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bitimdrake · 3 years

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Hi! idk if you've covered this in a another post yet but which comics would you recommend reading if I wanted good Dick Grayson content?

I don't think I have actually. I have such a tough time declaring what is and isn't good quality, but I'll do my best!

This is in chronological order, because that’s my jam, but it’s not a comprehensive chronology because I’m trying very hard to get rid of the bad stuff. Here goes.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet - oneshot. Dick officially becomes Robin.

Robin: Year One - four-issue miniseries. Early days as Robin.

New Teen Titans (1980) - a long-running ongoing. Dick becomes Nightwing partway through. (I should probably make a list of how to read this one, because it changes names a few times along the way.) Dear to my heart and still the seminal Titans run to this day, but comes with a serious caveat about how dated it can get--particularly jumping to mind is how poorly it handles sexual assault. Was running during Crisis on Infinite Earths, so some early material was retconned away, but most still survived. Advice: once you get to New Titans vol 1 #71 in 1990, just stop reading.

Batman #416 - the Post-Crisis recap of how Dick left Robin and first met Jason. Occurs partway through NTT, replacing Dick's pre-Crisis departure from Robin.

Batman: Year Three - Dick returns to Gotham shortly after Jason’s death, at the same time his parents’ murderer is on appeal. Occurs partway through NTT, between Jason’s death and Tim’s introduction.

Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies - collected issues from Action Comics. Features Dick and Roy and the first appearance of Lian. Also occurs partway through NTT, but well after Dick has become Nightwing.

Batman: KnightsEnd - a batfamily story. Technically the third part of Knightfall, but this is the only part where Dick plays a role. Bruce calls upon allies to take the cowl back.

Batman: Prodigal - my beloved Dick & Tim story, where Dick takes on the cowl for the first time.

Batman: Contagion and Batman: Legacy - batfamily cross-over storylines, so not specifically focused on Dick, but he’s part of the ensemble. A pandemic hits Gotham so, uh. You know. Escapism.

Nightwing vol 2 (1996) - Dick's long-running solo from the Post-Crisis era. A mixed bag of quality, though personally I don't take nearly as extreme an issue with the characterization as some. This ran for years, concurrent with the stories below. Advice: never ever read the second annual.

JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative - a fun miniseries that leads into...

Titans vol 1 (1999) - ongoing featuring the original generation of Titans reuniting. Some mixed quality, especially towards the end, but it’s the book that made me fall in love with the fab five. Concurred with Nightwing and below stories.

Batman: Cataclysm and Batman: Aftershocks - batfamily stories about a Gotham earthquake.

Batman: No Man’s Land - I believe this is the longest batfamily story ever. Dick does not appear until partway through, which is also exactly when imo the pace picks up.

Batman: Gotham Knights vol 1 (2000) - ongoing, this one focused on the family at large. Started after NML, and continued running alongside Nightwing and future events. I remember particularly enjoying the first arc, #1-12.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive - batfamily story, with a particular focus on Bruce’s relationship with each member.

Outsiders vol 3 (2003) - ongoing. After the Titans split up in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, Roy convinces Dick to join a new team. It does not go well. Dick is a bitch here and I love it. Advice: I only truly enjoyed this one before One Year Later, so roughly #1-25.

(If you are very familiar with the DCU, I did enjoy Infinite Crisis, but I would NOT recommend jumping into that otherwise. You will be immediately overwhelmed and confused.)

Batman: Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul - not a lot for Dick, but he does have some great moments (the bit with him and Tim that still makes me ;-;) and it’s the first time he meets Damian.

Batman: Streets Of Gotham (2009) - debatable?? It’s a good ongoing from Dick’s time as Batman; I just...can’t remember how much he really features in it.

Batman: The Black Mirror - collected Detective Comics #871-881. The best of DickBats.

Batman: Gates of Gotham - miniseries, featuring Dick as Batman, alongside Cass, Tim, and Damian.

Almost all of Dick’s original time as Robin is extremely dated but now, so most of the recs are modern prequels. Something like Teen Titans vol 1 is really only going to be good for the fun camp factor. I have heard good things about Batman: Dark Victory and Year One: Batman/Scarecrow, but haven't personally read those yet.

If I encounter anything after Flashpoint that’s worthwhile for him, I’ll let you know, but it’s not looking good so far.

#*#ask #theheightofdishonor #titans vol 2 is also fine. but like...just fine. and dick only lasts about 15 issues #blackest night: batman i don't think is *actually* good but it has dick and tim so i latched onto it #anti recommendations: don't read batman RIP or battle for the cowl or batman and robin vol 1 #dick's batman era here is slim for a reason and it's that his main run unfortunately sucks #*dc #dc #dick grayson #robin #nightwing #batman #dc ref #comics to read

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nightwingmyboi · 4 years

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Dick Grayson Comic Recs

I’ve been getting an increase in requests for comic recs, so I finally caved and decided to list a bunch of comics and series I recommend about Dick Grayson and put it all in one convenient place. I also wrote out a little description/review, to try to give people an idea if the comic sounded appealing and they wanted to check it out. Some of these are just single comics, others are some series to check out, pretty much in chronological order.

