80 Years of Batman!

Happy Birthday, Batman! 

80 Stories For 80 Years of The Dark Knight

In honor of Batman’s 80th anniversary, I have compiled a list of what I believe to be the definitive Batman works from Vol. 1 (pre-New 52). These comic book stories, arcs or runs introduce important characters and events that are central to the mythos or explore character motivation the best. Some are very popular and obvious, some more off the beaten path. Every era is represented from Volume 1 (pre-New 52). This was a challenge for me as a Batman fan. I poured over every issue (via reprints and digital) of the two main Bat titles and all of the major series.

1. The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge (Batman #251)

2. Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics #469-479)

3. Daughter of the Demon (Batman #232)

4. The Dark Knight Returns (miniseries)

5. Batman: Year One (Batman #404-407)

6. There is No Hope in Crime Alley (Detective Comics #457)

7. The Long Halloween/Dark Victory

8. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (graphic novel)

9. Mad Love (The Batman Adventures: Mad Love #1)

10. The Killing Joke (one-shot)

11. Night of the Reaper (Batman #237)

12. A Vow From the Grave (Detective Comics #410)

13. Night of the Stalker (Detective Comics #439)

14. The Batman Nobody Knows (Batman #250) 

15. Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker (Batman #321)

16. Shaman (Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5)

17. The Joker/The Joker Returns (Batman #1)

18. A Lonely Place of Dying (Batman #440-442, The New Titans #60-61)

19. Robin the Boy Wonder (Detective Comics #38)

20. Slayride (Detective Comics #826)

21. The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl! (Detective Comics #359)

22. Hush (Batman #608-619)

23. Death Strikes At Midnight and Three (DC Special Series #15)

24. Batman vs. the Vampire (Detective Comics #31-32)

25. The Six Days of The Scarecrow (Detective Comics #503)

26. Death Flies the Haunted Sky (Detective Comics #442)

27. The Man Who Falls (Secret Origins: Batman)

28. Venom (Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20)

29. My Beginning… And My Probable End (Detective Comics #574)

30. Robin Dies At Dawn (Batman #156)

31. The Case of the Chemical Syndicate (Detective Comics #27)

32. This One’ll Kill You, Batman (Batman #260)

33. Shadow Play (Batman #348)

34. The Invader From Hell (Batman Family #1)

35. Blades (Legends of the Dark Knight #32-34)

36. The Player on the Other Side (Batman Special #1)

37. Gothic (Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10)

38. The Case of the Honest Crook (Batman #5)

39. Wanted: Santa Clause — Dead or Alive (DC Special Series #21)

40. The Origin of Jason Todd (post-crisis) (Did Robin Die Tonight? Batman #408, Just Another Kid on Crime Alley Batman #409)

41. No Man’s Land (Batman: No Man’s Land #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #83-94, Batman #563-574, Detective Comics #730-741, Azrael: Agent of the Bat #51-61, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116-126, Robin #67-73, Catwoman #72-77 and Batman Chronicles #16-18)

42. A Hero Reborn (Batman 455-457, Robin 1-5)

43. Riddle of the Human Scarecrow (World’s Finest Comics #3) 

44. Eye of The Beholder (Batman Annual #14)

45. The House That Haunted Batman (Detective Comics #408)

46. Knightfall Part 1: Broken Bat (Batman #491-500, Detective Comics #659-666)

47. Dark Knight, Dark City (Batman #452-454)

48. A Death in the Family (Batman #426-429)

49. The Return of Dr. Phosphorous (Detective Comics #825)

50. Blind Justice (Detective Comics #598-600) * 50th anniversary story

51. Monster, My Sweet (Batman #344)

52. Ticket To Tragedy (Detective Comics #481)

53. The Vampire Saga (Batman #349-351, Detective Comics #517)

54. The Untold Legend of the Batman (the first Batman miniseries)

55. The Scarecrow’s Trail of Fear (Batman #262)

56. Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke (miniseries)

57. Batman: The Man Who Laughs (miniseries)

58. Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed? (Batman #290-294) 

59. Fear for Sale (Detective Comics #571) 

60. The Secret of the Waiting Graves (Detective Comics #395)

61. Batman: War On Crime (oversized graphic novel)

62. Have Yourself A Deadly Little Christmas (Batman #309)

63. The Joker: Devil’s Advocate (one-shot)

64. Victims (Batman #414)

65. White Gold and Truth (Batman #416)

66. Death Has the Last Laugh (Brave and the Bold #111)

67. Batman: The Cult (miniseries)

68. The Last Arkham (Shadow of the Bat #1-4)

69. Broken City (Batman #620-625)

70. Fears (Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1) (one-shot)

71. The Black Mask Saga (Batman #386-387)

72. One Batman Too Many (Batman #403)

73. Prey (Legends of the Dark Knight #11-15)

74. Terror (Legends of the Dark Knight #137-141)

75. Images (Legends Of The Dark Knight #50)

76. To Kill A Legend (Detective Comics #500)

77. Madness – A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special (one-shot)

78. Batman: Ghosts – A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special (one-shot)

79. Masks (Legends Of The Dark Knight #39-40)

80. A Bullet For Bullock (Detective Comics #651)