This is Gotham Calling’s 900th post!
I usually like to celebrate these markers with longer and/or quirkier posts, but I don’t have much free time at the moment… so you have to settle for another reminder of the sheer awesomeness of the covers of the original The Brave and the Bold:
Detective Comics #795
The panels above encapsulate the worst of early 2000s’ Batman comics: dour seriousness, macho bullshit that was not absurd enough to be fun, boring villains, uninspired – if generally competent – artwork, and the Dark Knight as an unlikable jerk.
To be fair, not all of it was like this… Crime writers like Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, David Lapham, and Brian Azzarello managed to merge genres in entertaining ways. The move towards emulating crime literature reached a sublime peak with the police procedural Gotham Central, focusing on the perspective of the GCPD’s Major Crimes Unit. In turn, Jeph Loeb committed to larger-than-life superhero spectacle in both the ‘Hush’ arc and the Superman/Batman series, which were dumb schlock but at least provided a number of memorable images.
All in all, while there were some gems among the dreck, these were dark times indeed. Notably, the era was also marked by the apparent death of several longstanding characters, starting with the Cluemaster in Suicide Squad (v2) #1. As usual, there are occasional spoilers throughout the list, as key events and turning points serve to justify choices in the reading order.
PRE-HUSH [‘Hush’ was a preposterous – and preposterously popular – blockbuster story. A core reason, no doubt, was because Jim Lee was allowed to take a stab at drawing several DC properties for the first time, imbuing them with the edgy style he had previously fleshed out at Marvel and Image/WildStorm. Still, for better or worse, the arc was packed with game-changing moments, which makes it an easy marker when it comes to ordering comics featuring Catwoman, the Huntress, the Riddler, and Two-Face. Based on their appearances below, the following tales must take place before those events.]
Green Arrow (v3) #1-10: ‘Quiver’(collected in Green Arrow: Quiver and in Green Arrow by Kevin Smith) [Writer Kevin Smith and artist Phil Hester brought Oliver Queen back from the dead in a run that features several appearances by Batman and his supporting cast.]
Green Arrow (v3) #11: ‘Ultimate Speedy’ (collected in Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence and in Green Arrow by Kevin Smith)
Green Arrow (v3) #12: ‘Feast and Fowl’ (collected in Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence and in Green Arrow by Kevin Smith) [Pre-Hush Riddler. Debut of the villain Onomatopoeia (whom Smith will repeatedly bring to Gotham City in later projects). Dinah Lance and Ollie catch up about lost time. ]
Green Arrow (v3) #13-15: ‘The Sound of Violence’ (collected in Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence and in Green Arrow by Kevin Smith)
Robin (v4) #107-110: ‘Scattered Fruit’ [Stephanie Brown deals with the death of Cluemaster.]
Robin (v4) #111: ‘Dating for the Clueless’
Batman Family #1-8 [A mini-series featuring all of Gotham’s vigilantes (yes, even the Tracker). Spoiler knows about her father’s death.]
Birds of Prey #50: ‘Busman’s Holiday’ [Gilbert Hernandez (of Love and Rockets fame) comes over as writer.]
Birds of Prey #51: ‘Let’s Get Elemental!’ [Acknowledges the Killer Moth’s status since Robin #110.]
Birds of Prey #52: ‘Reunions’
Birds of Prey #53: ‘Girls’ Night Out’ [Dinah is still trying to handle Ollie’s return.]
Birds of Prey #54: ‘Gotham Magic’
Birds of Prey #55: ‘Heroes and Heroes’
Green Arrow (v3) #16-21: ‘The Archer’s Quest’ (collected in Green Arrow: The Archer’s Quest) [This arc, written by Brad Meltzer, is not as heavy on the Bat family cameos, but fans of Birds of Prey may be interested in seeing Dinah and Ollie still working things out between them.]