Robin:

Robin (1993) Annual #4: One of my preferred Robin origin stories. Fairly solid characterization, and a more reasonable timeline for events than other tellings. Provides an inside look at Dick’s thoughts during this time.

Batman: Dark Victory #9-13: All of Dark Victory is excellent, these are the issues that Dick appears in. It could be considered another Robin origin story, though it is not solely focused on Dick. Everyone is characterized very well, especially Dick. The plot is very engaging, involving Two Face and a crime family, along with tracking down Zucco. As the name implies, it is a bit grimmer than your usual retelling.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet: Dick has been training to be Robin, and he thinks he’s finally ready, but he has to pass Batman’s final test--to keep away from him for a whole night. Of course, the test goes off track, and Dick soon finds himself the target of a ruthless mob boss, his deadly gang of thugs, and the GCPD. Batman chases after Robin, trying to save him before it is too late.

Robin: Year One: This is a four issue run that gives you a snapshot of the time where Robin is just introduced in the crime fighting scene. It features villains like the Mad Hatter and Two Face. The art style is really fun and dynamic, and we get to see Bruce and Dick start to figure each other out. Lots of Alfred as well!

Scarecrow: Year One: Another fun look at Dick and Bruce’s relationship, a little further along the road. Dick is very small and cute, and has also basically become Bruce’s therapist lmao! Not a great Scarecrow origin story though.

Legends of the DC Universe #6: The first time Superman and Robin meet. An absolutely delightful team up, I still have cavities from reading it because it is just so sweet. This one is so good, read it.

Teen Titans: Year One: A short little origin story for the fab five (ie Wonder Girl, Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin). A cute introduction to the original titans.

The New Teen Titans (1980) and (1984): Forming the Teen Titans was a really important part of Dick’s development as a superhero, and some of his best stuff is when he is in a team setting. This run has the team you’d be more familiar with if you watched the animated Teen Titans show: it has Raven, Starfire, etc. Dick decides that he is going to leave Robin behind in issue #39.

Nightwing:

The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract: This is the infamous run where Terra betrays the Titans. Dick dons the name Nightwing for the first time in this run (discowing style), and goes off with Joey Wilson to save the rest of the Titans from Slade and Brother Blood.

Batman #416: Dick meets Jason for the first time, and eventually the two bond over beating up some baddies.

The New Titans (1988) #55: You can read this series too for some Titans action, but even if you don’t you should skip over and read issue #55. It shows how Dick reacted to Jason’s death, and how Bruce and Dick had a huge falling out. It’s heartbreaking to read honestly.

Nightwing (1996): If you want to read Nightwing, it’d be best to look at his solo run also. It starts with him moving to Bludhaven, and continues from there. If you’re looking for Batfam cameos, I specifically remember issues #6 and #25 for its really cute brotherly Tim and Dick moments. Issues #13 - #15 have Dick and Batman working together. #105 and #106 have Jason (as Robin) working with Dick. There are a lot of solid Barbara moments throughout with her as Oracle. #138 is when he meets Damian for the first time. There’s a lot here, so I would just pick and choose the arcs that interest you, and go from there.

Action Comics #771: Another comic where Nightwing and Superman team up. Sue me, I love their dynamic!

Gotham Knights #17: Dick finally gets adopted in this one.

Batman (1940) #615: This one is smack dab in the middle of the Hush arc, an arc that focuses on Batman’s relationship with Catwoman and a mysterious new villain named Hush. I like this arc of comics (they recently made it into a movie!) so if you want to read the whole thing it starts at #608. This is just one that features Nightwing a lot. I include it because I really enjoy the dynamic Dick and Bruce have. It’s good stuff.

Titans/Young Justice Graduation Day #1-3: It’s fun to see Tim and Dick’s generations interact and deal with growing up as superheroes, and there is a lot of drama. Pretty important crap goes down in these comics: several people die, including Donna, and as a result Dick disbands the Titans. If you want to read Outsiders, you should really read this one first.

Outsiders Vol 3 (2003): Dick is mourning Donna’s death and self-destructing, so Roy forms a team called the Outsiders--a team that is meant to be just business rather than a family. Dick is more stern and his temper is shorter than usual, but I think it is all pretty in character for him, especially since he is grieving. Highlights include Roy and Dick’s lovely relationship.

Teen Titans (2003) #6: Ok, I almost didn’t put this one on here because it is very self-indulgent, but I couldn’t resist. This series has the Teen Titans starting back up again without Nightwing, but in this issue he makes a little cameo. If you’ve seen those panels around where Nightwing lectures the Justice League? This is where it happens. He’s just really cool here.

Batman:

Batman #687-688: This follows the Batfam’s initial reaction to Bruce’s death, and how Dick begins to approach being Batman himself. It is technically an epilogue to Battle for the Cowl, but that doesn’t have to be read for these comics to be understood.

Batman and Robin (2009): This is the series where we see Dick and Damian transform into people forced together who can barely tolerate one another, to some of the closest partners in the Batfam. They develop their relationship very nicely, and we get to see how Dick approaches a lot of the emotional and physical challenges that come with being Batman. Some of the arcs are good, some of them very much miss for me.

