorted other writers
Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour, by James Tynion IV
Wonder Woman: Lords and Liars by Mariko Tamaki
All of the comics on both lists are great; I have no hesitation recommending any of them. However, I will give a blanket warning for sexual assault in the Amazons' backstory, particularly during the seminal Perez run (which is very dated in how it handles the topic, unfortunately), and racism re: how the Bana-Mighdall splinter tribe of Amazons are originally depicted in the Perez run. I will also put a general note that while I can't think of anything else outright offensive, various social issues are not always handled with grace (especially in the older runs).
Beginner Recs featuring the Wonderfam:
Wonder Woman: Gods of Gotham (WW 1987 #164-167), by Phil Jimenez* is a good "all Wonderfam" story.
For Donna Troy (Wonder Girl I/Troia):
Tales of the Titans (2023) #3, by Steve Orlando*
Titans 2025 Annual, by Phil Jimenez*
New Teen Titans: Who is Donna Troy?/New Titans: Who is Wonder Girl?, both by Marv Wolfman*
JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative, by Devin Grayson
Titans (1999), by Devin Grayson*
The Return of Donna Troy, by Phil Jimenez (collected in The Death and Return of Donna Troy)*
Titans (2023), by various writers
For Cassie Sandsmark (Wonder Girl II):
Wonder Woman: Lifelines (WW 1987 #105-108) and WW #109-113, by John Byrne (Cassie Sandsmark's introduction)
Young Justice (1998), by Peter David*
Teen Titans (2003-2011), by various writers (Note: Geoff Johns' Cassie is very two-dimensional. she gets MUCH better after Johns leaves the book)
For Nubia:
Nubia and the Amazons, by Stephanie Williams and Vita Ayala*
Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, by Stephanie Williams and Vita Ayala*
For Artemis of Bana-Mighdall:
Wonder Woman: The Contest (WW 1987 #0 and #90-100), by William Messner-Loebs (for Artemis of Bana-Mighdall)
Artemis: Requiem, by William Messner-Loebs (Note: this is not actually recommended reading. It's utterly cursed and I wouldn't put it on here if it wasn't absolutely necessary to understand how Artemis isn't dead after "The Contest." Read everything else on this list before you read this mini)
Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth (2016) #1-24, by Scott Lobdell (for post-Flashpoint!Artemis, who's basically a different character)
For Yara Flor (Wonder Girl III):
Future State: Wonder Woman, by Joelle Jones (Yara Flor)
Wonder Girl (2021), by Joelle Jones (for Yara) (Note: this run is "just okay" and I'm reccing it with several reservations. However, it's also Yara's most prominent comic to date)
I've starred the ones on this list that I actually recommend as "good comics to read" and not just "decent starter comics for the character." Warning for depictions of sexual assault, bad art if you're looking at a pre-2000s comic, and being forced to engage with Scott Lobdell's writing.
I also recommend Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson and DC Bombshells by Marguerite Bennett; both are Elseworlds/AU comics starring/co-starring Diana and are delightful. There's certainly others that are solid reading, but I think this is a solid starter list if you want to understand Wonder Woman and how she should be written.
Do you have any suggestions on where to start with animated DC?
Thereâs two ways you can go about this: starting with the DC Animated Universe or just picking up different series and going from there. Really good introductory DC series that donât require you to have any real knowledge of the DCU going in (and are just really fantastic shows besides):
Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures
Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
Teen Titans+Trouble in Tokyo (the movie acts as the series finale)
Young Justice
Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Those five/six shows are the sort of the âbest of the bestâ of the DC Animated shows (imo).Â
Other really good DC Animated shows:
Superman: The Animated Series
Batman Beyond
Static Shock
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (this one is pretty campy, which is a turn off for some people, but itâs honestly really really fun)
Beware the Batman (which is an okay show; itâs not fantastic, but itâs solid)
Then you have the animated movies, most of which are direct adaptations of comic arcs. The DCAU!Batman related ones are basically all really good (Mask of the Phantasm is just mindblowing), and most of the movies pre-Flashpoint Paradox areâŠreally solid if not outright great movies.
The Great:
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Green Lantern: First Flight
Assault on Arkham
Justice League: The New Frontier
The Good:
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Wonder Woman
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
The Okay:
Justice League: War
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
Batman: Bad Blood
The Flashpoint Paradox
The Bad:
Son of Batman
Batman vs. Robin (almost made it into the okay but then it had crappy characterization)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans
Others:
The Dark Knight Returns, Parts 1 and 2. If I were to rank it personally, itâd stick it in the okay, but only because I hate the story itâs adapted from, which is why itâs here. Most people would probably rank it in the Good to Great columns
I havenât seen any of the other DC animated movies, so itâs not fair for me to comment on them.
wow thank-you so much for your response to my post, it was massively helpful, yeah i agree, i have been searching for so long and cant find anywhere then tells me what comics to read in chronological order, DC should really release a list or something that tell us the chronological order. If you think the pre 52 is better (and i agree completely, like ugh, this reboot could have been so good, but no) can you suggest things from pre 52? thank-you so much, seriously thankyou :D
@flying-amongst-the-rooftops: Youâre most welcome! They really should, though that would force them to acknowledge that theyâve done a crap job with the timelines for the past four years, so they probably wonât.
And actually, I have a masterpost of pre-reboot Batfamily recs already! Enjoy!