Batman: Gotham Knights #33-36: ‘Tabula Rasa’
Batman: Gotham Knights #37: ‘Spoiler Space’
Batgirl #38: ‘Testline’ [Deals with the fallout from Gotham Knights #37, when Batman basically ‘fired’ Spoiler.]
Robin (v4) #112-115: ‘The Wrong Town’ [Continues Spoiler’s arc.]
Robin (v4) #116: ‘Present Tense’
Robin (v4) #117: ‘Broken Futures’
Robin (v4) #118: ‘Sniped’
Robin (v4) #119: ‘Time won’t Tell’
Robin (v4) #120: ‘A boy and his mask…’
Gotham Central #1-2:‘In the Line of Duty’(collected in Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty (2004 and 2008 editions) and in Gotham Central Omnibus)
Gotham Central #3-5:‘Motive’(collected in Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty (2004 and 2008 editions) and in Gotham Central Omnibus)
Detective Comics #784-786: ‘Made of Wood’ (collected in Batman: The Man Who Laughs)
Detective Comics #784 (backup story): ‘Trading Up’ [Josie Mac joins the Major Crimes Unit.]
Gotham Central #6-10:‘Half a Life’ (collected in Gotham Central: Half a Life, in Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty (2008 edition), and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [Josie Mac starts working at the Major Crimes Unit.]
Batman #608-619: ‘Hush’ (collected in various editions of Batman: Hush and in The Hush Saga Omnibus, all of which also include a six-page interlude (set between #616 and #617) originally published in Wizard #0) [The Joker is loose, without explanation, but presumably Hush helped break him out of the Slab. This must’ve discouraged the authorities, since from now on we will frequently see him sentenced to Arkham Asylum once again.]
POST-HUSH [There were a bunch of new runs and arcs kicking off in 2003-2004, so ‘Hush’ also feels like a suitable interlude. The batches below can be read in different orders, unless noted otherwise, so I’m listing them alphabetically.]
Batgirl #39-45 [Writer Dylan Horrocks kept this series action-packed while playing up the teenage angle. Artist Adrian Sibar apparently tried to channel Damion Scott’s style, with colorist Jason Wright helping to keep the visual continuity.]
Batman #620-625 (collected in Batman: Broken City, in Batman by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, and (in black & white) in Batman Noir: Eduardo Risso) [Killer Croc has been cured from the mutation caused by the virus in ‘Hush.’ The Joker is in Arkham Asylum.]
Batman: Death and the Maidens #1-9 (collected in Batman: Death and the Maidens)[Ra’s al Ghul dies. (Not for the first time, I know…)]
Batman: Gotham Knights #38-45 [Although the first arc, ‘Knight Moves,’ appears to follow directly from #37, ‘Hush’ must have happened in the meantime, since the Huntress is wearing (and explicitly mentions) her new costume.]
Catwoman (v3) #12-32 (collected in Catwoman: Relentless and Wild Ride (until #24), in Catwoman: No Easy Way Down and Under Pressure, and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus) [A jarring visual shift after #25, when Cameron Stewart’s lovely cartooning was replaced with sleazy art by Paul Gulacy and Jimmy Palmiotti.]
DC First: Batgirl/The Joker [The Joker is in Arkham Asylum.]
Detective Comics #785-787 (backup stories) [The Joker is on the loose, but there are no strict time markers, so this amusing tale (‘The Dogcatcher’) may take place at some other point in time.]
Detective Comics #788-90 (#790 collected in Batman: War Drums and in Batman: War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [#790 kicks off Andersen Gabrych’s ultra-gritty run, with art by Pete Woods.]
Detective Comics #800 (backup story) + #801-805 + #807-814 (collected in Batman: City of Crime) [David Lapham’s brilliant ‘City of Crime’ yarn, set before the ‘War Games’ crossover. Daniel Dickerson is no longer mayor, so this must take place after Gotham Central #12.]
