BATMAN 101: The Essential Dark Knight Comics You Need to Read

[@variant]

What are your favorite Batman comics or stories?

[@marcusyates3044]

Evolution of the Birds of Prey!

[@Chris-hu7xv]

Batman hush is definitely up there for me, brilliant story

[@guapoindustries5030]

Batman: knightfall, it was the first Batman comic I officially read or Batman and Robin 2009

[@stevenhayner7425]

One of the first Elseworlds books I ever bought was Batman In Darkest Knight ...in it Bruce Wayne receives the GL ring from Abin Sur, not Hal Jordan

[@Sukhhi]

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth

[@nikobrien88]

My personal favorite Batman story is Batman The Long Halloween. I love the story, the drawing, and the twist and turns it had me guessing.

[@kyrex9361]

Yes! The Long Halloween is my absolute favourite, the plot twists always had me wanting me and the story was so compelling and interesting. It was such a memorable story and is my favourite story of all time

[@quentinfogger5755]

Did the first Matt Reeves Batman movie did a great job in adapting that story to live action? What do you think the second movie is going to be about?

[@nikobrien88]

@Quentin Fogger he did a great job. I absolutely loved The Batman. I don't know what The Batman 2 story will be but I have faith in Matt Reeves. He's a amazing director

[@Red-Wolf-Ben]

Same! First time I read that a few years ago, bought the hardcover and literally read the whole thing in one sitting! Couldn't put it down!

[@SomeoneThatIsHappy]

I have a question about this comic. Spoilers ahead. I just finished reading it and i don't quite get the ending, was Gilda the actual Holiday killer? Was she involved with Alberto?

[@jtscool99]

Gotta love A Serious House on Serious Earth, pure psychological with incredibly unique art proving Batman is just as insane as his villains. And of course Knightfall is just a classic and my personal favorite Batman story ever written

[@nicktroisi6347]

Absolutely, I really want to read that book Batman No Mans Land, Batman by Grant Morrison and Batman and Robin by Peter J Tomasi are also some of the best Batman stories that should’ve been on this list imo

[@Zdahszdahs]

Bruh. Why make a top 10 recommendations list while spoiling a bit of each. 😂

[@UltimateSpider1385]

There's so many Batman comics that I need to read, like Batman: the killing Joke, Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Three Jokers, Batman: Knightfall, Batman: White Knight, Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Batman: Beyond the White Knight, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Batman: the Long Halloween, Batman: Year One, Batman: Death of the Family, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman: A Death in the family, and Batman: the Court of Owls.

[@killerreef7397]

Feels overwhelming at times doesn’t it 😩

[@UltimateSpider1385]

@@killerreef7397 yes, it is overwhelming to read so many Comic book issues. Too bad I never got the pleasure.😔😔😔

[@srwfanatic]

I felt Knightfall should be in the list,but then again,maybe it’s because Batman isn’t the main focus,that’s why it’s outside of Top 10

[@killerreef7397]

@@srwfanatic agreed. I love knightfall however it does seem to drag during the second act with azbats

[@willppp]

The dark knight returns is hard because it isn’t really a Batman story it just isn’t it is kinda about a sociopath who is crazy and I highly recommend just doing the entire Scott Snyder Batman run instead of just doing court of the owls and death of the family trust me it is worth it to read it all And killing joke is really really short like 48 pages long

[@jstephen1]

Everything Scott Snyder wrote for Batman was an instant classic. Zero Year and Black Mirror are two of my favourites along with the Snyder comics you mentioned as well (Court of Owls and Death of the Family).

[@AristotleCapitolina]

Amazing video!👍👏 I just began my comic book collection and found Toon Haven. They have an incredible range of digital comics for every genre, including the hard to find ones. Lifetime updates too!😁

[@MahmoudGhazawi]

The Long Halloween + Dark Victory are absolutely no. 1 and 2 in my eyes. It's such an incredible storyline. This list also needs more Grant Morrison

[@LordNifty]

1:36 - One main issue I have with only seeing the Tower of Babel story as "Wow, Batman with prep time is awesome" is that the story also shows a lot of his plans came from exploiting the trust the other members gave him. It shows the everyday conversations that Batman was having with his teammates, confiding their concerns and fears, and how Batman was only trying to psychologically probe them for emotional vulnerabilities to render them helpless, and his plans could easily be described as brutal, persistent torture. And that power was to be his and his alone. His mindset was very close to Lex Luthor's, and was acting towards the same goal: domination and control of those around him. It was quite the character study into Bruce's utter ruthlessness, arrogance, and paranoia, and how it damaged everyone around him.