The short tl;dr pre-reboot recs list is basically:Â
Robin: Year One
Batgirl: Year One
Teen Titans: Year One
New Teen Titans
Nightwing
Cassâs Batgirl run (excluding the Beechen days)
Birds of Prey
Hush
Under the Red Hood
Red Hood: The Lost Days
Batman and Son
Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul
Gotham Central
Superman/Batman
all of the Batman Reborn comics (Batman and Robin, Stephâs Batgirl run, Red Robin, Gotham City Sirens, Streets of Gotham, Gates of Gotham, etc)
Hello! It's the anon who asked about buying comics if you remember. I'm trying to start reading the batman series but I'm not exactly sure where to start. I read Death in the Family which ruined my life, but I want to read pre new 52. Can you help?
Yeah, I can help! Honestly, this is a difficult question, because thereâs such a wide range and variety of Batman and Batfamily comics (one for all ages, all moods, and all types of people, as we say). Brace yourself: this is going to be a bit of a long post (read: a really long post).
Update September 2021: I am no longer keeping this post updated. I have moved my starter comic recs list to another post (please see here). That post is much easier to read and understand, and itâs the post that will continue to be edited and updated; this one will not.
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If youâre new to Batman and/or would like to know about Batman/the Batfam in general to familiarize yourself with the characters before trying to pick up the ridiculously vast world that is comics, I heartily suggest the following three shows:Â
Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures (it was really just Season 4 of BTAS)/DCAU Batman movies
Young Justice
The Batman
And then thereâs Teen Titans, of course, which doesnât focus on the Batfamily but stars Dick as Robin. A good introduction to Jason Todd (the second Robin) is the Under the Red Hood movie. Young Justice is pretty good at getting many of the core members of the Batfam into the show (Bruce, Dick Graysonâthe original Robin, Barbara Gordonâthe first Batgirl, and Tim Drakeâthe third Robinâall have fairly major roles). B:TAS is considered the quintessential Batman series, and the one that kickstarted the DC Animated Universe. It has probably the best depiction of Batman outside of comics itself, besides being a very good introduction to a couple members of the core Batfamily and the universe as a whole. I will note that while Tim Drake as Robin appears in its final season, largely speaking heâs actually Jason Todd with Timâs name slapped on.
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When youâre looking for comics, thereâs a couple of ways you can go about it. The easiest way to do it is to pick a specific character that interests you and then figure out good starter comics that star them. Another way is trying to go chronologically through the comics timeline (which is necessary for some comics, but wholly unnecessary for others), starting at a specific point in time and then working your way up to the reboot. Frankly, I find this a waste of time. I use the âcharacterâ way and then focus on their chronological timeline; itâs much easier that way.Â
So I can recommend you some comics to start with for many of the core members of the Batfam and we can see where to go from there. Note that a lot of these overlap and contain more than one member of the Batfam, due to the ridiculous number of crossover events and the solid integration of the Batfamily as a whole into each othersâ books anyway. Most of the links will take you to Amazon or Comixology, but I talk about ways to get all of these comics at the bottom of this post.Â
Note: Big caveat that these are not all-inclusive reading lists; Iâm just trying to hit the highlights for you. Comic rec tl;drs given at the end of each characterâs list.
Second note:Â The New 52, especially the early New 52, is an absolute incoherent mess; DCâs been trying to sort it all out with Rebirth/Infinite Frontier (with varying degrees of success), and there are definitely some bright bits and pieces, but it is not my favored universe (though I will recommend it where needed or when itâs good). Itâs just as well you want to read mostly pre-reboot stuff.Â
Whole Batfamily comics:
No Manâs Land (1999-2000) was a super expansive crossover story arc detailing the aftermath of a major earthquake hitting Gotham City, resulting in the US government officially evacuating Gotham and then abandoning and isolating those who chose to remain. NML covered the time of this isolation until Gothamâs re-opening and the beginning of the rebuilding, took around a year and a half to publish from beginning to end, included the entire Batfamily, and basically set the stage for every Bat comic post-1999. You can get it in several collected volumes or digitally. Also introduced Cassandra Cain, the second Batgirl.
Direct story progression is Batman: Cataclysm->Road to No Manâs Land (Vols. 1 and 2)->No Manâs Land (Vols. 1-4). Amazon helpfully has a chronological list of everything except Cataclysm (which can be found here). NML is fairly easy to understand even without that background reading, but Iâm including the full event for posterity.
You could also read the novelization by Greg Rucka, if you prefer; itâs excellent.
Batman: Officer Down: Commissioner Gordon is shot, and the Batfamily must investigate his attempted murder
Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive: discussed in Bruceâs section below
Batman: Hush, though I donât recommend starting yourself out on this, as it relies on at least cursory knowledge of several Batfamily members
Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul, which is also an important Damian comic and is mentioned below, was a crossover event where the White Ghost tried to use Damianâs body to bring Raâs back from the dead.
Gates of Gotham: an all-Batfamily comic in the Batman Reborn era, starring Dick Grayson as Batman. A super fun and interesting look at the history of Gotham and the legacies of the families that built it.
For the love of all that is holy, stay away from All-Star Batman and Robin (by Frank Miller). You just do not want to do it. I promise you it is not worth it.
Bruce Wayne/Batman:
For the man himself, you probably want to go with the following comics:
Batman: Year One; god knows I am not a Frank Miller fan, but Year One is actually pretty good. It details Bruceâs origins and his first year as Batman.
The Man Who Laughs: Bruceâs first encounter with the Joker
The Long Halloween and Dark Victory: two connected comics introducing some of the big-time crime families in Gotham and some of Bruceâs early adventures
Batman: Ego, by Darwyn Cooke
The Killing Joke: god I hate this comic for a lot of reasons, and I also love it for a lot of reasons. Itâs technically a superb comic; the writing is sound and the plot is decent, but man it did a lot of crappy things to certain members of the Batfamily (*cough* Jim and Barbara Gordon *cough*). Anyway, basically required reading.