Gotham Central #11-24 (collected in Gotham Central: Unresolved Targets and The Quick and the Dead, in Gotham Central: Jokers and Madmen and On the Freak Beat, and in Gotham Central Omnibus)
Green Arrow (v3) #34-45 (collected in Green Arrow: City Walls and Moving Targets) [A couple of arcs in the middle of a run written by Judd Winick. ‘City Walls’ features Batman and a Riddler who seems quite post-Hush. In ‘New Blood,’ Dinah breaks up with Ollie and Mia Dearden makes her costumed debut as Speedy. Completists may want to check out this run’s previous issues, since some of those villains and subplots will return below.]
Harley Quinn #26-38 (collected in Harley Quinn: Vengeance Unlimited) [Following Karl Kesel’s fun inaugural run, A.J. Lieberman gave this series a grim-‘n’-gritty treatment, reinforced by Alex Sinclair’s somber palette. Harley Quinn is no longer on good terms with the Joker. First appearance by the Tailor, who does the costumes for many of Gotham’s themed criminals. Disregard the Two-Face cameo in #38 as some kind of hallucination.]
H-E-R-O #9-10 [A cool Gotham-set arc in a cool series.]
Legends of the Dark Knight #177-181 (collected in Batman: Urban Legends and The Secret City) [Three yarns by current writers of Bat books (Devin Grayson, Lieberman, and Horrocks) that seem set in the present. #179 is the origin of the killers Fat Man and Little Boy, from ‘Broken City’ (Batman #620-625), but it doesn’t make much difference reading it before or after that story, as a flashback.]
Legends of the Dark Knight #201-203 [A nice little tale, with a post-Hush Selina Kyle and a pre-War Games Leslie Thompkins.]
The Power Company: Manhunter [Mostly set ‘two years ago,’ this one-shot prominently features Nightwing with his old costume and introduces a new Manhunter. Visually, the issue looks like a tribute to the fan-favorite Manhunter series from Detective Comics #437-443, by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson.]
The Power Company #15 [The Manhunter fights Batman in an issue drawn in a similar style (blended with riffs on Will Eisner’s The Spirit).]
Richard Dragon #1-12 [Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel fully reboot kung-fu fighter Richard Dragon in this high-octane action series with links to Dixon’s runs in Nightwing and Green Arrow.]
SUPER-TEAMS [The team books with Batman, Nightwing, and Robin are often kind of hard to align with the core series, but they have their own inter-title continuity, so I’m packing a bunch of them together. I left out JLA stories that are irrelevant in terms of continuity, unless Batman’s role was so great that they’re worth tracking down anyway.]
JLA: Welcome to the Working Week [Lex Luthor is POTUS. Then again, Kyle Rayner appears to be the main Green Lantern on the roster and, more egregiously, James Gordon shows up on TV as police commissioner. In other words, don’t read this one looking for continuity, but rather to enjoy a kickass comic.]
JLA #100 (collected in Justice League Elite, v1 and in JLA, v8) [Pete Ross is vice-president. Brings back the Authority-like team Elite (from the modern classic Superman tale ‘What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?,’ in Action Comics #775), which becomes a black ops offshoot of the JLA.]
JLA #101-106 (collected in JLA: Plain of the Gods and in JLA, v8) [A gloomy arc (‘The Pain of the Gods’) penned by Chuck Austen. Batman only shows up in the final issue, but I guess he plays a pretty important role.]
Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-3 (collected in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, in Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Death and Return of Donna Troy, and in The Outsiders by Judd Winick: The Darker Side of Justice) [The Titans and Young Justice disband, setting up the stage for Outsiders and Teen Titans, respectively.]
Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2003: ‘A Day After…/Who Was Donna Troy?’ (collected in The Outsiders by Judd Winick: The Darker Side of Justice as well as in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v1 (‘A Day After…’) and Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Death and Return of Donna Troy (‘Who Was Donna Troy?’))