[@castlegreyskull1980]

Batman - War on crime A masterpiece!

[@srinivasanbalaji4867]

very emotional imo

[@ryancurrul7208]

I’ll check it out

[@TimlerFX]

BRUH. CHILL WITH THE SPOILERS.

[@benreynolds5636]

I know right? What the heck? If I'm watching this for recommendations, then obviously I haven't read them yet. This guy just blurts out spoilers with no warning whatsoever. Infuriating

[@carters148]

thanks for this comment, clicked off the vid right as i saw it

[@KidGravityBeyond]

"Knightfall" should have been here, because it made Batman human.

[@miamimagicians]

1000% Knightfall soooo good

[@miamimagicians]

The beginning of nightfall, with been becoming a steroid addict to avoid being molested for being falsely imprisoned because of crimes his family did is heart wrenching. Some of the best comic book reading I have a red.

[@treek10k]

Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross. Repent and believe in him or you will be separated from God The Father for all eternity and face hell forever, for all eternity, never ending.

[@priceyblackwinter2338]

​@@treek10k bro we just wanna read fucking batman, chill

[@Wealthy-Harvest]

So does Batman year one

[@TheShop90sKids]

Hush was my first main title comic book arc that I've ever read. Prior to that I was reading all the Bruce Timm animated related comics. I have so much nostalgia for Hush!

[@thehumblemessenger5607]

I actually picked up my first Batman volume book this week! It’s Knightfall, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the story! Thank you so much for the other suggestions, I’ll be sure to pick them up once I finish this story!

[@RacerC45]

They should do an animated Three Jokers movie that include Mark Hamill and Troy Baker.

[@Gatester95]

...with John DiMaggio as the third Joker

[@RacerC45]

@@Gatester95 I was thinking the guy who voiced The Joker in the Netherrealm fighting games like Injustice.

[@quentinfogger5755]

What would happen if Jared Leto, Joaquin Phoenix or Barry Keoghan voiced one of the three Jokers since they played live action versions of him?

[@jeffneely5556]

Good list, though I would have recommended Knightfall, No Man's Land, Death in the Family, Dark Victory, Son of the Demon, and the Man Who Laughs. Also, for me, The Long Halloween is #1.

[@ebenezeronile]

Strange Apparitions, Venom, Dark Victory, Ego, Gone Sane, The Demon Trilogy, The Man Who Laughs

[@javierfernandezfavieres2816]

Arris: Hush is one of the greatest mysteries in comics Arris, immediately after: *proceeds to spoil said mystery*

[@n-brace4287]

I know! I was watching like wtf did he just say?

[@TimlerFX]

The identity of hush becomes pretty obvious by the 2nd or 3rd chapter but yeah, still pretty stupid to just blurt it out in this video like that.

[@jgrayson1940]

My fave is Batman: Black Mirror. Not the biggest fan of Killing Joke, but mostly because some folks use that as an entry point. I think if you read these in this order, you'd come away with a pretty well rounded experience. Honourable mentions for Ego and War on Crime, too.

[@siddhantjain2024]

Love the video ! Could you guys make one of these for Spider-Man as well ?

[@jonathansoko1085]

what ever you do do not read modern spiderman, if you care about peter and marvel in general. Its an insult.

[@symbiotic_s2k572]

Man there are so many good books but here's just a few that I would add to the list. Batman Knight Fall Batman The Black Mirror Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

[@rayumbo]

Black Mirror (this is prolly my favorite), Dark Victory, Heart of Hush, Knightfall,Death of the Family, Batman: Cold Days, Batman Ego, and Grant Morrison’s entire run, through Omnibuses. And

[@rayumbo]

I forgot Year One

[@ethansoderstrom8287]

This topic is a bit late. There's already so many that have covered this topic a while ago. Anyway, how is A death in the family not on the list? It legit had one of the most shocking moments in comics period!

[@alejandrogonzalez7129]

Well, my favorite is The Dark Knight Returns, Year One and One Long Night. But I think this list is awesome and a great idea. I am looking forward to see more videos like this :)

[@rowiepalacpac9914]

Very new to comic reading but I really love Batman : Earth One.

[@xXphrenzyXx]

the one off where he becomes a vampire and becomes ridiculously muscular and raw is pretty dope, so underrated it stands out to me as a possinle tie in that not many know of in the future

[@SPEIGHTS78]

I was shocked Death IN the Family wasn't on the list. Especially since it's literally reason we have Red Hood

[@anthonyscheibmeir2444]

Batman Black Mirror is also really good I highly recommend.