Knightfall/Knightquest/Knightsend: a ridiculously long storyline detailing Bruceâs defeat at the hands of Bane and his recovery after Bane broke his back
Batman: Contagion and Legacy, two connected story events surrounding the emergence of a deadly plague that strikes Gotham (largely a Batfam-inclusive event)
Cataclysm, Road to No Manâs Land, and No Manâs Land
Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive: Bruce gets accused of murdering his ex, gets arrested, and then goes on the run. The Batfamily, left behind, tries to sort everything out, find the real murderer, and clear his name.
Hush comes next chronologically, which is a nice fun all-Batfam romp that includes several members of the Rouges gallery as well. Hush is a really quality storyline and has beautiful art, so even when the actual writing falters (as it does occasionally), itâs completely worth it.
The JLA (1997-2006) series, while varying in quality depending on the writer, usually pretty good. The Tower of Babel arc is infamous.
Superman/Batman is a really fun comic for all of your Bruce and Clark shenanigans
Son/Bride/Birth of the Demon: the original storyline detailing the conception of the character who would later be named Damian Wayne+an exploration of the origins and motivations of Raâs Al Ghul
Batman and Son: the introduction of Damian Wayne, Bruceâs son
Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul takes place somewhere in this general timeframe
Heart of Hush. In addition to being a good stand-alone story, it also serves as a prelude to RIP.
Batman R.I.P.
Final Crisis: whole company crossover event, not necessary to read. Only thing you need to know out of this is that Bruce gets killed by Darkseid.
Return of Bruce Wayne, in which Bruce wasnât really dead but instead got dropped into the past and spends the entire time trying to get back to his proper time. This story should be read in between the second and third volumes of Batman Reborn: Batman and Robin (described below in Dickâs section)
Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, which basically continues on immediately from the events of Return of Bruce Wayne
(pre-reboot) Batman Incorporated: after he returns, Bruce decides to âfranchiseâ crime fighting by enlisting the assistance of a global team of heroes. Bruce leaves Dick as Gothamâs Batman, publicly announces that he is the financial backer of Batman, and runs all over the world establishing a worldwide franchise of Batmen (and women) in various cities around the globe.
you donât even want to touch the reboot with Bruce at this point because heâs freaking everywhere and thereâs no coherent timeline
Of the New 52 comics, Court of Owls and City of Owls by Scott Snyder are the only arcs I can actually fully recommend at this time, since theyâre both quality writing and fairly self-contained. Zero Year is also pretty decent.
Of the Rebirth comics, Tynionâs run on Detective Comics (aka, the âGotham Knightsâ arc) and Brian Hillâs Batman and the Outsiders are both good.
Note that Iâm leaving a ton of Bruce and Bruce-centric comics off this list because heâs been in so many things, many of them fantastic, but Iâm just trying to hit the big highlights. If youâre interested in more Bruce comics, DM me and Iâd be happy to rec some more.
Reading tl;dr:Â Read Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Batman: Ego, Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive, and Court of Owls. Work your way out from there.
Dick Grayson/Robin I/Nightwing/Batman II: aka, our favorite circus brat turned vigilante, aka âThe Heart of the DC Universeâ
Comics-wise, Dickâs the Batfam character thatâs sort of all over the place, because heâs been around the longest (since 1940). However, thereâs a loose chronological line up until about the late 70s, and then it gets more solid. Anyway, necessary (and quality) comics for understanding the Original Boy Wonder:
Batman: Year Three (Batman #436â439) is a great exploration of Dickâs origin story and initial interactions with Bruce. While itâs a technical sequel of sorts to Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two, you can read these issues independently of both arcs. Necessary background knowledge: while the actual meat of the story is retracing Dickâs origins, the arcâs framed story takes place in the period between Jasonâs death and Timâs introduction.
Batman: Dark Victory also tells Dickâs origin story and how he came to live with Bruce. Itâs a great and very beginner accessible comic (though, as previously stated, itâs technically the sequel to The Long Halloween and it might be helpful to read that first, even though you can read DV without it)
Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet
Robin: Year One
Year One: Batman/Scarecrow
Teen Titans: Year One
the New Teen Titans series from the 80s (the whole run is great but I specifically recommend getting Vol. 1 and then reading the Terra Incognito and The Judas Contract arcs, Who is Donna Troy?, and Terror of Trigon).Itâs in the middle of the NTT series that Dick leaves the Robin mantle behind and becomes Nightwing.Â
Batman: Prodigal: Prodigal is the first time that Dick dons the cowl and takes over for Bruce as Batman (with Tim as his Robin). Takes place in the aftermath of the massive Knightfall arc.
then to Dickâs original Nightwing run (1996-2009)
Issues #1-70Â are Chuck Dixonâs run on the title, which runs from the start of the solo through Cataclysm/No Manâs Land and its aftermath
Issues #71-100 & #107-117Â is the entirety of Devin Graysonâs run, which runs roughly from 2002 through War Games and all the way up to Infinite Crisis
Nightwing: Year One is technically Nightwing #101-106 but occurs chronologically before the events of the proper Nightwing run
Nightwing By Peter Tomasi collects Tomasiâs entire run on the title, Issues #140-153
My general warning is that once Devin Grayson takes over the book, the quality and characterization takes a sharp nosedive and just stays there until Tomasi takes over for the final 20 or so issues. Dixonâs run was foundational (if a bit odd at times) and Tomasiâs run was fantastic; everything else is middling to actively terrible in quality
Please stay away from Nightwing Annual #2. Basically, it is the most ridiculous retcon in existence, made Dick completely out of character, and is rather infamous in the comics community.