Outsiders (v3) #1-7 (collected in Outsiders: Looking for Trouble and in The Outsiders by Judd Winick: The Darker Side of Justice) [Written by Winick in the style of ‘strike team’ thrillers, a subgenre that had been particularly popular in 1990s’ comics. Lex Luthor is still president.]
Teen Titans (v3) #1-7 + #0.5 + #8-12 (collected in Teen Titans: A Kid’s Game and Family Lost as well as in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v1) [Written by Geoff Johns, emulating the more soap operatic vibe of 1980s’ The New Teen Titans (as opposed to the slapstick tone of Peter David’s Young Justice). Besides the listed collections, Johns’ whole run has also been collected in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus. Tim Drake’s relationship with his father helps set up Identity Crisis.]
JLA Secret Files & Origins 2004: ‘Same Coin/The Fall of Modora’ (collected in JLA, v8 as well as in Justice League Elite, v1 (just ‘Same Coin’) and JLA: Syndicate Rules (‘The Fall of Modora’)) [‘The Fall of Modora’ leads into JLA #107.]
JLA #107-114 (collected in JLA, v8 and in JLA: Syndicate Rules) [A superhero extravaganza (‘Syndicate Rules’) written by Kurt Busiek, with a Teen Titans cameo.]
Justice League Elite #1-12 (collected in Justice League Elite, v1 and v2) [Batman and Cassandra Cain show up repeatedly.]
Superman/Batman #1-18 (collected in Superman/Batman, v1 and v2 as well as in Superman/Batman Omnibus, v1) [Brings Luthor’s presidency to an end and plants the seeds for Infinite Crisis.]
JLA Classified #1-3 (collected in JLA: Ultramarine Corps and in JLA: The Deluxe Edition, v4) [Introduces Grant Morrison’s versions of Knight and Squire.]
WELCOME TO THE DARKEST ERA [Inter-title continuity in the core books became tighter again, setting up the pieces for the War Games crossover. I like the slick visuals by Mike Lilly, Patrick Zircher, and Al Barrionuevo just fine. However, along with awful storytelling decisions, *some* of the other artwork was pretty dreary, thus adding insult to injury.]
Detective Comics #791-793: ‘The Surrogate’ (collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition))
Detective Comics #794-795: ‘Monster of Rot’(collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [Features Tarantula (who made her debut in Nightwing #75) before she lost her way, so this reads much better here, before her return to Nightwing. Final page leads into the backup feature ‘Polished Stone.’]
Detective Comics #795-796 (backup stories): ‘Polished Stone’ (collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [Brings the former assassin Onyx to Gotham.]
Nightwing (v2) #76: ‘Untouchable’
Nightwing (v2) #77: ‘The Web’
Nightwing (v2) #78: ‘Supercop’
Nightwing (v2) #79: ‘No Son of Mine’
Nightwing (v2) #80-82: ‘Venn Diagram’
Nightwing (v2) #83: ‘Incrimination’
Nightwing (v2) #84-85: ‘Did Not Shoot the Deputy’
Batman: Gotham Knights #46: ‘Scared Straight’
Birds of Prey #56-59: ‘Of Like Minds’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds, in Murder & Mystery, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Kicks off Gail Simone’s wonderful run (a beacon of light among the darkness), initially with art by Ed Benes. Black Canary has both legs broken and the Huntress joins the Birds of Prey.]
Nightwing (v2) #86: ‘The Calm Before’
Nightwing (v2) #87: ‘Snowball’ [Barbara dumps Dick.]
Batgirl #46: ‘The Lost Girls’ [Deals with Barbara’s breakup.]
Birds of Prey #60-61: ‘Feeding the Game’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds, in Murder & Mystery, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Black Canary, still recovering, learns about the breakup.]
Batman: Gotham Knights #47-49: ‘Veritas Liberat’ [Alfred knows that Barbara and Dick are no longer together.]
