Batman in Comics: Our TOP 5

The year is 1939. Two friends are founding Hewlett-Packard, a new Pope Pius XII is taking office, Germany is occupying Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, and the rest of the world is more or less bracing for a global war. One of the few positive things happens in the USA. In May, the 27th issue of Detective Comics is released, in which authors Bob Kane and Bill Finger introduce a guy who likes to dress up as a bat - Bat-Man. It didn't take long for Bruce to lose the hyphen, and here we have Batman more or less as we know him today. That is, 84 years later.

The first Batman story was called The Case of the Chemical Syndicate. It was about investigating the murder of a chemical manufacturer. Commissioner Gordon is chatting with his friend, the young millionaire Bruce Wayne, when he learns that a murder has occurred. Both head to the crime scene. When the situation starts to get complicated, Bruce conveniently has to leave, and a gentleman in a black cape and an ear-masked cowl appears on the scene. Of course, everything turns out well in the end, and when Gordon tells the whole story later, Bruce naturally doesn't believe him. Gordon thinks to himself that Bruce Wayne is a nice young man, but he seems to lead a very boring life…

Since then, Batman has experienced a lot and repeatedly defeated an endless number of opponents. Joker himself is just a drop in the ocean, even though he managed to carve out his own place in the sun. Whether Batman heads into an alternate universe or just fights in the streets of his hometown Gotham, it always starts with a murder. More precisely, the murder of his parents. This story is so iconic and has been retold so many times that I'm starting to get quite allergic to it. Is it really necessary to repeat this fact over and over again?

From the very beginning, Batman was conceived as a darker counterpart to the otherwise kitschy, goody-two-shoes Superman. The stories are teeming with corpses, sewers, and a night sky cut by lightning. Although Batman is the world's greatest detective, the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader—in short, a tough guy who isn't afraid to jump headfirst from a roof into a sewer—he is still full of doubts and gloomy thoughts. I'm surprised he still sticks to his rule of never killing anyone… That is likely why Batman is regularly labeled as the most popular comic book hero.

This time, we'll skip the movies, series, or video games and look at where Batman started: in comics. Fans are a pain, everyone knows that. Comic book fans, of course, too! Getting them to agree on something is a miracle. So, I probably won't claim to show you the absolute best comic books featuring Batman, but I've read enough to have ammunition for a potential defense. I like Batman. He's just a likable guy. Writers try to put him in hopeless and desperate situations, despair drips from the ceiling, in the background of comic bubbles you hear a child crying, and blood from a torn-up Batman drips onto your lap. But he is Batman, and he always has to unexpectedly stand up and win at the last moment. It's probably not surprising and it's logical, but after all that, this contrast is glaring, and it has always bothered me a bit. That's why I can appreciate stories that brought something extra.

Frank Miller: The Dark Knight Returns and Year One

I'm being a total Captain Obvious, right? Well, thinking of Batman and forgetting Frank Miller (by the way, the author of the cult 300 or Sin City) is practically impossible. In 1986, Miller decided to reboot Batman. He ditched all the side tracks, alternate realities, and the surprising amount of colorfully dressed young boys around him and introduced us to Batman as we know him today—a tired, slowly aging millionaire who destroys his knuckles at night running on rooftops in the rain. An iconic story today, but told in a rather outdated way for modern times, and I have to admit it might not sit well with today's action-spoiled readers. But that cover! Such beauty. :) And there's also a duel between Batman and Superman here. Guess who wins?

Frank Miller returned to Batman repeatedly. Since I'm bringing up his The Dark Knight Returns, which practically tells the end of Batman, I have to bring up his Year One. As the title suggests, it's the 152nd iteration of Batman's origins. Bruce Wayne and, coincidentally, James Gordon return and arrive in Gotham. They are full of enthusiasm and ideals, but the everyday cruel reality of a big city full of corruption and crime very quickly ruins their mood. It's clear that it won't work without their cooperation. In this book, Miller attempts another reboot of this hero, and he succeeds very well. Personally, I like Year One because there is no big villain throwing one punchline after another while murdering the population. Here, the "opponent" is the city itself and the hard life within it.

Grant Morrison, Dave McKean: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

Sometimes form triumphs over content. Which I personally don't consider a bad solution at all. Scottish writer Grant Morrison is definitely a name in the comic book world that we cannot take lightly. In this story, Batman is forced to visit the famous Arkham facility, which serves as a prison and asylum for the biggest villains. Personally, I'm a bit surprised that Batman and the law enforcement in Gotham even bother with it, because most villains get out before you can even lock their cell door. The reason for the visit to Arkham is a riot. Batman walks through the dark corridors of the institution, discovers details from its history, and chats with its inhabitants. Eventually, there's even some supernatural stuff. Overall, it's not something that will blow your mind. But then they let Mr. McKean work on the script. The same McKean who is responsible for, for example, the covers of Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Well, this Mr. McKean is a very skilled artist, and in this book, he showcased his talent in a way you won't see anywhere else. His pages are full of movement, madness, darkness, and color. A real treat!

Alan Moore, Ed Brubaker: Batman: The Killing Joke and Other Stories

In this book, you'll find more stories. First, the story The Man Who Laughs by my personal favorite Ed Brubaker, which is actually a retelling of the first meeting between Batman and Joker. What can I say, it was love at first sight… But the second big part is the story The Killing Joke by comic book god Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and other wonders). It's a Joker story, basically his origin, and Batman isn't really the point there. The comic asks the question: How much can a person take before they become a madman? It turns out Joker took a lot, but that made the breaking point all the greater. It's a raw story that doesn't pretend to be anything else. It contains scenes that will etch themselves deep into your memory.

I have to admit that I often think about it, and I don't even know why. When I first read it in the comic magazine Crew, it affected me so strongly that it keeps coming back to me. And I'm definitely glad for that. Because Moore perfectly understood how a comic should work and how to write it, and The Killing Joke is a textbook example of that.

Before we get to my last tip, I have to mention one more gentleman. That is the American writer Scott Snyder, who was assigned Batman sometime in 2011. In his version, Bats is full of action and unexpected twists, but unfortunately, he doesn't stray much from the established formula of "the destroyed hero solves everything in a final burst of strength." His The Court of Owls, City of Owls, Zero Year, or Death of the Family and Endgame are definitely worth reading. Eventually, he even ventured into slightly bolder pieces. The Batman Who Laughs or the Dark Nights: Metal series shows our caped hero in a significantly darker light.

Batman: Batman: The Dark Prince Charming

The Italian Enrico Marini doesn't usually focus on Batman. But he did one standalone and self-contained story. At first glance, it's just another meeting of the two "main" heroes, Batman and Joker, which we've seen countless times. Other well-known characters make an appearance, and the main plot is that Joker is forcing Batman to do something he doesn't want to do again. But Batman has a very good reason for it. Joker is holding a little girl in a basement somewhere who might or might not be Batman's daughter. It's a small detail at first glance, but suddenly this motif changes the style of the game quite a bit, and you immediately feel that it's about more than just beating each other up. Maybe it's because I'm a father myself, and that's why I see it differently now. Enrico Marini is a skilled writer, but an even more skilled artist. His full-page drawings are breathtaking, and everything looks very nice on top of that. Like Catwoman in a transparent nightgown :)

What is your favorite Batman comic?

author Karel Krajča