There is no shortage of Batman-related content year in and year out, and Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson's The Batman universe is poised for further expansion with the report of various supervillain projects in the works. The character has enjoyed a long and storied history in the comic book source material, though, with more than enough material for fans to get their hands on digitally on DC Universe Infinite.
It's a great place to get many of the best Batman works ever written and illustrated all in one place. And while picking out the best of the Dark Knight's mythos is a tough ask to narrow down, all-time classics like Year One and modern hits like The Court of Owls are easy recommendations.
Year One
Frank Miller, after having a prolific and redefining run on Daredevil, helped revitalize Batman's origin story for a more modern audience in the '80s with Year One. A tantalizing, stylish, and seamless mix of grimy crime-noir, Year One is a superb reimagining of how the Batman came to be and an essential starting point for new fans.
Along with artist David Mazzucchelli's, this comic book beginning for the Dark Knight sees Bruce Wayne come back home to Gotham after years of training abroad in a desperate attempt to find the answer as to how he can help rescue the city from its slow, agonizing death since philanthropy alone won't cut it. Creatively, Year One also functions as a parallel origin for James Gordon as he's the sole "good cop" in a nest of venomous vipers -- and his budding dynamic with this brooding vigilante.
The Man Who Laughs
Joker's debut in Batman #1 came just a year after the hero's, but The Man Who Laughs is an excellent remake of that tale. Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Doug Mahnke pair up for this modern retelling of the Dark Knight's first encounter with the Joker, as well as the villain's first appearance in Gotham City.
The Clown Prince of Crime is one of Batman's most compelling villains, as well as comics in general, with Joker making a grim first impression to match his persona. The Man Who Laughs is a fitting remake showcasing the start of this vitriolic back-and-forth as well as the heinousness that the Joker is capable of.
The Long Halloween
Like Year One before it, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale's The Long Halloween is one of the best and most influential Batman comics ever published. And in a crowded field of beloved comic book series, many longtime fans argue it's still the best in the character's catalog.
The Long Halloween is pure crime-noir blended with the superhero genre, with Sale's mesmerizingly gloomy and stylized art doing half the job of selling this engrossing detective epic. It details the waning days of organized crime in Gotham, as well as the gradual "rise of the freaks" to redefine to criminal status quo. It's a revered tale that puts equal focus on the World's Greatest Detective epithet as it does with the Dark Knight.
Dark Victory
While it didn't receive the same impact as its predecessor did, Loeb and Sale's Dark Victory is a great direct sequel to The Long Halloween in terms of story and atmosphere. Following up on the aftermath of the Holiday killer, the grisly series of murders they left behind, and the bloody mob war it incited, Batman and Gordon are tasked to apprehend a copycat Hangman killer that's targeting GCPD officers.
Even more so than its progenitor, Dark Victory depicts the demise of the rule of the bomb and how the more colorful villains in Batman's rogues' gallery would fill the power vacuum. In addition, it also provides a powerful origin story for Dick Grayson -- the first Robin, Boy Wonder.
The Killing Joke
In addition to being a landmark Batman comic in the superhero's dense mythos, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke is one of the most iconic Joker stories ever told. It inspired the likes of Nolan's The Dark Knight, and this one-shot comic's conflict revolves around the titular villain breaking out of Arkham Asylum to enact one of the most sadistic plans he's ever had.
Involving both torturing James Gordon and paralyzing Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, the Joker did all this to prove his "one bad day" point. Ultimately, no one is different from him underneath, and that the Joker is the truly rational one. Needless to say, seeing Batman defeat and expose the Joker -- along with his nihilistic philosophy -- for the coward that he is created one of the most satisfying moments in the hero's source material.
The Dark Knight Returns
Perhaps the most well-known "Elseworlds" story in comics, The Dark Knight Returns is Miller's thrilling take on a Batman in an alternate, bleak political dystopia. Bruce has retired the Batman mantle for a decade now, but Gotham City has descended back into chaos in the time since.
A Clockwork Orange-style street gang called the Mutants run the city through terror and hyperviolence, and the U.S. federal government actively neglects its people's well-being while using Superman as an overseas political weapon -- literally. It compels an aging Bruce Wayne out of retirement, chronicling an exciting alternate rendition of the superhero.
Hush
Though not Jeph Loeb's best work on the character compared to The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, or Haunted Knight, Hush still stands as a fan-favorite Batman comic arc from the 2000s era. Batman -- including his life as Bruce Wayne -- is being pulled in all directions at once at the hands of a mysterious killer named Hush with some kind of connection to his past.
This leads the Dark Knight on a globetrotting goose chase to solve this case. It's far from the most compelling mystery, but the combination of its "greatest hits" of supporting characters and action-heavy spectacles, Hush is a solid "Hollywood blockbuster" Batman story in comic book form.
The Complete Grant Morrison Saga
It's a technicality since Grant Morrison's run on Batman spanned multiple individual arcs, but his grandiose seven-year-long run is best enjoyed as a collective. Collected on DC Universe Infinite as The Complete Grant Morrison Saga, this odyssey-level epic is a loving homage to everything that Batman is and has ever been.
From the landmark moment Damian Wayne enters the fray to the bubbling threat of the shadowy Black Glove, Morrison proves here that he's one of the Caped Crusader's most celebrated writers. It incorporates the street-level, the gritty, and the bizarrely fantastical to depict the many faces of the Batman.
The Black Mirror
Though he's better known for his accomplished run on Batman during DC's The New 52 reboot, writer Scott Snyder wrote one of the most underrated runs in Detective Comics. Alongside artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla, The Black Mirror was the last major Batman story before the reboot in 2011.
It tells a story from Dick Grayson's time in the Batman mantle as he tries to solve a series of grisly cases around Gotham City. Grayson brings a fresh new perspective from the iconic cape and cowl, and the brutal mysteries combine for a riveting crime-thriller story involving Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Barbara Gordon.
The Court Of Owls
In what's one of the most consistently high-quality runs that Batman has enjoyed, Scott Snyder returns to write the mainline series for The New 52, this time with artist Greg Capullo on the pencils. However, as praised as this stint on the character was, The Court of Owls is likely the most beloved arc from it.
It introduced the titular Illuminati-like supervillainous organization and proved to be one of the most gripping modern villains in Batman's history. The Court of Owls flips everything Batman thinks he knows about his city on its head, resulting in a story with some of the most genuine stakes. Naturally, this also makes the resolution to this story extremely cathartic and rewarding.