Batgirl #47: ‘The Doll’s House’
Outsiders (v3) #8-10: ‘Devil’s Work’ (collected in Outsiders: Sum of All Evil) [The Huntress is a Bird of Prey, but also temporarily joins the Outsiders. Pete Ross, the former vice-president, is now POTUS.]
Batman #626-630: ‘As the Crow Flies’ (collected in Batman: As the Crow Flies) [Winick takes over as writer.]
Batgirl #48: ‘Human Resources’
Batgirl #49: ‘Down Among the Dead’
Batgirl #50: ‘Tough Love’
Batman: Gotham Knights #50-55: ‘Pushback’ (collected in Batman: Hush Returns and in The Hush Saga Omnibus) [A.J. Liberman takes over as writer with an arc that rearranges the status quo of the Riddler, the Joker, and Hush. Robin hires the Tailor, leading into the story in the backups of Detective Comics #789-794.]
Detective Comics #789-794 (backup stories): ‘The Tailor’ [Here it is.]
Detective Comics #797-799 (backup stories): ‘Low’ [Continues the Riddler’s journey from Gotham Knights’ ‘Pushback.’]
Robin (v4) #121: ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ (collected in Robin: Unmasked) [Bill Willingham takes over as writer. Not his finest hour.]
Robin (v4) #122: ‘Bad to the Bone’ (collected in Robin: Unmasked)
Robin (v4) #123: ‘Nemesis’ (collected in Robin: Unmasked)
Outsiders (v3) #11: ‘Scream Without Raising Your Voice’ (collected in Outsiders: Sum of All Evil)
Outsiders (v3) #12: ‘Out with the New, In with the Old’ (collected in Outsiders: Sum of All Evil)
Outsiders (v3) #13-15: ‘Five by Five’ (collected in Outsiders: Sum of All Evil)
Batgirl #51-52: ‘The City is a Garden’
Outsiders (v3) #16: ‘A Change of Plans’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted)
Outsiders (v3) #17-19: ‘Most Wanted’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted)
JLA Classified #16-21: ‘The Hypothetical Woman’ (collected in JLA: The Hypothetical Woman) [This tale, written by Simone, prominently features Santa Prisca. Ross is no longer president.]
Birds of Prey #62-67: ‘Sensei & Student’(collected in Birds of Prey: Sensei & Student, in Murder & Mystery, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Black Canary has recovered from her injuries.]
Birds of Prey #68: ‘One Day, Well-Chosen’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Sensei & Student, in Hero Hunters, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Robin (v4) #124: ‘Good Parenting’(collected in Robin: Unmasked) [Three months have passed since Robin #123. Tim’s father, Jack Drake, finds out about his son’s alter ego.]
Robin (v4) #125: ‘In the Shadow of Two Fathers’(collected in Robin: Unmasked) [Tim quits being Robin.]
Birds of Prey #69-73: ‘Between Dark and Dawn’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn, in Hero Hunters, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Robin (v4) #126: ‘A Life More Ordinary’ (collected in Batman: War Drums, in War Games, v1 (2015 edition), in Robin: The Teen Wonder, and in Robin, The Boy Wonder: A Celebration of 75 Years) [Stephanie Brown becomes the new Robin.]
Detective Comics #796: ‘…And Red All Over’ (collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [Batman teaching Steph.]
Batgirl #53: ‘Sisterhood’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [Batgirl teams up with the new Robin.]
Birds of Prey #74: ‘Unraveled’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn, in Hero Hunters, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Robin (v4) #127: ‘Girl Wonder’ (collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition))
Robin (v4) #128: ‘Fired!’ (collected in Batman: War Drums and in War Games, v1 (2015 edition)) [Batman fires Stephanie.]
Legends of the Dark Knight #185-189: ‘Riddle Me That’ [In the aftermath of ‘Low,’ the Riddler returns with a radical new look and persona.]
