cardlyaperson

[cardlyaperson]

So You Want To Read Batman Comics But Have No Idea Where To Start

So: you’re new to the DC Comics fandom and are interested in Batman and his family. Maybe you already know a bit about them and are just looking to figure out where to start reading actual comics. Maybe you know nothing. Maybe you know a whole lot about one character but want to start reading more about another one.

Whichever it is, I’m here to help! There’s a wide range of Batman/Batfamily comics (for all ages, moods, and types of people), and I’m happy to meet people where they are and help people dive into comics. On that note, brace yourselves, because this is going to be a long post. Recs start under the cut.

—IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT READING COMICS—

Superhero comics are traditionally written in what’s known as runs; an author gets to have an extended period on an ongoing (or limited) title where they (traditionally) write in 4-8 issue story arcs; think of these arcs as chapters in a potentially never-ending book. These individual issues are colloquially known as floppies. So when I talk about “Tom Taylor’s run” on the Nightwing title, for example, I’m talking about the main author on the Nightwing title from March 2021-September 2024 (Nightwing (2016) #78-118). Every so often, titles end, the principal author on the titles switch up, or they’ll have “guest/interim authors” come in to do single issues or a single story arc.

These story arcs are then collected in hardcovers or ‘trade paperbacks’ (generally referred to as trades, occasionally TPBs); both collect the entire story arc (plus bonus/behind the scenes material, in some cases) in a single paperback/hardback book. Trades are super useful if you want to read an entire story at one time, want to be economical about your comics spending, and/or want to read things in order. Occasionally, if a writer has a particularly long run on a title or a big company event happens, you get published omnibuses that collect an entire event or run (or part of it, if the event is big enough); omnis are very expensive up-front, but ultimately they tend to be good deals and are often curated well. These collections are all generally also released digitally. Frankly, unless you’re into comics collecting, want individual issues for their pretty covers, or are supporting a currently ongoing run, I would default to buying trades/omnibuses where possible. It’s simply cheaper and easier for reading.

List Notes: Each character list is sorted vaguely chronologically according to a combination of IRL publication dates and the character’s personal timeline. Big caveat that these are not all-inclusive reading lists nor are the inclusions inherently indicators of quality; I’m just trying to hit major character highlights. You should also note that many comics contain multiple Batfam members due to the ridiculous number of crossover events and the solid integration of the Batfamily as a whole into each others’ books in the post-90s era. Comic rec tl;drs are given at the end of each character’s list. Most of the links will take you to Amazon/Comixology, but I also talk about various ways to access and read comics at the bottom of this post.

Secondary Note: DC Comics works in three universes: the pre-Crisis universe (everything published from the beginning of DC Comics until the Crisis on Infinite Earths event in 1986), the post-Crisis universe (everything published between 1986 and 2011), and the post-Flashpoint universe (2011-now). 

In 2011, DC completely rebooted their universe following the ‘Flashpoint’ event. This new universe (interchangably called the New 52 universe, post-Flashpoint universe, or Prime Earth) drastically changed many characters’ histories, personalities, and relationships with each other (sometimes for the better, most of the time for the worse). The early years of the post-Flashpoint universe are an absolute incoherent mess continuity-wise; DC’s been trying to sort it all out over the past few years with the Rebirth and Infinite Frontier events (with varying degrees of success), and there are definitely some bright bits and pieces, but it is not my favored universe (though I will certainly recommend it where needed or when it’s good). 

Now: let’s get started, shall we? Lists below the cut (please click here to view the most updated version of this post on desktop via my blog instead of on mobile/the dashboard, for easy readability and formatting purposes):

Keep reading

[cardlyaperson]

"What's the point of Tim Drake? There's nothing he brings to the table that the other Batfamily members don't have" buddy, I don't know how to help you understand that 7/8ths of those other people WOULDN'T BE THERE if it weren't for Tim Drake

[cardlyaperson]

i will elaborate and that is a threat

[cardlyaperson]

Having Bruce meet his younger self is such a power move and also so fucking dickhead of every writer who ever does it because-

Thats a fucking kid

That is a child. Bruce can’t with children. He cant- he cant be cruel he can’t not reach out and try to comfort

But thats also him. Its him goddamn it and that well of self-hatred goes deep. 