[@mcurran6505]

Here are a few honorable mentions: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth Knightfall Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? The Black Mirror The Man Who Laughs Earth One Gotham by Gaslight Batman RIP Strange Apparitions The War of Jokes & Riddles Batman and the Monster Men Venom Death in the Family Haunted Knight Dark Victory Son of the Demon Ego The Return of Bruce Wayne Robin: Year One Batman Universe

[@WarTheory]

The legend of the dark knight venom storyline should be on this list… It shows Batman came back from something a lot of people don’t addiction

[@kendowlingkdj1]

I love all the stories on this list but I have a HUGE issue with the ordering. The Long Halloween should be ranked MUCH higher.

[@irakendelsizemore1409]

Yayyy love the comic book recommendations keep it up plz I have been a long time viewer since around 2015 or 2014 I remember all the set ups. I’ve got back into comic books a lot lately and I wanted to come to your videos and show my support because you helped my love for comics go deeper. Thank you!

[@nicholasbergman9965]

There was a great Batman and Joker graphic novel called, Madmen and Lovers. That was also a Joker origin story. Very good read. Highly recommend it.

[@hezzi3283]

I went back up to 7 years ago to catch up on some videos then came back and watched this I gotta say you have been consistently brilliant. . . . Kinda miss the ". . . Where we love comics more than. . ." intro

[@Mr.Wayne.1]

Top 10 must read Batman comics (proceeds in telling tell us the whole plot and everything🥲😂)

[@smellywaffels1967]

It’s called a summary kid.

[@jamesmassey1992]

Please do this for Spiderman, X-Men, Flash, and Green Lantern.

[@harsyakiarraathallah2222]

My List 1. the Dark Knight Return 2. the Killing Joke 3. Year One 4. the Long Halloween 5. Ego 6. Under the Red Hood 7. Dark Victory 8. Court of Owls 9. Hush 10. the Three Joker

[@Michaelengelmann]

I just want to point out Batman doesn’t need prep time tho it does help. And idk ppl’s thought process of that. He’s “The World’s Greatest Detective” in a fight he’ll quickly study the person and do enough to get away to take them down for good at another time or take them down in that fight. It’s like when ppl fight a boss in any video game, they switch their moves, you suck at it, then learn their moves and defeat them.

[@user-ek4nh8oq8f]

This is great idea to featuring a Top 10 comics for a particular superhero. Keep it going.

[@nathanfenwick2081]

If anyone is looking to start getting in to Batman but wants to follow some sort of chronology- I made a chronological/personal head canon list of some of my absolute favourite Batman comics. From 1-13 (early to late in his crime fighting career) 1. Year One 2. Monster Men 3. Mad Monk 4. The Man Who Laughs 5. Prey 6. Haunted Knight 7. Long Halloween 8. Night Cries 9. Dark Victory 10. Ego & other tails 11. A Serious House on a Serious Earth 12. The Killing Joke 13. Dark Knight Returns

[@deltaprime3509]

Great list dude I will totally check some of these stories out they sound great do you have any Wonder Woman stories you would recommend?

[@bentrigsted2769]

Fantastic video! These are going to be amazing to watch as you continue posting them. Thanks!

[@charliemessano2128]

Batman Top Stories 1. The Long Halloween / Killing Joke 2. Court Of Owls 3. White Knight 4. Batman Who Laughs 5. Year One 6. Batman incorporated 7. R.I.P./Last Rights 8. Knightfall 9. Three Jokers 10. Dark Victory Continued (starting from number 11) (not necessarily in order starting after number 11) 1. Cult 2. Hush 3. Death of the Family 4. Shaman 5. Prey 6. Batman Dracula (not sure if this is in right spot but fun book) 7Gaslight

[@mitchbacca]

I can agree with most of the list, except for The "Three Jokers", and "Death of the Familly". WEhile both are good stories ,there are two that are great taht did not make the list, and undoubtadly belong there. The first being "Knightfall' ,and the other being "No Mans Land"

[@oneshotcustoms8695]

I must say the Dark Nights Metal was a really good run.

[@jordanadkins8306]

The entire new 52 run of Batman was a godsend, that’s my favorite run in general

[@trevordavidjones]

Great series idea and GREAT move to start with BATMAN 😆🦇

[@whitetigerthunderzordpower9156]

Next do Top 10 Spider-Man stories!

[@DzustComics]

FINALLY! I've missed videos like this so much! 😍

[@LaurynMarghub]

Super helpful, totally worth watching

[@landonpowell6148]

The long Halloween and dark victory are easily the best Batman story’s

[@jacksonwilliams5196]

There's some also cool Batman crossovers. Tmnt , Tarzan, Aliens , Predator , Spider-Man, Daredevil , Punisher , and Hulk. Also. Tmnt 2012 batman adventures

[@ijimkoz]

I can't argue with any of the picks. Well done.