Nightwing (v2) #88: ‘Flurry’ [Dick is still processing his breakup. I guess this is meant to take place closely after #87, but the issue kicks off a spiral that doesn’t match Nightwing’s mood in the various stories above (where he frequently shows up), so it reads better here.]
Nightwing (v2) #89: ‘Avalanche’
Nightwing (v2) #90: ‘Burned’
Nightwing (v2) #91: ‘Rekindle’
Nightwing (v2) #92: ‘Flashpoint’
Nightwing (v2) #93: ‘Slow Burn’
Batgirl #54: ‘Cooking the Books’
Catwoman (v3) #33: ‘Cat-wo-mon’ (collected in Catwoman: Under Pressure and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus)
Nightwing (v2) #94-95: ‘Road to Nowhere’ [Leads into War Games.]
WAR GAMES [A crossover pitting Gotham City’s various gangs against each other should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the result was not only stupid, but also mean-spirited. I wonder if I should blame editors Bob Schreck, Matt Idelson, and/or Michael Wright, since even writers who have done good work elsewhere churned out quite unpleasant material here.]
Batman: The 12¢ Adventure #1: ‘No Help’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Detective Comics #797: ‘Flashpoint’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Legends of the Dark Knight #182: ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Nightwing (v2) #96: ‘A Sort of Homecoming’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Batman: Gotham Knights #56: ‘Rules of Engagement’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Robin (v4) #129: ‘Alamo High’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Batgirl #55: ‘Total War’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Catwoman (v3) #34: ‘Cold Hard Facts’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1, in Catwoman: Under Pressure, and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus)
Batman #631: ‘Last Stand at Alamo High’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v1)
Detective Comics #798: ‘Undertow’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2) [Tim Drake is back as Robin.]
Legends of the Dark Knight #183: ‘Philosophical Differences’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Nightwing (v2) #97: ‘Clarification’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Batman: Gotham Knights #57: ‘The Light at the End of the Tunnel’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Robin (v4) #130: ‘The Only Light in Gotham’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Batgirl #56: ‘Collateral Damage’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Catwoman (v3) #35: ‘Betrayal’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2, in Catwoman: Under Pressure, and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus)
Batman #632: ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2)
Detective Comics #799: ‘Good Intentions’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Legends of the Dark Knight #184: ‘The Road to Hell’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Nightwing (v2) #98: ‘Casualty of War’(collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Robin (v4) #131: ‘Too Many Ghosts’(collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Batman: Gotham Knights #58: ‘Flight Risk’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Batgirl #57: ‘Ground Zero’(collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition) and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Catwoman (v3) #36: ‘Multiple Fronts’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition), in War Games, v2 (2016 edition), in Catwoman: Under Pressure, and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus)
Batman #633: ‘No Going Back’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v3 (2005 edition), in War Games, v2 (2016 edition), and in Birds of Prey: Hero Hunters) [Stephanie Brown is pronounced dead after having been severely tortured and shot. Sigh.]
Batman #634: ‘Decompression’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2 (2016 edition))
Gotham Central #25: ‘Lights Out’(collected in Gotham Central: The Quick and the Dead, in Gotham Central: On the Freak Beat, and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [GCPD takes down the Bat-signal.]
Birds of Prey #75: ‘Breathless/There Would Be No Spring’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn, in Hero Hunters, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Oracle leaves Gotham.]
Nightwing (v2) #99: ‘Back to the Life’
Nightwing (v2) #100: ‘The Ride’s Over’
Catwoman (v3) #37: ‘Character Driven’(collected in Catwoman: Under Pressure and in Catwoman of East End Omnibus) [Last Brubaker issue.]
