Conspirator Brock's Recommended Batman Reading

One of the most common questions I hear working in a comic book store is, "What do you recommend?" This question is always difficult to answer because there are so many good stories to chose from. The question is also so general and vague that it makes it hard to gear a response to a specific title. So, I've decided to write down some of my recommendations that are specifically aimed at a particular character. The first of these recommendation pages is on a big brand in comics, a character that has been around for over 75 years, has had two movie franchises, numerous TV shows (live action and animated), a number of great video games, and who knows how much merchandise made with his logo plastered on it. That is the dark knight himself Batman.

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BATMAN
Hush
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Jim Lee
Buy on Amazon | Buy on Comixology
 
In 2002-2003 when the story arc "Hush" came out in Batman #608-619 it was the combination of two amazing creators: writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee. This creative team-up was destined to be a great story in the Batman mythos. You can read the dry Wikipedia page here if you want to know more details about "Hush".
When I got back into comics in 2006 this was one of the first stories that was recommended to me as required Batman reading. I've always been a Jim Lee fan, and I was excited to see Lee's versions of a lot of the Batman Rogues gallery. From the beginning I was hooked. "Hush" takes the reader and Batman through a gambit of villains, and then reveals who has been behind everything all along. I would say that Hush is a must read for any Batman fan, anyone interested in great art, and if you want to get a good dose of the world of the Bat. I would say that if any of this has enticed you then you need to get yourself a copy of Batman: Hush today.

The list below is some more Batman titles I would recommend. As I get to them I will expand each title with a brief description. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Black Mirror
Earth One Volume 1
Earth One Volume 2
The Killing Joke
Dark Knight Returns
Batman (2011) Scott Snyder's Run
Long Halloween
Batman Eternal
Year One
A Death in the Family
Batman: Detective
Gates of Gotham
Batman: Arkham Unhinged
Batman: Arkham City
Dark Knight: A True Batman Story