[@KelsyZahirShamoon]

Thank you for sharing, keep doing what you do!!!

[@wellreadguy8433]

Honorable mention to the Knightfall trilogy of story arcs: Knightfall, Knight's Quest, and Knight's End.

[@cristianbumblebee]

I've read all of these and I enjoy them first. The first ever Batman story I read was the Dark Knight Returns. I saw one day in my school library. Checked it out and read it: the rest is history. It's what got me into comics. I was in Grade 12.

[@DarthKato]

I've read most of the books on this list. The only ones I haven't read are: #5, #8, and #9. Hush is on the top of my to-read list. Jim Lee drawing Batman is some of the best art you will ever see in a comic book.

[@nbakuron]

Alot of these have movies. Batman:Hush,The killing joke, Long halloween Pt1 and Pt2,the dark knight returns, under the red hood, and kind of batman:year one because of The Batman

[@jonathanbarker1016]

Well that's cool Arris dude .I just bought the Batman Court of Owls ,Since Batman/Spawn story with Court of Owls .But Batman Knight Fall is also one awesome Batman story ,And Batman Hush is sweet batman story ,But you do have cool list ,I would just added few more to it .

[@MarinetteDupainCheng564]

My personal favorites, of the ones i read so far. 1. Batman Knightfall saga 2. Batman The Killing Joke 3. Batman the Long Halloween 4. Batman Hush 5. Batman Under the Red Hood 6. Batman 89 7. Batman The Court of Owls 8. Batman Death in the Family 9. Batman The Batman Who Laughs: The Death of the Batmen on the waiting list Batman Year One Batman Three Jokers vol 2 and 3 Batman Earth One saga Batman Death of the Family Batman The Dark Knight Returns

[@ReinaItore]

Great video as always, keep up the great work

[@WildStudios65150]

I really like this new series idea and I hope Superman and Spider-Man are next.

[@JordansMortalKombatAdven-xn3qo]

@VariantComics thanks man, I’m a huge Batman fan but haven’t read many of his iconic stories yet in comics for some reason even though I love The Batman the 2022 film as well as the Arkham games being some of my favorite video games of last decade if not my favorite video game trilogy of all time which is a tall order

[@daniellevy2272]

So glad to see Three Jokers in here. Though it had some things I didn't like at all, it was EXTREMELY good

[@LuckyLuch11]

The DC Comics movies for those titles are phenomenal as well. Now if they could only make a live action movie that was as good 🤷‍♂️🤙

[@RosalynVanzetti]

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing

[@stevenhayner7425]

Thanks for this I have some new additions for my to read list

[@jazzgk13]

FINALLY!!! ive been waiting for something like this

[@johnmobley9369]

I thought Earth One was a surprisingly good starting point. It’s not long running and it takes what you already know about Batman and twists it a bit. It’s not revolutionary but I thought it was enjoyable.

[@palexanderrice]

For me, the court of owls hit hard. That concept of the crime behind the crimes, loved it and they almost beat batman

[@AnormalLifeisboring]

I thought that court of owls was just a bit to short, Batman didn't really get a chance to uncover the mystery as a detective, which could of led to a lot of cool/unsettling moments perhaps with even more crossovers. Still good though.

[@DaWhiz266]

So no Batman: Noel? I love that one. Also when is the podcast coming back?

[@JenSpinsSGP]

This is awesome! I have read the comics but I love Batman so I’m glad I had an idea of what to look at. I’m really interested in when you guys do one for the flash as well

[@unsilencedchaos2112]

Some of my favourite individual stories are three jokers, killing joke, long Halloween, death in the family, hush (probably forgetting a couple) but my 3 favourite runs are grant Morison’s entire run, the new 52 run and the entirety of the nightfall storyline

[@felixnegron1888]

Do some must read Star Wars comics next, I’ve always wanted to get into the legends comics where Luke rebuilds the Jedi order

[@cousincrypto8374]

Can you do animated movies of batman ranked too?

[@AbhishekKr.Singh1609]

My fav Batman stories will always be Tower of Babel,Hush,The Long Halloween, Court of Owls and Under the Red Hood

[@samsaalfeld4273]

I love this idea for a series. My personal favorites are Court of Owls (and all of Snyder’s run) Batman and Robin(New 52), and James Tynion’s Detective Comics run on Rebirth Ooh, also forgot The Black Mirror

[@NightBeast12]

“KnightFall” is one of my favorites; Bane pushing Batman to the limit by freeing all of his villains from Arkham, making him catch them all, finding out Bruce Wayne is Batman and almost beating him to death in his own home! “I broke the Bat!” The White Knight saga, and Batman new 52 Endgame with a more serious and darker Joker.

