How To Read Batman In 2021

It is super complicated to figure out how to recommend books for Batman fans. The title goes back to 1937, and there is no way for DC to keep them all in print at all times. This is a list of modern era Batman stories, starting in the mid-80s and going until the current run. This list tries to be chronological by story rather than when it was printed so you may see some 21st century stories, which are supposed to take place pre-Robin appearing before 1980s books that have Robin in them.

Year One

Starting with Frank Miller's classic, this era follows Bruce Wayne's early days as the Caped Crusader, and James Gordon's rise to the level of Commissioner.

Batman: Year One

Legends Of The Dark Knight
By Matt Wagner

Dark Knight Detective 1 & 2

Batman:
Death By Design

Dark Knight Detective 3

Batman: Snow

Batman:
​Haunted Knight

Batman:
The Long Halloween

Caped Crusader

Meet Dick Grayson. Say goodbye to Dick Grayson. Meet Jason Todd. Say goodbye to Jason Todd. Meet Barbara Gordon. Maaaaaan, this is a dark portion of Bat history focused on Bruce Wayne's early sidekicks. And The Joker, who destroys them.

Catwoman:
When In Rome

Batman:
Dark Victory

Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman:
Trinity

Batman:
Caped Crusader 1

Dark Knight Detective
Vol 4 & 5

Batman:
A Death In The Family

Batman:
Caped Crusader 2-5

Batman:
The Killing Joke

Batman:
Arkham Asylum

Superman/Batman:
Vol 1-7

Azrael:
Fallen Angel

Knightfall

We met Azrael on the last list, he's going to be a major Extreme 90s player in this time of Bruce Wayne's broken body.

Batman:
Venom

Batman:
Prelude To Knightfall

Batman Knightfall
25th Anniversary 1 & 2

Batman KnightQuest
Crusade 1 & 2

Batman KnightQuest:
The Search

Batman:KnightsEnd

Batman: Prodigal

Batman: Contagion

Batman Legacy 1 & 2

Batman:
Knight Out

No Man's Land

It's an all out gang war in Gotham as the city recovers from a massive pandemic and earthquake. A bunch of new villains and characters debut, and nearly the entire Batman rogue's gallery turns up to stake various claims throughout what's left of the city.

Batman:
Cataclysm

Batman Road To
No Man's Land 1 & 2

Batman:
No Man's Land 1-4

Batman:
New Gotham 1

Batman: Officer Down

Batman:
New Gotham 2

Gotham Knights:
Transference

Gotham Knights:
Contested

Bruce Wayne:
Murderer?

Batman:
​Fugitive

Broken City

Batman messes up all the time. Several of these stories deal with his previous batproblems coming back to roost.

Justice League Of America:
Tower Of Babel

Batman: Hush

Batman:
Death & The Maidens

Batman:
Broken City

Batman:
As The Crow Flies

Batman: Hush Returns

Batman:
War Games 1 & 2

Batman:
City Of Crime

Batman:
Under The Red Hood

Batman:
​War Crimes

Final Crisis

Bringing us to the ... end ? of Bruce Wayne's tenure as Batman. Certainly the end of the original DC Universe before all the titles were restarted in 2011.

Batman:
Face The Face

Batman & Son

Batman:
Death & The City

Batman: The Ressurection
Of Ra's Al Ghul

Batman:
Private Casebook

Batman:
Gotham Underground

Batman:
Heart Of Hush

Batman:
The Black Casebook

Batman: RIP

DC: Final Crisis

Long Shadows

Bruce Wayne is dead, but Batman is kept alive through Dick Grayson and other Wayne devotees. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne isn't dead but is ... *prolonged sigh* ... traveling through time, trying to get back to modern Gotham.

Batman: Whatever Happened
To The Caped Crusader?

Batman:
Battle For The Cowl

Batman:
Long Shadows

Batman And Robin:
Reborn

Batman:
Life After Death

Batman:
Time And The Batman

Batman And Robin:
Robin Must Die!

Batman: The Return
Of Bruce Wayne

Batman:
Eye Of The Beholder

Batman:
​Black Mirror

New 52

The New 52 was DC editor, Dan Didio's relaunch of every major DC title, so that were 52 titles every month for 52 issues. Scott Snyder had done a brief run on Batman already, but this era was his crowning achievement.

Batman New 52 4 & 5

Batman New 52 1 & 2

Nightwing:
Night Of Owls

Detective New 52 1 & 2

Batman Incorporated 1

Joker:
Death Of The Family

Batman Incorporated 2

Detective New 52 3 & 4

​Batman New 52 6

Eternal

Continuing Scott Snyder's New 52 run, as well as containing the (52 weeks long) weekly Batman title, "Eternal", written by a series of rotating writers.

Batman Eternal 1

Nightwing New 52 4

Batman Eternal 2

Detective New 52 5-7

Batman New 52 7 & 8

Batman Eternal 3

Detective New 52 8 & 9

Batman New 52 9 & 10

Nightwing New 52 5

Batman & Robin 6 & 7

Rebirth

Another reboot means continuity is altered yet again. This time we get some fun Dick Grayson material out of it, and the beginning of a larger, weirder explanation for The New 52. Also, Tom King takes over writing the flagship title.

Batman Rebirth 1

Detective Rebirth 1

Batman:
Night Of The Monster Men

Batman Rebirth 2 - 7

Detective Rebirth 2 - 7

Batman Rebirth 8

Grayson 1 - 3

Batman:
Robin War

Grayson 4 & 5

Multiversal

So it turns out that all of the books in The New 52 Era, and The Eternal Era all took place in a pocket universe caused by the end of Alan Moore's The Watchmen? Huh. And this leads to a bunch of other universes with alternate versions of Batman and all the other heroes and villains crossing over with ours? Ok. While Tom King's run on the main series continues, Scott Snyder comes back to play with the alternate universes.

Batman/The Flash:
The Button

Doomsday Clock

Dark Nights:
Road To Metal

Dark Nights Metal:
The Resistance

Dark Nights Metal

Justice League:
Graveyard Of The Gods

Batman Rebirth 9 - 11

Detective Rebirth 8 & 9

Batman Rebirth 12 & 13

Batman:
The Batman Who Laughs

Hell Arisen

Do you like The Joker? Because there's a lot of The Joker in this most recent era of Batman. James Tynion IV takes over the main Batman book, while Scott Snyder continues to explore the Dark Nights multiverse.

Detective Comics (2019) 1-4

Batman Superman Rebirth 1

Batman & Robin Eternal

Year Of The Villain:
Hell Arisen

Batman By James Tynion 1 & 2

Detective (2019) 5

Batman By James Tynion 3

Batman Three Jokers

Dark Nights Death Metal:
War Of The Multiverses

Dark Knights Death Metal