Batman: Black Mirror: This is a collection of Detective Comics #871-881. I’d say these are my favorite Dick!Batman stories ever. All the cases are very good (really chilling), and the characterizations are top notch stuff. Lots of Gordon, Barbara, and some Tim also. I won’t spoil who it is, but the big villain they have for this book is one of the best I’ve seen for Dick, an almost perfect foil in my opinion.

Batman: Gates of Gotham: A good story, it’s interesting to see how Dick interacts with his siblings as Batman. I think this may be one of the first times Cass and Damian meet, though I’m not positive about that.

Just as a heads up, I’ve left out some significant events and this isn’t an exhaustive list on everything there is to know about the character. These are just some comics I enjoy. I hope they help you get a start on who Dick Grayson is, and how he figures into the Batfam and the larger superhero community.

#dick grayson #dick!robin #Dick!Batman #nightwing #DC comics #comics #comic recs #my comic recs #batman #long post

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northoftheroad · 4 years

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Dick and Tim – brothers in arms

So I got this ask. And it’s a good thing I got it the first night of my summer vacation, and the weather hasn't been great ;-)

Once I started digging for comics with both Tim and Dick, I found several that I've never read. I got the impression Anonymous would like a complete list, so I just kept going. But this means I don't know if they even interact in some of the books, or if they make "blink and you miss it" guest appearances.

I'm sorry if they, by any chance, was asking for reading recommendations for good Dick and Tim moments and not The Complete List... Looking at the number of comics here that I haven't read/can't remember, I'm not really qualified to answer that. But if I had to try, I would mention:

A Lonely Place of Dying

The New Titans #65

All issues of Nightwing vol 2 with Robin as a guest star, including Nightwing Annual #1 but excluding Annual # 2.

Showcase '93 #11-12

Knightfall Prodigal

Robin vol 2 #10, (DickRobin and TimRobin!) 175

Young Justice vol 1 #22

Teen Titans vol 3 #6

Bruce Wayne – Murderer and Fugitive

Birds of Prey #19

Batman: Gotham Knights # 8-11, 45

Red Robin #11-14

Batman: Gates of Gotham

That being said. Here is, as far as I can find, every comic where both Dick Grayson and Tim Drake have made an appearance (pre-Flashpoint):

Batman vol 1 #436. By Marv Wolfman, art Pat Broderick and John Beatty.

Batman # 436. (Tim's first appearance, in the circus audience the day Dick's parents were killed.) (1989)

A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman #440-442, New Titans #60-61. (When Tim tries to talk Dick into becoming Robin again but ends up wearing the Robin suit himself to help Batman and Robin.) (1990)

The New Titans #64 (1990)

The New Titans #65. By Marv Wolfman, art Tom Grummet and Al Vey.

The New Titans #65. (Tim turns up at Dick's place to learn what it is to be Batman's partner.) (1990)

Batman vol 1 #455 (1990)

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-2 (1992)

Superman: The Man of Steel #20 (1993)

Superman vol 2 #76 (1993)

Batman vol 1 #500 (1993)

New Titans #100 (1993)

Showcase '93 #11-12 (1993)

Justice League of America #70 (1993)

Bloodbath #1-2 (1994)

Batman vol 1 #510 (1994)

Robin vol 2 #0, 8 (1994)

Robin vol 2 #10. By Chuck Dixon, art Tom Grummett and Ray Kryssing.

Robin vol 2 #10 (DickRobin meets TimRobin during Zero Hour. DickRobin is also seen in a panel in Batman vol 1 #511 and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #4 .) (1994)

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #1-3 (1994)

Detective Comics #676-677 (1994)

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #29-30 (1994)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #62 (1994)

Knightfall Prodigal (Dick's first longer stint as Batman. And he takes care of Tim and the Manor on his own!) In Batman #512-514, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #32-34, Robin # 11-13, Detective Comics #679-681. (1994-1995)

Batman vol 1 #515 (1995)

Detective Comics #686 (1995)

Robin vol 2 #23 (1995)

Green Arrow vol 2 #101 (1995)

Contagion (Detective Comics #696, Batman vol 1 #529, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #49, Batman vol 1 #533, Azrael vol 1 #16, Robin vol 2 #28, Catwoman vol 2 #31) (1996)

The Final Night #2-3 (1996)

Robin vol 2 #29, 32-33 (1996)

Catwoman vol 2 #36 (1996)

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53-54 (1996)

Detective Comics #698-701 (1996)

Marvel versus DC / DC versus Marvel #2 (1996)

Nightwing vol 2 # 6. (Tim and Dick talk and fight crooks.) (1997)

Batman: Bane (1997)

Ningtwing Annual #1. By Devin Grayson, art Greg Land and Bob McLeod.

