The Essential 15 Batman Graphic Novels

It was Frank Miller that breathed new life into Batman in the 80's, so it only seemed fitting for him to be the one to retell Batman's origins. Combining gritty realism with Miller's dark crime noir approach to writing, Batman: Year One is not only the tale of how Bruce Wayne became Batman, but also of how Jim Gordon rose to power in the ranks of the GCPD, as well as briefly exploring the early days of Selina Kyle as Catwoman. An excellent story that also heavily influenced Chris Nolan's Batman Begins.

Frank Miller began writing for Batman just at the right time, as people were beginning to forget that Batman could be a serious and dark character with personal demons that haunt him as opposed to the campy and family friendly character that the 1960's television show made him out to be. When The Dark Knight Returns hit the shelves, Miller showed us what Batman could be, even as an aged and retired superhero, he's still haunted by the death of his parents and his own demons. TDKR is the ultimate Batman story, with villains such as The Joker and Two-Face, as well as an epic climax between Batman and Superman. This is a must for any Batman collection.

Another Jeph Loeb story, but this time with stunning visuals by Brian Lee as opposed to his usual wingman, Tim Sale. This story is also shrouded in mystery, with the return of an old childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, also surprisingly a new villain arises under the guise of Hush, playing all of Batman's nemesises against The Dark Knight. Hush is notable for the introduction of the popular Batman villain Hush, for its interesting mystery storyline and its highly unexpected twist ending.

While Alan Moore isn't known so much for his typical superhero stories and has achieved fame with his more original stories (Watchmen; V for Vendetta; From Hell), he still wrote a highly influential short graphic novel in the from of The Killing Joke backed with Brian Bolland's amazing artwork. The Killing Joke is both famous and infamous for exploring a (possible) backstory that leads to the origins of The Joker as well as crippling then-Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, eventually turning her into Oracle. This story laid the groundwork for many dark Batman stories to come and was also highly influential in Tim Burton's Batman film.

Another gem by the Loeb and Sale team. Dark Victory is a direct sequel to The Long Halloween and features a new serial killer on the loose while a citywide manhunt goes on for Two-Face. All the while, the story also introduces Dick Grayson as Robin. Not quite as good as its predecessor but a more than worthy sequel and well worth the time to read.

The acclaimed team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale looked to delve further into the beginnings of Batman, exploring his early partnerships with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, whilst also retelling the origins of Two-Face, all the while set around the backdrop of an intriguing murder mystery. Many well known Batman villains feature in this story (i.e. The Joker, Two-Face, The Penguin) and many not-so well known villains (Solomon Grundy and the Calendar Man). Another must-have from the team that wrote Superman For All Seasons and Spider-Man: Blue.

Arkham Asylum seems less like a comic book and more like an elaborate and terrifying horror film, what makes this story so gripping and shocking is proving that Batman can also feel fear. A riot takes place in the asylum as The Joker takes over, Batman is locked up in the old mansion overnight with all of his enemies, each deformed over time thanks to spending so much time in Arkham. There's also an interesting backstory told behind the origin of the asylum, founded by Armadeus Arkham.

The origin of Damian Wayne, Batman's son who Grant Morrison brought back into canon during his run at Batman.

This story is infamous for the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, after DC allowed its readers to vote on whether or not Jason Todd lives or dies.

While Batman plays a very minor role in this story, Dan Slott takes the reader deep into Arkham Asylum, exploring its inmates from the infamous to the unknown. Along the way, we see a normal businessman enter the asylum, and he leaves a psychopathic monster. And interesting book that is well worth the read.

The Black and White series takes several acclaimed comic book writers and authors and gives them limited tools and space to tell shot Batman stories. With some excellent artwork and some really amazing stories, the simplicity of these stories let the reader get to the core of Batman and enjoy the talents of dozens of amazing comic book workers at the same time.

Several confronts between Batman and Ra's Al Ghul.