Note: there are two single issues in his run that may or may not be included in any trades youâre able to pick up: #25 (âThe Boysâ), which is a cute one-shot of Dick and Tim hanging out, and Birds of Prey #8 (âOn Wingsâ), where he takes Barbara out on a date
At various points somewhere in this timeframe, No Manâs Land and Hush happen
His time leading the Outsiders in Outsiders (by Judd Winick) was very well done
Also, both Titans comics (1999-2003 and 2008)
JLA: Obsidian Age, featuring Dick running the Justice League
You can read Batman and Son and Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul (both of which feature Dick) at any point after reading/wiki-ing Infinite Crisis (2005); theyâre all mid-2000s comics and generally occur within the same timeframe
Batman: Long Shadows, which also takes place in the immediate aftermath of Bruceâs death in Final Crisis and the events of Battle for the Cowl, neither of which you need to read. Battle for the Cowl isnât a particularly great story, so you can read it if you want, but otherwiseâŠjust Wiki it and move on.
and then you get to the gloriousness that is the 2009-2011 Batman and Robin series, staring Dick as Batman and Damian Wayne as his Robin
Other required âDick as Batmanâ reading, all of which are A++:Â
The Black Mirror
Streets of Gotham
Gates of GothamÂ
Of the post-Flashpoint universe comics:
the only New 52-era comics worth reading imo are the last three volumes of the original New 52 Nightwing run (2011-2014) by Kyle Higgins. Dick generally wasnât written well between the Forever Evil event (2014) and late 2020, and genuinely the most tragic part of being a Dick stan is that DC seemed to actively hate him
Tom Taylorâs currently ongoing run on Nightwing is good, so you can just wiki the Grayson comics (bad), Seeleyâs Nightwing Rebirth run (solidly mediocre; readable, but not worth wasting money on), and the Ric Grayson arc (justâŠ..donât. the only good thing about it is Bea Bennet), and then actually start reading at Nightwing #78 (2021)
tbh thereâs loads and loads of comics with Dick in them and you kinda just have to read the âimportantâ comics and then go hunt down all of the various comics that heâs been in
Reading tl;dr: Read either Batman: Year Three or Dark Victory, then read the following: For Dick as Robin, read Robin: Year One, Batman: The Gauntlet, and The 80s New Teen Titans run. For Dick as Nightwing, read Dickâs original Nightwing run (#1-70, which was Dixonâs run, and then #140-153, which was Tomasiâs run), Batman: Hush, Titans (both series), and Outsiders; if you prefer to read currently publishing comics, Tom Taylorâs current run on Nightwing (starting at Issue #78) is good. For Dick as Batman, read Batman: Prodigal, Batman: The Black Mirror, Morrisonâs Batman & Robin run, and Streets of Gotham. Work your way out from there.
Jason Todd/Robin II/Red Hood: aka, the street kid taken in by Bruce who gets murdered by the Joker and comes back as a gun-wielding anti-hero
Hereâs a good Jason Todd masterpost, though this is also a good one
Basically, you start with his introduction and tenure as Robin (mostly collected in Batman: Second Chances and Batman: The Cult)Â
Jasonâs pre-Crisis!Robin days are mostly contained in Detective Comics #524-#567 (1983-1986)
Iâm particularly fond of his relationship with Natalia Knight/Nocturna and the Bruce-Natalia custody battle arc (Batman #363, 376-381, 384, and 389-391+Detective Comics #529-530, 543-547, 556-558, and 566)
Then you move to his time with the Titans in New Teen Titans #18â#31 (1986-1987)
Nightwing Year One (2005), where he and Dick team up to save Alfred
His death in âDeath in the Familyâ
Read Batman: Hush
Then you read Under the (Red) Hood (and watch the movie)
Continue on to Red Hood: The Lost Days
Then have fun trying to find quality Jason stories for the remainder of your existence because they are few and far between.Â
Teen Titans: Life and Death and Green Arrow: Seeing Red are both decent, as is the time he popped up as a murderous Nightwing impersonator in Nightwing #118-#120 (minus certain bits and pieces). All are more-or-less direct follow-ups to Under the Red Hood.
Another story that exists but isâŠnot good is Revenge of the Red Hood (part of Dick and Damianâs Batman and Robin run).
I would like to clarify that there are good Jason stories written after Lost Days. Iâm sure that there are some good New 52 Jason stories; I just havenât read any because I wasnât reading Snyderâs Batman for awhile and I dipped out of the first Red Hood and the Outlaws run after Lobdellâs outrageous treatment of Starfire. Anything written by Judd Winick is a solid bet; everyone else is a toss-up.
Post-Flashpoint Universe update:
Issues #1-25 of the Rebirth Red Hood and the Outlaws run (with the Artemis and Bizarro lineup, not the Kory and Roy lineup) is absolutely solid reading (for all that Lobdell wrote most of it). You can stop there, because it just gets bad afterwards.
Batman: Urban Legends (Post-Infinite Frontier, 2021-current) has a 6-part Jason-centric story called âCheerâ thatâs fantastic and absolutely worth reading; it also includes some fantastic flashbacks to Jasonâs time as Robin
Tbh I canât really recommend much more than that at this time
Reading tl;dr: read Batman: Second Chances, Batman: The Cult, Death in the Family, Under the Red Hood, Red Hood: The Lost Days, and the âCheerâ arc from Batman: Urban Legends.
