cosmicpolaris

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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 (as of now) current writer, who’s been the main author on the Nightwing title since March 2021 and whose story arcs begin with Nightwing #78. 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

[cosmicpolaris]

incredible

No I will not elaborate on this.

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what do you mean with "this isn't how xmen first class went"???????? i remember that scene very well.

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this woman does something to me

MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS [7/?]

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MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS [7/?]

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she is gorgeous

Can't wait to see her in action! More redraws because I had so much fun with the Rukia one.

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how do you think scott and jean’s relationships with charles differ?they seem pretty clearly different to me, but i have a hard time putting my finger on what exactly the differences are.

I think a key difference is that, for a long time, Scott was a lot more dependent on Charles than Jean was.

Scott was an orphan when he joined the X-Men. He had previously been homeless, abused, and part of a criminal organization. Jean comes from a family that is, if not perfectly understanding, loving and stable.

As a teenager, Scott relied on Charles; if he lost Charles, there was nothing to keep him from becoming homeless again and nothing to give his life direction or to provide security while he figured out what he wanted that direction to be.

Jean has always known that her horizons were broader than the X-Men. She had her parents to fall back on. She chose to leave the X-Men and pursue a college education. And while both Jean and Scott had Hank and Bobby and Warren, I think Jean viewed them as actually her friends, while Scott viewed them more as an extension of the life he had been given by Charles.

In saying that Scott was reliant on the X-Men, I’m not passing judgment on Scott or his skills or his actual capability to survive in the world. When the Professor faked his death, he was able to get a job. When he left the X-Men following Jean’s death, he was again able to get a job, and he was also able to make friends pretty easily. Scott can survive outside the X-Men; he just doesn’t think he can.

Because his sense of self-worth is so tied up in the X-Men, because he believes they are the only thing he is suited for and the only thing he can contribute to, Scott doesn’t have the ability to question Charles. Questioning Charles would mean questioning the life that Charles chose for him, and Scott can’t do that because if he does, he has nothing left.

Jean, however, is able to see Charles more critically. She does owe him a lot; he helped her after the initial manifestation of her powers, after the death of her best friend when she was just a child. But she has a lot more of a safety net, and, unlike Scott, she hasn’t been raised by manipulative and abusive people who will punish her for any questioning of their authority. I think she starts to question Charles and his means pretty early, and what that means is that by the time the late 80s and 90s come around, she’s long since made peace with who and what he is. She has chosen to forgive him and to believe in and love him even knowing that he isn’t perfect, isn’t always truthful or trustworthy, that he doesn’t always make the best decisions.

X-Men #30 is a good illustration of the difference because both Scott and Jean get to tell the Professor what it is that they owe to him. Jean says, “I’m proud to dance with the man who taught me that being [a mutant] should in no way limit the happiness I can enjoy, or the love I might share with those I’m blessed to call my family.” And Scott says, “If it weren’t for you - for your guidance and courage, for the sense of purpose you’ve given me - I would have been lost. You saved me, gave my life meaning, gave me hope, gave me the chance to become something more - better - than I would ever have been.”

Jean is saying that Charles taught her to love more fully and be happier, that he taught her to enrich her life and embrace herself as a mutant. Scott is saying that Charles gave him a life, and that without him, he would have been lost, would have been someone who wasn’t as good. And Scott, even in this issue, can’t shake the habit of calling Charles sir.

So when Scott snaps, he snaps a lot harder. He’s believed in Charles all his life, he has believed that Charles is responsible for his whole life and for everything good that Scott is, so Deadly Genesis and the Danger arc really shake him, and he reacts quite strongly because he’s never questioned Charles before.

When Xavier is revealed to be compromised, Scott’s view of himself is called into question. If Scott was good because that’s what Xavier made him, and he can no longer believe in Xavier as perfectly good, then who he is has to shift. I think that’s why Scott is so harsh with Xavier during the Astonishing and Utopia eras, because he has to distinguish himself from him, because he has to develop his own morality and ideals. And that’s why sending Charles in to talk to Phoenix!Scott doesn’t work. Because Charles decides to rely on Scott obeying his orders unquestioningly, and he doesn’t do that anymore.

On the other hand, Jean’s response to the Danger arc and Deadly Genesis is… nothing. She was dead when those things happened, and because comic writers don’t really want to revisit events from 15 years ago (fair enough), we don’t get to see what she thought of them or how they might have changed her view of Xavier. So we still have a Jean who is generally positive towards and trusting of Charles Xavier.

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I wrote a little something!

[cosmicpolaris]

I know there are fanfic writers who don’t have a visceral need to torture their favorite characters at least 50% of the time but I don’t get it? How will they know you love them unless you squeeze them so hard their eyes pop out a little?

[cosmicpolaris]

@philnoto

[cosmicpolaris]

They're going to try to convince me that logan refused to wear a stupid outfit. He loves stupid outfits.

[cosmicpolaris]

The 2003 turtles’ personality types according to Personality Database. Do you agree?

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the funniest thing about six of crows is that kaz brekker, all of 17 years of age, is a mafia leader. like honey, you can't even vote.

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Jesper and Kaz are probably one of my favorite friend duos bc at first glance it feels like the bubbly extrovert just adopted the grumpy introvert and wore him down into friendship - and you can tell that’s how Jesper sees it too. A classic take.

However, the more you get to know Kaz, the more you realize that in actuality it was probably Kaz walking over and being like, “yeah, you see that guy? The piece of trash wearing the entire color spectrum? The dumbass who won’t shut the fuck up? Who flirts with a paper bag? Yeah, that one. The guy clearly trying to hide he’s Grisha like nobody else is going to notice? Uh-huh. The gambling disaster who reminds me of my dead brother and is gonna cause me some residual trauma to be around? Yeah, that bitch. The clown whose sharpshooting talents I can exploit in my gang? Yep. Exactly. Him. Yeah, so - I call dibs. And no, he is absolutely not allowed to know he’s my friend. I’m sending two guys to beat the shit out of him as we speak.”

And it’s even funnier to me because the essence of the friendship just strikes me as…

Jesper: Yeah, Kaz has no choice but to be my friend even if he doesn’t want to be. I practically bullied him into it (:

Kaz, internally: It’s hilarious you think this relationship was ever your decision (:

[cosmicpolaris]

When I'm having a bad day I like to imagine myself as the main character of a fantasy novel and main characters always go through a shit load of tragedy but still manage to stay hot and it makes me feel a lot better.

[cosmicpolaris]

Kaz and Inej 🌙

[cosmicpolaris]