Essential Batman

[Lapis Exilis]

Thanks for that heads up, I haven't run across those before. Are they well written?

I'd say they are. Certainly the Scarecrow issue stands out - it was written by Doug Moench during his run on Batman. Moench is truly an excellent character writer. (Have you read Moench's run? It may have been the greatest extended run on the Batman comics ever...check this site to learn why: http://popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1183 )

Okay - I'll bite. I read some Moench back in the day but I don't really remember. Based on the article I just ordered 540-552.

I meant to add - beware the "Scarecrow" and "Ra's Al Ghul" "Year One" one-shots that were released at the time of Batman Begins (actually, two-shots - each were two-part issues). They weren't annuals or part of any extended comic line, and weren't actually "Year One" stories - they were just released to capitalize on the villains being featured in the movie, had "Year One" added to the title in order to capitalize on Year One popularity, and feature pretty awful writing (Batman fighting zombies, etc.).

Yeah, movie tie-ins are usually pretty wretched.

I've been looking at The Man Who Laughs, but I haven't read it yet. There's kind of mixed opinions about it out on the web. I'm not trying to give anyone a comprehensive continuity on Batman - there are other sites that do that. I'm just trying to list the material that has really strong storytelling and character-based writing.

I think the largest objections to "The Man Who Laughs" seems to be the fact that people don't like Joker origins after "The Killing Joke." I could be wrong, though.

There's certainly plenty of debate about whether the Joker is more or less effective with an origin attached to him.

 

[Saul]

Batman the Cult is listed there in the Top 25. I read it and it's not so bad, very DKRish and Deacon Blackfire is a bit Ras Al ghulish. But i like the story for the way Batman deals with been Broken mentally.