Tim Drake/Robin III/Red Robin: aka, the rich nerdy kid who looked Bruce Wayne in the eye and said âBatman needs a Robin. Let me be your Robin.â
His first appearance was in A Lonely Place for Dying
after that, just pick up his Robin solo series (1993-2009), which runs parallel to all of the other comics listed below until Final Crisis
Issues #1-60 are the beginning of his solo to the beginning of the events of No Manâs Land
Issues #60-100 are No Manâs Land through the end of Young Justice (1998)
Issues #101-125 happen between the end of Young Justice and War Games
Issues #139-148 are post-War Games through Infinite Crisis
Issues #149-156: One Year Later arc (overlaps with the Evil Cass arc, which you should not read)
Issues #158-#183: post-OYL to end of Robin solo
Another good, basic entry point for Tim are the two Robin miniseries that were published the same year his Robin solo started, The Jokerâs Wild (chronicling his first encounter with the Joker) and Cry of the Huntress (Tim and Helenaâs first meeting). Both stories are collected in the Vol. 2 reprint of Timâs solo run (Robin: Triumphant).
Note Nightwing Vol. 2 #25, the aforementioned oneshot about Dick and Tim hanging outÂ
Batman: Contagion (1996) has quite a bit of good Tim content
Young Justice (1998-2003) is a great Tim starter comic tbh. It ends with Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day (2003) and then spins off into Timâs Teen Titans run (2003-2011), which keeps going throughout the rest of the events on Timâs list
Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive happens somewhere vaguely here
War Games is something that I have to mention here, simply because it was so impactful, but donât pick it up (more on this under Stephâs recommendations). Just Wiki it.
Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood, which comes immediately after War Games (and is a crossover story arc with Tim as Robin and Cass as Batgirl)
Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis: whole company crossover events. Not required reading. All you need to know is that Jack Drake, Timâs dad, was murdered during those arcs and so was his best friend, Conner Kent/Superboy, which along with War Games leads to Tim being in the state he is in Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul.
Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul, while more focused on Bruce and Damian, has a nice subplot focused on Tim
Then you got Batman RIP, Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl. As stated before, you donât need to read Crisis and BftC is pretty mediocre. Either grin and bear it or Wiki it
Red Robin (2009-2011), however, is about as close as you can get to achieving the holy trinity of impeccable writing, good characterization, and gorgeous art.
However, I would caution that Tim is in a pretty dark place during this run and while his characterization makes sense for what heâs gone through, 1) itâs not how he would normally act, and 2) reading this run requires some basic background knowledge of all the shit heâs been through since before War Games happened.
Of the post-Flashpoint universe comics:
âŠuh, generally, I wouldnât. Tim definitely got the short end of the stick of the post-2011!Batfamily until Rebirth in 2016, where he finally saw a little bit of justice in Tynionâs Detective Comics Rebirth run.
Michael Brian Bendisâ Young Justice (2019-2020) is also passably decent, but hardly incredible.Â
His guest appearances in Nightwing #80-83Â (2021) are solid
Go read Timâs 3-part miniseries in the Batman: Urban Legends anthology book (Issues #4-6)! Tim was just confirmed as bisexual.
See here for a decent Tim reading masterpost and here for a âintro to No Manâs Land eraâ trade collection masterpost.
Reading tl;dr: read A Lonely Place for Dying and then pick up Young Justice (1998) and either one of the first two volumes of Timâs Robin solo series. After that, the highlights are Prodigal, Contagion, No Manâs Land, Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive, Johnsâ 2003 Teen Titans run, Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood, Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul, and Red Robin. Then run around picking up whichever arcs you feel like reading. Of the reboot comics featuring Tim, imo only Tynionâs Detective Comics Rebirth run and Urban Legends are genuinely worth spending the money on, but YJ 2019 is passable.
Damian Wayne/Robin V: aka, Bruceâs blood child, raised by the League of Assassins, trying to be better
Damian probably has the most straightforward pre-reboot comics progression of all the Batfam. It goes as follows:
Batman and Son
The Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul
Battle for the Cowl
Batman Reborn: Batman and Robin and Streets of Gotham (run largely parallel to each other)
Gates of Gotham
+Major guest appearances in Red Robin (#11-15), Batgirl Vol. 3 (#5-7, 17, and 24), and Teen Titans Vol. 3 (#89-92)
For the rebootâŠwell Iâll be honest: while Iâm not crazy about the editorial decisions that went into the creation of the series, the New 52 Batman and Robin is extremely well done, at least while Tomasi and Gleason are writing. Itâs under Tomasi and Gleason that Damian undergoes some of his most important character development.
Batman Inc (2012-2013) is a Damian comic as well. Iâm not huge on it, but itâs there.Â
Unfortunate but required reading: regardless of whether you read Batman Inc. or not, Batman Inc. #8 is required reading. Itâs Damianâs death.
Post-Damianâs Death, youâll want to read the âRequiem for Damianâ arc of Batman and Robin
Then âRobin Risesâ (Vol. 6 of Batman and Robin), which is the arc chronicling Damianâs resurrection, and the rest of Batman and Robin
Then read Robin: Son of Batman, which I recommend to everyone reading comics. It is a beautifully written comic. Like Timâs Red Robin run, it achieves the holy trinity of impeccable writing, good characterization, and gorgeous artwork.
The Super Sons Saga (also by Tomasi) is also super cute. Run progression is Super Sons->Adventures of the Super Sons->Challenge of the Super Sons. It stars Damian and Jon Kent, Clark and Loisâ son, on their various adventures.
Just wiki Damianâs Teen Titans Rebirth run and the events of Batman #77. Itâs justâŠnot worth it. Donât read it.
Damian is currently starring in his own Robin solo series, written by Josh Williamson. Itâs pretty good so far.
Basically, when looking at New 52!Damian, you want anything written by Tomasi and/or Gleason, and stuff written by Tom Taylor. Morrisonâs arc (Damianâs murder) is an unfortunate (and badly written) but necessary part of Damianâs history.