Nightwing vol 2 Annual #1. (When Dick fake-marries a girl to investigate if she has murdered her previous husbands.) (1997)

Genesis #1 (1997)

Robin vol 2 #47-48 (1997)

Detective Comics #721, 724 (1998)

Nightwing vol 2 # 20. (Part of Cataclysm.) (1998)

Robin vol 2 #53 (1998)

Nightwing vol 2 # 25. (Tim and Dick talk and ride on train roofs. Dick has decided to become a cop.) (1998)

Batman 80-page Giant #1 (1998)

Brotherhood of the fist (Detective Comics #723, Robin vol 2 #55, Nightwing vol 2 # 28, Green Arrow 3 #135) (1998)

Batman: Bane of the Demon #4 (1998)

Batman vol 1 #554, 556, 560 (1998)

Detective Comics #727-729 (1998-1999)

JLA/Titans: Technis Imperative (1998-1999)

DC Universe Holiday Bash #3 (1999)

Batman 80-page Giant #2 (1999)

Young Justice: Secret Files and Origins #1 (1999)

Batman: Day of Judgment (Zombies...) (1999)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (1999)

Robin vol 2 #71 (1999)

Young Justice vol 1 #7 (1999)

Batman and Superman: World's Finest #10 (2000)

No Man's Land. (Robin vol 2 #67, Batman vol 1 #562, Detective Comics #741, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #95, Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight #120, 126, Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56) (1999-2000)

Detective Comics #741 (2000)

Robin vol 2 #74, 76, 82 (2000)

Superman Y2K #1 (2000)

Batman: Gotham Knights #10. By Devin Grayson, art Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Rober Robinson.

Batman: Gotham Knights #10-11 (2000)

Batman: Outlaws 1-3 (2000)

Young Justice vol 1 #22 (2000)

Birds of Prey vol 1 #19 (2000)

JLA: Secret Files #3 (2000)

The Hunt for Oracle. (Birds of Prey vol 1 #20-22. Nightwing vol 2 #46.) (2000)

Superboy vol 3 #74 (2000)

Young Justice: Sins of Youth #1 (2000)

Young Justice: Sinds of Youth Secret Files # 1 (2000)

Titans #12 (2000)

Green Lantern: Circle of Fire #1 (2000)

Batman: Gotham Knights #1 (2000)

Harley Quinn #6 (2001)

Birds of Prey # 27 (2001)

Catwoman vol 2 #90 (2001)

Young Justice: Our World's at War #1 (2001)

World's Finest: Our World's at War #1 (2001)

Joker: Last Laugh. (The Joker "jokerize" a number of metahuman villains. In the later part, Joker taunts Nightwing with that he has killed Tim, just as he did Jason. Dick loses it and punches Joker to death, but Batman turns up and resuscitates Joker). (2001)

Harley Quinn #11-12 (2001)

Robin vol 2 #86, 95 (2001)

Gods of Gotham. (Wonder Woman #166-167.) (2001)

Wonder Woman vol 2 #175 (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 #63. (The aftermath of Joker: Last Laugh, where Dick is too depressed to work as Nightwing. Robin and Blue Beetle take his place in Blüdhaven this issue, so they don't actually meet.) (2002)

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #94 (2002)

Young Justice vol 1 #40 (2002)

Birds of Prey vol 1 #37. (2002)

Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne (2002)

Batman: Gotham Knights #26. By Devin Grayson, art Roger Robinson and John Floyd.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Batgirl vol 1 #27, Nightwing #68-69, Batman: Gotham Knight #26, 28, 30, Birds of Prey vol 1 #40, 43, Batman #600, 605.) (Bruce is accused of murder and refuses to defend himself, and eventually escapes and intends to drop the identity of Bruce Wayne. Dick refuses to believe that Bruce can be a murderer and it causes a bit of friction with Tim.)

Batman: Gotham Knights #32-36 (2002-2003)

Batman: Gotham Knights #38, 42, 46 (2003)

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day # 1-3 (2003)

Detective Comics #782 (2003)

JLA/JSA: Virtue & Vice (2003)

Batman vol 1 #615 (Part of Hush) (2003)

Robin vol 2 #108-110, 118 (2003)

Batman: Family # 6-8 (2003)

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003)

JLA: Welcome to the Working Week (2003)

Identity Crisis # 1 (2004)

Robin vol 2 #120 (But not really – the issue is about how Tim has been stalking his friends, imagining them as traitors, including Dick.) (2004)

Robin vol 2 #125 (2004)

Teen Titans vol 3 #6. By Geoff Johns, art Mike McKone and Marlo Alquiza.

Teen Titans vol 3 #6 (2004)

Batgirl vol 1 # 46, 50 (2004)

Superman/Batman #5, 13 (2004)

War Games. (Nightwing vol 2 #97-98, Batman vol 1 #631-634, Detective Comics #799, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #183-184, Gotham Knights #57) (2004)

Detective Comics # 800 (2005)

Teen Titans vol 3 # 21-25 (2005)

Outsiders vol 3 #25 (2005)

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2005)

Nightwing vol 2 # 110. By Devin Grayson, art Phil Hester and Ande Parks.

Nightwing vol 2 #110. (During a period when Dick left the Nightwing identity.) (2005)

Infinite Crisis. (2005-2006)

Action Comics # 841-843 (2006)

Adventures of Superman #648 (2006)

Nightwing vol 2 Annual # 2. (I honestly don't recommend this, but in the spirit of making a complete list... Tim is visible in two panels, overlapping with Infinite Crisis where Dick almost dies. Otherwise, it's a retelling of the revamped history of Dick and Barbara, including some things that no-one who likes Dick Grayson would agree is in-character.) (2007)

Teen Titans vol 3 #43 (2007)

Gotham: Underground # 1 (2007)

Wonder Woman Annual vol #1 (2007)

Countdown #43 (2007)

52 #30 (2007)

JLA: Classified #34 (2007)

Robin vol 2 #156 (2007)

Shadowpact #10 (2007)

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1 (2007)

Nightwing vol 2 #142. By Peter J Tomasi, penciller Rags Morales.