[@quentinfogger5755]

Can you do history of the Elementals, Cyclone and Sandman along with Kurt Conners the Lizard, Rhino, Kraven the Hunter, Chameleon, Scorpion and the Human Fly along with the Tinkerer, Alistair Smythe the Ultimate Spider Slayer, Living_Brain, and Prowler?

[@friendlyneighorhoodpeyton4422]

Honestly I think Ego is really overlooked!

[@Makman1994]

Batman Endgame was epic!

[@smellywaffels1967]

Yeah that’s a great read too.

[@unchartedrocks1]

3 Jokers was one hell of a read that captures Joker's obsession beautifully at the last intense pages.

[@quentinfogger5755]

Speaking of Batman, How long till you do history of Alfred Pennyworth, Batwing, Flame Bird, Batwoman, Azrael, Signal(Duke Thomas), Bluebird, Stephanie Brown and Carrie Kelly?

[@stevemardis5669]

Wow, you guys are doing Batman!! Shocking!!

[@Gatester95]

It's weird that Knightfall didn't even get an honorable mention on this list

[@jordandelogu6580]

Hush, the long Halloween, batman the return of Bruce Wayne, batman/tmnt, and the dark night returns. Thank you for this list I still need to read three jokers, tower of babel, and red hood. (Have the great movie but would like to read the comic) Please do more videos like this, my wife doesn't read comics because she doesn't know where to dive in, I suggested picking a character and reading key books or series about them. This list helps a lot. Please do lists for wolverine, green lantern (Hal Jordan or Guy Gardner), Deadpool, deathstroke, Spider-Man, justice league, power rangers, ghost rider, punisher, Dr Doom, daredevil, blade, Ironman, and transformers.

[@Thatguyshipwreckedsailor]

For this new style of video may i recomend these charcters The Thing (Ben Grim) Booster Gold John Constantine Doctor Doom And Wolverine

[@quentinfogger5755]

Since you did the history of Midnight Man, Are you going to do history of other Moon Knight villains like Arthur Harrow, Shadow Knight, Bushman, the Zodiac Cartel, Stained Glass Scarlet, Moon_Shade and the Sun-King?

[@thefilmrookie3099]

I prefer the Arkham asylum, a serious house on a serious earth explanation for the Joker. Him reinventing himself everyday, sometimes a clown, sometimes a business man. It’s a far richer story than ‘3 jokers’ in my opinion.

[@billlewis8765]

All these stories are definitely must reads but I’ve in recent years added The hunt for Robin and Robin Rises from the Batman and Robin volume 2 run. It’s Batman as a father at his best and worst!

[@tuhinguha434]

Long Halloween will always be my personal favourite Batman story followed by Court of Owls.

[@choppedandbobbed9729]

The killing joke is in fact the peak of human literature

[@nicktroisi6347]

I’ve read almost all of these except the first 2 and o can positively say these are must read Batman and DC Comics before you die. Hush and Long Halloween are my personal favourites. People say Hush is overrated but in my opinion it still holds up

[@TheRealRehman]

If you do one of these for Superman, you gotta include All star Superman and Superman: birthright.

[@quentinfogger5755]

Can you do history of the characters mentioned in this video?

[@thecreatornooj1328]

I think that the Scott Snyder New 52 run should have just been one entry. It's got The Court of Owls storyline, Zero year (updated origin), Death of the family and its follow-up, Endgame, and a lot of setup for Rebirth's plotlines in Dark Knights Metal and Death Metal. It's an amazing jumping-on point for what's canon to the current timeline's batman. Sure, it also has Gordon's batman but like... That's only 2 of 10 volumes worth of content.

[@ajeshnilata1540]

I read two of Batman's Joker War comics I love reading Batman Silver age comics Sure it's goofy but it's still fun to read Today

[@garethtrevor2920]

my 10 top favorite batman stories 10 . batman hush 9. batman under the hood 8. batman death in family 7. batman lonely place dying 6.batman no man land 5. batman bruce murder 4. batman dark knight returns 3.batman year one 2. batman knight fall 1. batman long Halloween a honorable Mendon batman the killing joker also I feel like batman begins is more like batman year one and the batman is like batman the long Halloween

[@ReinoldMackenzie]

Cool series! Keep them coming

[@trevionmoreno4214]

I’m definitely gonna read all of these stories before the year is over 🔥

[@owenubelhor6647]

I'm surprised the knightfall wasn't on this list....tho I do have to agree with a vast majority of it