Reading tl;dr: Batman and Son, Resurrection of Raâs Al Ghul, Batman & Robin (2009), Streets of Gotham, Gates of Gotham, Batman & Robin (2011), Robin: Son of Batman, the Super Sons saga, and Robin (2021).
Barbara Gordon/Batgirl I/Oracle: Commissioner Gordonâs daughter, shot and paralyzed by the Joker, became even more badass afterward
Batgirl: Year One, detailing Babsâ first year as Batgirl
Batgirl: The Bronze Age Volumes 1 & 2: collects most of Barbaraâs pre-Crisis adventures as Batgirl
The Killing Joke: the comic where Babs gets shot and paralyzed by The Joker. Warning: Barbara is not focused on at all in this comic and is fridged to advance the Batman v. Joker dynamic and create manpain for Commissioner Gordon and Bruce. Frankly, while this is technically ârequired reading,â unless youâre a completionist or want to read âthe classics,â I wouldnât bother. TKJâs events are mentioned and explained enough in later comics that itâs ultimately unecessary to read.
Batman Chronicles #5, which includes the short story Oracle: Year One
Suicide Squad (Vol. 1): aka, the series where Ostrander and Yale took a fridged character and brought her back from the depths. Babs appears as the unnamed Oracle in several issues and is eventually shown to be Barbara Gordon
Cataclysm and No Manâs Land (again, both are all-Batfam comics and so include a nice dose of Babs)
Birds of Prey (Vol. 1, 1999-2009): This book features Babs as Oracle leading the all-female superhero team, the Birds of Prey. It was written first by Chuck Dixon and then Gail Simone. Some of it has aged poorly, but overall itâs still a fantastic set of stories that truly allows Barbara to shine as an independent disabled character who gets to be a well-rounded team leader, hero, mentor, lover, and friend. Probably the most important Babs comic of the last twenty or thirty years. Usually really quality.
You can find the first volume of Chuck Dixonâs run here, the second volume here, and the third volume here.
Gail Simoneâs run comprises twelve collected volumes (BOP Vol. 1 #56-127 and BOP Vol. 2 #1-15), and the reading order can be found here.
All of Dixonâs run specifically centers around Black Canary and Oracle, with The Hunt for Oracle being a notable Oracle-centric storyline. Notable Oracle-centric arcs during Gail Simoneâs run include Between Dark and Dawn as well as her recurring run-ins with the hacker supervillain named âThe Calculatorâ and her confrontation with the Joker in BOP #124
Babs is in many issues of Batgirl (Vol. 1), where she becomes the mentor and surrogate mother for the second Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. Itâs one of the most important interpersonal relationships for both women at that time. Issues run concurrently with her time running the BoP, so you can really pick them up whenever
Sheâs also a recurring character in Stephâs Batgirl run (2009-2011) as she grudgingly becomes Stephâs mentor.Â
Her appearances in Stephâs Batgirl run generally parallel with Birds of Prey (Vol. 2, 2010-2011), including the âDeath of Oracleâ arc and the Oracle: The Cure miniseries
honestly basically anything written by Gail Simone containing Babs is probably at least pretty good if not quality Barbara Gordon material (when not having to deal with editorial interference)
basically hereâs a decent masterpost for Babs that goes up to about mid-2010 (the link also tells exactly which issues of Suicide Squad Babs is in)
You might need to wiki the event to understand the broader context of whatâs going on, but Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle has some absolutely fantastic and badass Barbara moments
Of the reboot comics, only Gail Simoneâs Batgirl series is worth mentioning. The Batgirl of Burnside arcs (written by Stewart and Fletcher) are cute but may as well feature a completely different character with Barbara Gordonâs name, and sheâs been treated pretty terribly since 2015 or so. Her recent appearances in Tom Taylorâs Nightwing run and Batman: Urban Legends have been decent, though.
You should also look at The Oracle Code, a self-contained YA graphic novel about Barbara solving a mystery while in recovery and learning how to be an independent wheelchair user (hereâs an interview with the author that I think you might find really interesting and helpful), and Shadow of the Batgirl, a one-off YA graphic novel about Cassandra Cain that features wheelchair-using!Barbara in a prominent role. Neither book requires any prior reading or knowledge of the DC universe, so theyâre good for new readers.
Reading tl;dr: Batgirl: Year One, Batman Chronicles #5, Cataclysm and No Manâs Land, Birds of Prey (Volumes 1 and 2), Batgirl Vol. 1 (2000), Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive, Batgirl Vol. 3 (2009), and Oracle: The Cure. For reboot comics, read Gail Simoneâs Batgirl run and her guest appearances in both Tom Taylorâs Nightwing run and Batman: Urban Legends. For one-off, self-contained stories unconnected to the main comics universe, go read The Oracle Code and Shadow of the Batgirl.
Cassandra Cain/Batgirl II/Black Bat/Orphan: raised as an assassin, trying to make restitution for her past, learning how to operate in the real world, and gaining a family in the process
No Manâs Land (described above): Cass is introduced about halfway through this story as the daughter of David Cain, an assassin who has shown up to try and assassinate Gordon (reminder that while No Manâs Land is a long and complicated story arc, itâs totally worth it just for Cassâs intro)
Batgirl (2000-2006):Â This was Cassâs Batgirl solo series and runs parallel to all of the events listed below until the One Year Later event in 2006; youâll also get quite a large dose of Stephanie Brown as Spoiler in this series, since Cass and Steph are best friends.
The âSoundsâ short in the DC Asian Superhero Celebration anthology is really lovely. It came out in May 2021, but chronologically takes place in the pre-reboot universe early in Cassâs tenure as Batgirl
Azrael: Agent of the Bat Issues #56-61
Batman: Officer Down (2001), which takes place early on in Cassâs Batgirl solo. tl;dr plot is âCommissioner Gordon is shot, and the Batfamily must investigate his attempted assassination.â
Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive (2003-2004) is a great all-Batfam story that includes some great Cass moments.