Freefall (Nightwing vol 2 # 140–146). (One of the very best story arcs of any Nightwing comic. It has gruff Bruce, brotherly bonding, Nightwing and Robin infiltrating an island...) (2008)

Batman: Underground # 6-7 (2008)

Green Latern vol 4 #25 (2008)

Titans vol 2 #1 (2008)

Robin vol 2 #178 (2008)

Batgirl vol 2 #1 (2008)

The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul. (Robin vol 2 #169, Nightwing vol 2 #138-139, Detective Comics #839). (2007-2008)

DC Special: Cyborg #2-5 (2008)

Robin vol 2 # 175. (Some fun panels with flashbacks with Dick and Tim.) (2008)

Batman vol 1 #675, 678, 681 (2008)

DC Universe: Lats Will and Testament #1 (2008)

Final Crisis #3 (2008)

Detective Comics #847 (2008)

Batgirl vol 2 # 5-6 (2009)

Superman/Batman #55 (2009)

Detective Comics #850 (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 151. (The issue ends with some family time with Dick, Tim and Alfred.) (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 153. (Last issue, Dick moves from New York to Gotham and Wayne Manor.) (2009)

Superman #682 (2009)

Teen Titans vol 3 #75 (2009)

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5 (2009)

Robin vol 2 #181, 183 (2009)

Batman vol 1 #686 (2009)

Battle for the Cowl # 1-3. (Jason intends to become the Batman "Gotham needs". When Tim can't convince Dick to take up the cowl, he dresses up as Batman himself to fight Jason. In the end, Dick defeats Jason – and becomes Batman.) (2009)

Batman: Blackest Night #1-3 (2009)

Red Robin 1 # 1, 4 (2009)

Batman vol 1 #697, 702, 703 (2010)

Batman: Gates of Gotham #13 (2010)

Red Robin # 11-15 (2010)

Superman/Batman #76 (2010)

Teen Titans vol 3 #88-89 (2010)

Batman: Orphans #1-2 (2011)

Birds of Prey vol 2 #10 (2011)

Gotham City Sirens # 22 (2011)

Secret Six vol 3 #36 (2011)

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1-5 (2011)

Batman vol 1 #708-709 (2011)

Detective Comics #872, 874, 877, 880, 881 (2011)

Red Robin # 22, 23, 26 (2011)

I'm going to skip post-Flashpoint because, well, there's hardly anything there. The worst thing with Flashpoint/New 52, in my opinion, was that it destroyed relationships between characters who used to be family, but ended up hardly knowing or even liking each other. :-(

Detective Comics #975. By James Tynion IV, art Álvaro Martínez and Raúl Fernández.

The only panel worth mentioning with Dick and Tim is from DC #975. Yes, it's sad – one of the best brotherly relationships in DC turned into dust. Here's to hoping future writers will pick up on their wonderful dynamic at some time.

(The pictures in the header are from: Red Robin #12, Young Justice vol 1 #22, Showcase ‘93 #12, Batman #441, Nightwing vol 2 #6, 25.)

#Dick Grayson #Tim Drake #Robin #Nightwing #Red Robin #Batman

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coolgirl · 7 years

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how do i start reading about the batkids i’m really overwhelmed help

fuck it if I know… probably the smartest way to tackle it is to follow this list, which pretty much covers the vital Batman related arcs. PERSONALLY, I don’t care about reading about all the batkids, I just picked my favorite ones and just.. read everything I could about them (and lucky for me my favorite batkids don’t have thousands and thousands of comics so ! yay!) here’s some reading orders I made (except for the Damian one)

Jason Todd

Stephanie Brown

Cassandra Cain

Damian Wayne

Duke Thomas

Okay so, if u wanna read it in some kind of order, heres a bit of a general chronological-ish list thats probably innacurate bc i haven’t read all of these and the ones i did read was.. a long time ago. anyways, i hope this is useful, and again, imo its not necessary to read everything in order, but this might help to know a bit whats the timeline of some major events i guess? also i’m definitely going to be editing this post as people point out the mistakes rip!

(the batkids i added to this timeline are the ones that have active roles in rebirth atm, Dick, Barbara, Jason, Helena, Tim, Stephanie, Cass, Damian, Duke, and the basics of Azrael, Kate, and Luke because i love them)

Dick’s time as Robin (that i have no clue how it goes but uuuh read Robin Year One / The Long Halloween / Dark Victory / The New Teen Titans up until #53)

Batgirl: Year One

Birth of the Demon and Son of the Demon (here’s the original comic about Damian getting conceived)

Jason time as Robin (post crisis) stop before death in the family

Nightwing: Year One

Batgirl Special #1 - The Last Batgirl Story

unfortunately… you gotta at least know a bit of what the killing joke is about

NOW read death in the family… two blows one after the other, If you’re reading the trade that includes a lonely place of dying DON’T read that yet

now you can read the rest of the new teen titans up to #59

now A Lovely Place of Dying, which is Tim’s introduction.

rest of ntt if u wanna

NOW for oracle!barbara you can either read the suicide squad comics as a whole, which includes little hints of her coming back, or you can skip to issues #48 and #49. Then The Batman Chronicles #5.

