I hope this will be good because I'm getting it when it comes out. Some people describe it as a psuedo sequel to the Dark Knight. I don't know about that, to me it looks like a possible landmark story for the Joker like the Killing Joke or the Joker's Five Way Revenge. I haven't enjoyed the path that Grant Morrison has taken the Joker down in his issues of Batman.
i've never read one of these....but after the Dark Knight, I'd like to. which one should i start with?
Batman Year 1 by Frank Miller and Dave Mazzucchelli s the best place to start. The story is exactly what the title implies, and it's first rate (I would say it is the most intelligent and least reactionary thing that Miller has done). You'll notice that parts (though not a whole lot) of Batman Begins was influenced by this. You may be also interested in Batman Year 2 but I think it's way inferior to Year 1. If you're interested in a Joker story, then you should get The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. The art is absolutely phenomenal and it gives a surprisingly human background to the Joker (especially given how heinous his crimes are in the story). They just issued a special edition of this (mostly to allow Bolland to re-color as he was absolutely horrified by the coloring job done in the original edition - frankly, I didn't think it was that bad). For a really trippy Batman graphic novel, check out Arkham Asylum by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Really amazing art. There may be some more recent graphic novels that are worth checking out, but I haven't really followed Batman closely since 1991. So most of my suggestions reflect that. <edit> Doh - I don't know how I could forget The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Jansen and Lynn Varley (Miller's wife). This envisions Batman/Bruce Wayne around 50-something and dealing with a world that the "original" Batman (i.e. one with a 50s worldview and morality) simply can't handle. Some of the references are very dated (80s culture permeates this) but overall, this is every bit as good as its reputation (as one of the all-time definitive graphic novels) would suggest.
thanks a lot, sub. so year 1 sounds like the right place to start but i'd definitely like to read the joker background stories.
I would say after Year One, you should definitely go with The Long Holloween which also heavily influenced Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. It's got the Batman/Harvey Dent/Gordon partnership that was only barely touched upon in the Dark Knight plus it shows the origin of Two Face. Batman Year Two blows and is not considered to be part of Batman's history. As for the Joker, the Killing Joke is accepted as having his origin story. Oh, subtomic, Arkham Assylum was written by Grant Morrison.