Justice League Elite (2004), starring an undercover Cass as âKasumiâ
War Games (2004) is a super awful storyline basically written for the sole purpose of killing Stephanie Brown off, so donât read it, but you should at least wiki it because it had a huge impact on Cass
Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood: happens in the aftermath of War Games. A fun crossover story arc starring Tim as Robin and Cass as Batgirl in Bludhaven taking down Penguin
Whatever you do, stay away from the timeframe comic readers call the âCassandra Cain character assassinationâ period. Itâs a period of time where DC thought turning Cass evil was a good idea and vaguely runs from about late 2005 to late 2008, from the entire One Year Later storyline all the way through the 2008 Batgirl miniseries. More about that here.
If youâre ever genuinely curious about the Evil Cass arc, that story largely plays out in the pages of Robin: Wanted and Teen Titans: Titans East, with Cassâs aforementioned redemption quest and adoption happening in Batman and the Outsiders (2007) and Batgirl Vol. 2 (2008)
So after reading Fresh Blood, you can proceed straight to Gates of Gotham:Â Itâs a fabulous book, as mentioned above, with an engaging storyline that is only made better by the fact Cass is a part of it.
She also features in both Tim Drakeâs Red Robin run (#17 & 23-25) and in a couple of issues of Batman Inc. Both are worth reading.
Hereâs a good masterpost for Cassâs storylines, and hereâs another one.
In the post-Flashpoint universe:
Cassâs first post-reboot appearances in Batman and Robin Eternal leave a sour taste in my mouth, so Iâm going to casually point towards Tynionâs Rebirth!Detective Comics run, Batman: Rise of the Monster Men, and Brian Hillâs Batman and the Outsiders (2019-2020) as my sole reboot recs.
If youâd like a more accessible and updated origin story for Cass, Shadow of the Batgirl is A++, 10/10 would recommend
Reading tl;dr: Read No Manâs Land, Cassâs Batgirl solo series, and Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive. Work your way out from there. Highlights include Justice League Elite, Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood, and Gates of Gotham. If youâre interested in reading reboot!Cass, read Tynionâs Detective Comics Rebirth run, Batman: Night of the Monster Men, and Batman and the Outsiders (2019). For a one-off origin story that still retains her personality and important relationships, read Shadow of the Batgirl.
Stephanie Brown/Spoiler/Robin IV/Batgirl III: daughter of a c-list villain who decided to become a hero to take her father out, continued to be badass afterward
Her first appearances were in Tim Drakeâs Robin run. She features prominently in Timâs run, first as Spoiler, and later as Timâs girlfriend in addition to her Spoiler identity.
She shows up several times in Cassâs Batgirl run, as she basically functions as Cassandraâs best friend. So if you read Cassâs Batgirl run, youâre also going to get a large dose of Steph.
Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma is a fun Helena-Steph team-up oneshot
She has some nice moments in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive
She also appears in Joker: Last Laugh
Her very short-lived stint as Robin (Detective Comics #647, Batgirl #53, and Robin #126-128)
Please avoid War Games. Itâs horribly written, out of character, and was basically used as an excuse to kill Stephanie off. Unfortunately, itâs one of those comics thatâs needed to understand later events. Iâd recommend Wikipedia-ing it.
After that, thereâs very little to read of Steph until her run as Batgirl (which is pretty awesome). Stephâs Batgirl run is critically acclaimed and is known for its character work. She also guest-stars in Red Robin occasionally (also a very good book, as mentioned above)
She also showed up once or twice in Worldâs Finest and Birds of Prey (sorry, I donât remember the numbers)
For post-reboot recs:
Steph was re-introduced in Batman Eternal; her portrayal in this series isnât fantastic, but itâs generally solid all things considered
In the Rebirth era, Tynionâs Detective Comics is a good book to find her in, though sheâs not written particularly well.
She also occasionally shows pops up in Young Justice (2019), though sheâs largely there to be âTimâs girlfriendâ rather than Stephanie Brown
Reading tl;dr: read Timâs Robin run and Cassâs Batgirl run, Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma, Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive, and Batgirl Vol. 3 (2009). For post-Flashpoint universe comics, read Batman Eternal and Detective Comics Rebirth (2016).
Duke Thomas/Signal: the newest addition to the family, the only meta in the family, and also the only major daytime operator in Gotham
Hereâs a good masterpost for Dukeâs comics, but if you just want to hit the highlights:
Basically, read his introduction in Batman: Zero Year and Endgame arcs
Read We Are Robin and Robin War (both are mediocre comics at best, but they provide solid foundations for Dukeâs character, his friend group, and why he becomes involved with the Batfamily in the first place)
Then comes the first arc of Tom Kingâs Batman: Rebirth run, where Duke first receives his suit and is a major supporting character (the rest of the run is irrelevant; Duke really only shows up in that first arc)
All-Star Batman: part of Dukeâs early days training and operating as Signal.Â
Batman: Night of the Monster Men: takes place in between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of All-Star Batman
Batman & The Signal: a cute miniseries focusing on Bruce training Duke and them going out as Batman and Signal
Batman & The Outsiders (2018-2020): Babyâs first team-up! Also features tons of Cass and a lot of fun Duke-Cass ineractions.
Reading tl;dr: read everything on the list.