Huntress Vol. 1 - Helena Bertinelli’s introduction

NOW! Steph’s introduction happened on Detective Comics #618

Stephanie’s list, if you’re following the whole list stop at Robin #70 (Tim’s solo is really good to know about them)

Azrael vol. 1: Fallen Angel - Azrael’s introduction

Batman: Knightfall - you know the infamous pic of bane snapping batman’s back like a stick? here it is.

Nightwing (1996)

Young Justice (1998) (NOT the one based on the tv show)

Birds of Prey i would say.. up to #7

Batman: No Man’s Land

now it’s Cass Time! Batman #567 was her introduction, and Detective Comics #734 n Legends of the Dark Knight #120 are vital to her story.

Batman & Huntress: A Cry for Blood / Huntress: Year One

Titans (1999)

Batman Gotham Knights (2000-2006) is a good comic for batfam interactions

Rest of Birds of Prey ig

Teen Titans (2003)

Batman: Hush

Batgirl Volume 1 up to #52

War Games (when Stephanie dies rip)

rest of Batgirl

Batman Lost Days / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Robin #172-174 (2008) steph comes back!!

Batman: Batman and Son He (Damian) is here babette

Batgirl volume 2 (2008-2009) and Batman and the Outsiders (2009) are good cass comics up to #14

Robin/Spoiler Special (2008)

Batman R.I.P.

Final Crisis

Batman: Last Rites

battle for the cowl SUCKS the only important thing to know is that Dick is Batman now

Batman & Robin (2011) up to #12

Batwoman: Elegy

Batgirl (2009) up to #14

The Black Mirror is a really good bats dick story.. or so i’ve been told

Red Robin

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #1-4

Batman and robin from #13 to #14

Batman: Return of Bruce wayne #5-6

Batman and Robin #15-16

Batman:The Return

Batman INC. (2011)

everything else in Batman and Robin, and Batgirl

Gates of Gotham #1-5 (2011)

OK NOW.. N52. So new 52 was the reboot and it basically just took everything i just mentioned and threw it out of a fucking window. Changes: Barbara is Batgirl again, Cass and Stephanie didnt exist in this timeline for like four years, somehow Jason isnt such a dick, i think Damian didn’t get so fucked over, and uuuh i have no clue what happened with Dick and Tim but i think their whole story with their teams (teen titans / titans / young justice) got incredibly fucked over. Almost every single member of the Batfam (that didn’t get booted from this contuinity) got either a solo or a team book, which are. super good to start, reading order be dammed, but the batfam went through a lot of shit (court of owls, the joker, bruce kinda died, jim gordon became batman, bruce didnt remember anything, dick kinda died and got exposed but came back as a spy, damian died, bruce lost his mind, they kinda went to hell, damian came back, dozens of robins ran around, etc etc etc) so im gonna try to order it as best as i can T__T

Batman, Vol. 4 (Secret City) / DC Comics: Zero Year / Batman, Vol. 5 (Dark City)- Okay so, this wasnt the starting storyline for New 52 but its basically the basis of the batfam and co and introduces Duke and Harper so it’s kinda vital.

Ok so here you can start reading the first volume of.. any of the titles lol. Red Hood and the Outlaws / Batgirl / Batwing / Nightwing / Batman and Robin / Teen Titans

Batman: The Night Of The Owls

Batwoman (2011-2015)

Batman INC up to #6 - im gonna be honest this run fucking sucks but uh important stuff happens here

Nightwing / Red Hood and the Outlaws / Batgirl / Batman and Robin / Batwing / Teen Titans Vol. 2 (approx the issue #9 of all these runs were included in the Night of the Owls crossover)

Death Of The Family - this one.. bad.. but ig its important

Nightwing / Red Hood and the Outlaws / Batgirl / Batman and Robin / Batwing / Teen Titans Vol. 3

Batman INC #7-8 - okay so. Damian’s death.

Requiem / Batman and Robin: Requiem - the aftermath of Damian’s death. The first one isn’t collected afaik so i liked you to a reading order if you’re interested

Nightwing / Red Hood and the Outlaws / Batgirl / Batwing / Titans Vol. 4 (here’s Luke Fox’s introduction!)

Forever Evil - the one where shit happens to Dick that i think leads to Grayson and all that spy bs

Yeah.. Grayson now (vol 1-2) - Helena gets re-introduced here!

Red Hood and the Outlaws / Batgirl / Batwing / Teen Titans Vol. 5

Batman Eternal - where Steph gets re-introduced

Batman and Robin: Robin Rises

Batman Endgame (Batman #35 -#36, Batman Annual #3, Batman #37- #39) - Duke is back!!

Grayson Vol 3

Superheavy (Batman #41-44 / Detective Comics #41-46) - ok so Bruce is gone and now Jim Gordon is Batman.. just nod and smile

Ok so now, Red Hood and the Outlaws and Batgirl don’t get involved in any big storylines anymore, and Teen Titans started from #1 again.