Its him but its a young him, a grieving him, and goddamn it he can’t see a child in pain, and damn he reminds him of Dick and now he’s hugging his younger self but also he’s repulsed and can’t and 

Arghhh its so hard for me to articulate but but but you see what i mean right???😭 please tell me someone understands…

[cardlyaperson]

Had this idea a month ago, it was supposed to be fully animated at some point but… 😬 didn’t work out lol

Had to pull out after effects for this one pls appreciate my death wish

[cardlyaperson]

Zine Ideas if You're Bored

Explaining different music keys

Explaining different poem types

An "all about me" zine — favorite color, food, etc;

Introduce your pets/friends/favs

Put a poem in it, illustrating/sprrading it across the pages

Explainin different historical events

Make one about your ideologies/beliefs

How to tie a tie

Explain lace code

Explain the difference between vegetarians and vegans

Teach how you do your favorite hobbies (ex. Crochet)

Summarize your favorite story

Recipes

Hear me outs

Talk about different Tumblr "cores"

Describe your dream house

Make in place of a card — Valentine's zine, birthday zine, etc;

Break down complex topics to study for tests

Explain your duties at your job

Hype yourself up/motivational zine

"How-To"'s with anything you struggle with

Story ideas summarized (so you don't forget)

"All About Me" but as your pet/favorite character

Date ideas spread over the pages

Bucket list spread over the pages

Art swatches/practice

Explain your favorite bands history

Explain your favorite pipeline/butterfly effects

Draw out the process of getting a build a bear

Create your dream pokemon team

Explain the rules/lore of your favorite games

Explain the lore of your favorite characters

Holiday/Birthday wishlist

Literally anything you want

[cardlyaperson]

Stop giving me comics where Dick looks cool as batman. I want to see one where that man tries to do a backflip in the batsuit, eats it on the cape, and has to hide a broken rib from both Barbara and Alfred.

[cardlyaperson]

something about never being able to wash the blood off your hand

Original/reference under the cut

cover from ch 85 of witch hat atelier

[cardlyaperson]

Jason and Bruce are out late one night in Gotham as civilians. They get cornered by a mugger and Jason nearly pisses himself, he’s so amused. He teases the would-be mugger about their hand placement, even tries to goad the mugger into a fight because he’s Red Hood. He can disarm anyone in seconds. It doesn’t matter if you have a gun — he has two.

He’s Red Hood, and he has the literal Bat of Gotham standing behind him like a wall of muscle. They’re as close to invincible as humans get, in this town. And that kind of confidence scares off their would-be mugger.

But then Jason turns around, a smile stretching across his face, and Bruce is white. Bone white and so so quiet, eyes wide and trained on where the mugger had been standing.

[cardlyaperson]

[cardlyaperson]

Marc: makes a poor decision

Steven and Jake:

[cardlyaperson]

babs closeup from smth im working on :3

[cardlyaperson]

Tumblr usernames are so funny, "the ghost of jason todd started following you" okay well can he stop

[cardlyaperson]

Hood: “How was I supposed to know that 8-year-old girl wasn’t the Riddler?! It was dark! THEY HAVE THE SAME BUILD.”

[cardlyaperson]

This feels like a good time to post a reminder about the NaNo-inspired spreadsheet I made, based on the old website:

It's available here for download - free if you want, any support is appreciated because it means I can keep making trackers and helps with my website costs, but I know times are tough for a lot of us. I've also put it up on Google Sheets here, but it looks a little different because the fancier chart effects aren't supported. You'll have to download it or make a copy to be able to use it. (Please don't ask me for edit access, that won't work. File > Make a copy, and you'll have it on your own Google Drive.)

I also made this in four other designs, available here. They all come with character and plot development sheets, and pages for novel info, chapters, timeline, etc. And there are versions for every month, so we're not confined to November!

And finally, because I always loved seeing everyone's word counts and accountability really helps me personally, I made a basic spreadsheet that you can use as a group to collectively track word counts or goals. This version's made for up to 8 people. Again you'll have to make a copy in your Drive to use it, and you'll need to give edit access to your whole group as well.

If there's interest, I'll keep making these as well for each new month. I can also expand it or add more columns/features, so feel free to let me know if you're interested and what you'd like to see!

[cardlyaperson]

[cardlyaperson]

In a way, it’s kind of hilarious how Dick became a bird-themed vigilante twice-over, since birds are considered unlucky in gypsy tradition. (at least in the UK, I would be super interested to hear if this is the case abroad too!)

Like, my family won’t even have bird themed ornaments or bedding etc in the home. If a bird ever flew in the window of your trailer/chalet, you’d sell it/burn it down - no exaggeration!

So the fact that Dick became Robin after his parents’ deaths, and Nightwing after the row with Bruce which caused him to lose his home again is kind of fitting in a weird way.