Helena Bertinelli/Huntress: daughter of a mafia family, seeking vengeance and justice after an assassin murdered them all
honestly Iâm just going to link you to this post because it lays out everything concerning Helena youâd ever need to know, including tv episodes to watch, comics to read, and in what order you should read/watch them
Selina Kyle/Catwoman: our favorite anti-heroic cat burglar with a heart of gold
Catwoman: Her Sisterâs Keeper: A spin-off miniseries of Batman: Year One, this was actually Selinaâs first solo series and tells Year One from her POV (sheâs also in Year One, btw). A really good, solid introduction to Selina and her backstory.
Catwoman: When in Rome: six-issue miniseries featuring Selina being fabulous and working with the Riddler in Rome to try and uncover whatâs going on with the Falcone family. The series runs largely parallel to the events in The Long Halloween/Dark Victory.
Catwoman: Selinaâs Big Score by Darwyn Cooke is a fun hiest romp all around. 10/10, would recommend. Takes place JUST before the start of Selinaâs ongoing solo
Catwoman (2002-2008) by Ed Brubaker: Brubakerâs Catwoman run (paired with the late great Darwyn Cookeâs art) is legendary for a reason.
Within this run is The Replacements arc: during the One Year Later storyline in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, Selina takes time off from being Catwoman to care for her new infant (Helena Kyle) and temporarily passes the Catwoman mantle on to Holly Robinson.
Hush (which co-stars Selina and focuses on her relationship with Bruce quite a bit) chronologically slots in a little after her 2002 solo run starts
Heart of Hush (2008), the âsequelâ to the Hush arc, chronologically happens after Selinaâs solo ends but before Bruce dies in Final Crisis
Gotham City Sirens: Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy team-up. Batman Reborn-era (2009-2011, Dickâs Batman)
The reboot Catwoman run by Genevieve Valentine (Volumes 6 and 7 of her New 52 solo series). Basically the lone bright spot for Selina as a character between 2011 and 2016.
Batman #37 (2017), a âdouble dateâ single issue with Bruce/Selina and Clark/Lois
*sigh* The Bruce/Selina engagement and failed wedding arc (mostly in Batman and Selinaâs Catwoman solo) chronologically happens here. If you can stand Tom Kingâs writing and insistence on demonizing Bruce and Selinaâs other love interests, itâs worth a read for Joelle Jonesâ art alone. Otherwise, wiki it, marvel at the art, and then hate DC editorial forever for not allowing Selina to wear that gorgeous dress at her wedding.
The current Catwoman run (2018-present), first by Joelle Jones and then by Ram V, has been absolutely solid, especially the Alleytown arc.
Reading tl;dr: read Her Sisterâs Keeper, When in Rome, Selinaâs Big Score, Catwoman Vol. 3 (2002), Batman: Hush, Heart of Hush, and Gotham City Sirens. Work your way out from there.
Other good Batfamily and âGeneral Gotham charactersâ-focused comics:
Gotham Central: the life and times of the Gotham City Police Department members as they go about their daily lives trying to actually get work done
Batwoman: Elegy: part of the Batman: Reborn era, this volume collects the majority of Kate Kane/Batwomanâs pre-reboot solo adventures as Batwoman.
Batwoman: Hydrology: the first volume of Kate Kaneâs New 52 Batwoman solo run (the first four volumes of this run, all by JH Williams, are great; the final two volumes are âtake it or leave itâ story arcs)
Mad Love and Other Stories: Harley Quinnâs original backstory and the initial depiction of her relationship with the Joker (B:TAS-verse)
Harley Quinn (2000-2004): Harley Quinnâs original solo series
Kate Spencerâs Manhunter series
Gotham Academy: semi-normal teenagers try to survive and live a normal life in Gotham. Itâs every high school fic you ever wanted wrapped up in gorgeous art and Scooby Doo-level hijinks. Hereâs a masterpost. Batfamily members cameo from time to time, but mostly completely focused on the original characters, especially Olive Silverlock and Maps Mizoguchi. No real knowledge of the Bat-universe required.
Trinity, a look at the first meeting of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (affectionately named DCâs Trinity/Triumverate)
Also hereâs a couple of other masterposts for various miscellaneous Batfamily members (Batwing, Batwoman)
Fun Elseworlds (AU) and other non-mainverse comics:
Liâl Gotham: a fun all-ages comic centered around the entire Batfamily. Every issue is focused on a different holiday. The series is super cute and has art by Dustin Nguyen (watercolors that are to die for, basically)
Gotham By Gaslight: you like Batman? You like steampunk? Then this is the comic for you, because this Elseworlds comic is a what-if of Batman in the Victorian era hunting down Jack the Ripper.
The DCeased Universe: Tom Taylor got to write a post-apocalyptic zombie AU comic and decided to singlehandedly save the Batfamily from DC Editorialâs bad characterizations and decision-making. Bless him forever. General focus on Damian, but you also get nice bits of everyone else. Includes the main comic, DCeased, plus DCeased: Unkillables, DCeased: Hope at Worldâs End, and DCeased: Dead Planet
Kingdom Come: another DC Elseworlds title (though not officially). Mostly a âDCU as a wholeâ title, but Batman/the Batfam features quite a bit
Hereâs a general masterpost for most Batman/Batfamily comics and a general masterpost for all tv shows/cartoons (Batman-related ones are at the top of the list).
Also! Places to get said comics: Amazon and Ebay are really awesome places, man. If youâre more into digital comics, I get mine from Comixology. And if youâre dirt poor and canât afford anything, getcomics.info is a safe site where you can download comics for free and you can read them for free at readcomics.li, but please try go out and buy them if you like what you read. Otherwise, look up your local comic book shops or used bookstores.
Whew! I think weâre done! Thereâs your super expansive Batfamily masterpost that you probably didnât need but got anyway. I hope I helped!
Note: This list is kept semi-updated. The last edit was made in August 2021.