Teen Titans Vol. 1-2

We are Robin Vol 1

Batman and Robin Eternal - where Cass gets re-introduced

Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1

Red Hood/Arsenal Vol. 1

Robin War

Grayson Vol 4

Teen Titans Vol. 3-4

Red Hood/Arsenal Vol.2

We Are Robin Vol. 2

Robin Son of Batman Vol. 2

Super Heavy Part 2 (Detective Comics #47-52 / Batman #47-52 )

OKAY SO. Rebirth is a continuation of New 52, but with some changes bc almost every single damn character got.. lets say nerfed, and people didnt like it so they’re slowly bringing back some elements from pre 52. Here basically just read whatever whenever unless you wanna get into like. the metal event. then i would recommend you to start off the bat with that to get it out of the way as some comics have tie ins. Then heres where the kids appear

All-Star Batman (2016-2017): Bruce and Duke

Batgirl (2016): Barbara and sometimes Dick

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey (2016): Barbara, Dick, and Helena

Batman (2016): originally Bruce and Duke but now its the Batman and Catwoman show

(if you’re interested in Duke i would say to read those two first as it explains where his character stands on Rebirth)

Batman and the Signal (2017): pretty self explanatory

Batman/Shadow (2017): Damian appears sometimes but.. i heard Bruce is a dick to him here so fuck it

Batwoman (2017): Kate and Julia

Detective Comics (2016): Cassandra, Azrael, Kate, Tim, and Stephanie

Nightwing (2016): Dick, and sometimes Damian and Helena.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016): Just Jason except for the annual that had Dick too

Teen Titans (2016): Damian.. baby boy leads a team

Titans (2016): Dick

Super Sons (2017): Damian team sup with Jon Kent (Superman’s kid)

and finaaally.. some elseworld stories (basically aus) that have cute batkids interactions

Tiny Titans (2008-2015)

Lil’ Gotham (2013-2014)

#this is. a lot.#i added the dates to some bc theres multiple comics numbered like that #and linked the biggest arcs that have like. lots of issues #ANYWAYS THIS IS GONNA BE SO CONFUSING SORRY I DONT KNOW HOW TO LIST ANYMORE.. I lost my touch T___T #faq #??#anonymous

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panharmonium · 7 years

Text

crime is doomed

@brambleberrycottage, here’s the long long reply to your message! and i’ll tag @padmerrie too, because she’s asked me for my batman recs before, and now I can just send her this!

Full disclosure, I actually stopped following comic books sometime in 2011, when DC did their big reboot (or one of many reboots, I guess, is more accurate). I’d already had a love/hate relationship with comic books for years, and the reboot kind of just made it worse - it essentially was DC saying “we’re starting the whole universe over (ostensibly to make it easier to draw in new readers); the characters you’re used to now have new histories/timelines; everybody’s younger, the stories you read before didn’t necessarily ever happen, characters no longer have the same relationships with each other, etc.” And it’s whatever, you know, comics are gonna do their thing, but some of my favorite characters got erased from existence, and the others weren’t the same people anymore, and I was just exhausted from trying to care - being a comic book fan felt like being constantly jerked around on a chain swinging around Dan DiDio’s head. I stopped reading when the reboot started, and to be honest I’ve never looked back.

This isn’t to say there aren’t things to love about comics; it’s just that I think you have to approach them with a certain mindset to stay happy, and said mindset is, for me, the following: read what you like and ignore everything else. Literally. Just pretend it didn’t happen. Because it didn’t, probably, or it won’t have, eventually, and even if it did, no one is ever going to remember it. Comic book continuity is impossible to keep track of; there are too many writers and too many years of stories out there for us to really have one consistent Story, but for some reason the people in charge of DC think this is a problem? Editorial teams’ hapless attempts to organize continuity in a way that Makes Sense Across The Board are half of what drives me nuts about comics - they result in reboot after reboot of trying to line up everyone’s storylines and make the universe cohesive, but really what happens is that readers just get completely fatigued by trying to keep up with constant new realities. Case in point - that reboot universe from 2011? Already getting re-rebooted by 2016, because - surprise! - the 2011 reboot reality was apparently just Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen messing with the timeline and erasing 10 years from everyone’s lives, and now they have do undo the 2011 universe by rebooting the reboot - it makes me want to kick a telephone pole.

It’s just...so unnecessary. I don’t care if the timelines don’t add up; I don’t care that there are a million conflicting stories in the canon. Who cares that Batman hasn’t had a birthday in 30 years? We don’t need a way to explain characters staying young - it’s a comic book. Suspension of disbelief is fine. We are all pretending that we can tell infinite stories about these people, and time passes, but doesn’t pass - it’s all make-believe. I just want to read a good story about good characters. Keep it simple.

Because of that, I tend to be a very spotty reader, because I pick bits and pieces of stuff I like, and then ignore literally anything else. It’s the only way to survive comic book hell, for me.

So yeah! Things I have liked:

I grew up during the Nightwing: Vol. 2 run of Nightwing’s solo series, 1996-2009. It runs from issue 1-153 and is completely collected into trade paperbacks, starting with A Knight in Bludhaven and ending with The Great Leap. Quality obviously varies between writers and according to your own tastes, but it’s my go-to for Nightwing material.

I remember liking Batman: Prodigal a lot as well. Nightwing is filing in as Batman while Bruce is away…doing something, I forget what. I think it’s after Bruce had his back broken by Bane, which is an older classic Batman story. At any rate, this book has a great scene at the end between Bruce and Dick, and you get to see a lot of Dick hanging out with Tim (Robin #3) as well.

I like the Robin: Year One trade paperback a lot as well. I don’t know that it’s exactly a “canon” story, technically (but like I said, canon means nothing in comics; everything is canon if you like it enough) and I liked reading about younger Dick Grayson. I taught myself to draw by copying pages of this comic in my sketchbook when I was a kid.

My favorite ensemble arc growing up was the Bruce Wayne: Murderer? and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive storyline. The batfamily (the configuration that I grew up with, at least - Dick, Tim, Barbara, Cassandra, and Alfred) have to work together to prove that Bruce didn’t murder a reporter in his home - and convince Bruce to let them help him.

I also love a bunch of the storylines in the Gotham Knights series - these tended to be more character-driven, which is what I go for. I especially recommend #18 (Cavernous), #16-17 (Matatoa Parts 1 and 2 - huge character milestone for Bruce and Dick), and #8-11 (Transference).

I know at some point I also read Batman: Cataclysm and Batman: No Man’s Land, both of which are long ensemble stories dealing with an earthquake that hits Gotham City.

There are also a lot of animated shows featuring the Batfamily as well: Batman: The Animated Series is the oldest - it’s classic and QUALITY; so well done. Probably the best animated intro to the Batman universe.

I enjoyed Young Justice a lot, though it’s *definitely* not canon and doesn’t comply with the comic book universe - they change a bunch of characters’ ages so young Dick as Robin is on a team with a bunch of people he’s not really contemporaries with in the comics. I still liked watching it, though.

Damian appears in three animated movies - Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin, and Bad Blood. I’ve only watched Bad Blood, and I don’t remember a lot of it, so I can’t comment too much on how good it was.

Now, to respond to your request for Dick and Damian -

I’m not sure how much you already know about them, so just in case - Damian made his big appearance in 2006 with the Batman and Son storyline by Grant Morrison. Damian is Bruce Wayne’s biological son (though Bruce doesn’t know he exists until this 2006 storyline, when Damian is like…ten years old? idk). Damian was raised by the League of Assassins, which his mother, Talia al-Ghul, and grandfather, Ra’s al-Ghul, are in charge of.

This is a VERY abbreviated summary, but Damian is basically dropped off by Talia to live with Bruce and join Batman’s fight on crime (to ‘take his place as Batman’s rightful heir,’ technically), but he’s a little shit with no social graces and a horrible attitude and also he wants to murder bad guys, which is not the Batfamily’s modus operandi. Granted, Damian has not had the best upbringing, so it’s understandable, maybe, but it makes things difficult.

Damian was almost universally reviled as a character when he was introduced. However, things got more interesting when Bruce “died” during the Final Crisis event in 2008. Dick Grayson (Nightwing, formerly the first Robin) took over the mantle of Batman, and with it, he assumed responsibility for taking care of Damian. (Aaaaand this is where the story becomes a lot like Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker, except Dick Grayson is far more cheerful than Obi-Wan and Damian is way more of an asshat than Anakin).

Being partnered with Dick, whose easy personality, sense of humor, and ability to roll with the punches made him very well suited to dealing with “a ten year-old pain in the ass,” humanized Damian in a way that previous comics hadn’t been able to do. Under Dick’s guidance, Damian actually started to become much more likable. He still acts like entitled royalty, but it becomes far more endearing. I love the way his relationship with Dick develops, and how Damian, for all his snippiness and attitude, really comes to respect Nightwing in a way that he doesn’t respect - or like, even - anybody else. Bruce, at one point after he returns from being (not)dead, describes Dick’s ways with Damian as “near-miraculous” - Dick is the only person who is really able to get through to him.

So for those two,

Batman: Long Shadows collects stuff from when Dick first takes over as Batman. I really forget a lot of stuff in this book, but I do remember very clearly the awesome scene with Dick ranting to Alfred about how heavy the cape is and how much he hates wearing it.

The next 5 trades in the Batman series (Long Shadows, Life After Death, Time and the Batman, Eye of the Beholder, and Gotham Shall Be Judged) - I don’t honestly know that I’ve read every one of them, but they catalogue Dick’s time as Batman, so I assume Damian is in there somewhere.

You can definitely check out Batman and Robin, Volumes 1-4, which ran from 2009-2011 (Batman Reborn, Batman vs. Robin, Batman and Robin Must Die!, and Dark Knight vs. White Knight) for four books whose entire focus is Dick and Damian working together :)

After this, the 2011 reboot happened, and everything got weird for me, and I stopped reading. Damian ended up dead at some point, which was a big thumbs down in my book, but then he more recently came back to life (comic books, good lord), but my ability to recommend things for you to read about their relationship fails after the 2011 cut-off.

But anyway, that is my list of recs - I am sure I’ve read and enjoyed other things, and there are lots of things out there I haven’t read which I’m sure are good, but this is about as much as my comics brain can handle. XD Hope it’s helpful!

#batfam #long post #brambleberrycottage #ahh comics it's been a while #reference

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