IDENTITY CRISIS [The other big shake-up at the time came from the mini-series Identity Crisis, a murder mystery steeped in DCU lore, partly published – and set – during War Games, but so tight in its storytelling that it would be a disservice to readers to try to splice together the two sets of comics (it feels nicer to follow them separately while rearranging the timeline in your head, Pulp Fiction-style). Hailed in some fan circles as one of the lowest points of the gloom-‘n’-doom trend, Meltzer’s plot is certainly vicious in its approach to light-hearted characters, who suffer and/or perpetrate the most atrocious acts of violence. Yet his writing – along with the art by the team of Rags Morales and Michael Bair – also conveys thoughtful characterization, with revisionism building on an informed understanding of the material (the same applies to Geoff Johns’s work). Regardless, the project brough key changes to Gotham, starting with the fact that Tim Drake’s father didn’t make it out alive and that Batman lost trust in the JLA.]
Teen Titans (v3) #13-15: ‘Beast Boys and Girls’ (collected in Teen Titans: Beast Boys & Girls and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v2) [Most of this story takes place a week after Tim Drake quit, with a surprised Superboy meeting Stephanie Brown as the new Robin. By the end of the arc, though, Tim is already back in costume, so the best way to read most of this is as a flashback.]
Teen Titans (v3) #16: ‘Superboy and the Legion – part 1’ (collected in Teen Titans: The Future Is Now and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v2)
Teen Titans/Legion Special: ‘Superboy and the Legion – part 2’ (collected in Teen Titans: The Future Is Now and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v2)
Teen Titans (v3) #17-19: ‘Titans Tomorrow’ (collected in Teen Titans: The Future Is Now and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v2)
Identity Crisis #1: ‘Coffin’ (collected in Identity Crisis) [Supposedly set a week after Jack Drake found out Tim is Robin, although you can just disregard that caption.]
Identity Crisis #2: ‘House of Lies’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Identity Crisis #3: ‘Serial Killer’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Identity Crisis #4: ‘Who Benefits’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Identity Crisis #5: ‘Father’s Day’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Identity Crisis #6: ‘Husbands & Wives’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Identity Crisis #7: ‘The Hero’s Life’ (collected in Identity Crisis)
Green Arrow (v3) #46: ‘Team Work’ (collected in Green Arrow: Moving Targets) [Mia joins the Titans. This issue takes place between Teen Titans #20’s main story and its second epilogue.]
Teen Titans (v3) #20: ‘Hiding’ (collected in Teen Titans: The Future Is Now and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3) [Set a week after Jack Drake’s murder. This and the following Teen Titans issues are basically a coda to Identity Crisis.]
Teen Titans (v3) #21-23: ‘Lights Out’(collected in Teen Titans: The Future Is Now and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3) [Mia’s first mission in the team. The ending directly sets up Outsiders #20, but I’m sneaking a few Robin, Batgirl, and Green Arrow issues in-between, since they only make sense around here…]
Robin (v4) #132: ‘Fresh Blood – part 1’ (collected in Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood) [Starts at Stephanie Brown’s funeral, which takes place days after Jack Drake’s burial… and after the burial of Tim’s latest love interest, Darla Aquista, who also died during War Games. The kid had a very rough month.]
Batgirl #58: ‘Fresh Blood – part 2’ (collected in Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood)
Robin (v4) #133: ‘Fresh Blood – part 3’ (collected in Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood)
Batgirl #59: ‘Fresh Blood – part 4’ (collected in Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood)
Green Arrow (v3) #47-50: ‘New Business’ (collected in Green Arrow: Moving Targets) [Nightwing is still in the Outsiders. Winick brings back various villains from across his run, including the Riddler, now with a post-‘Riddle Me That’ look.]
Robin (v4) #134: ‘Always Starting Over’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #135: ‘Arrows of the Sun’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #136: ‘A Rider on the Storm’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #137: ‘A Gift from a Friend’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #138: ‘The Freelance Doctrine’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #139: ‘Meaner Than a Junkyard Dog’ (collected in Robin: To Kill a Bird)
Robin (v4) #140: ‘Veteran Affairs’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness)
Robin (v4) #141: ‘Good Girls Don’t Die’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness)
Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2005: ‘I Am Donna Troy/Teen Titans Hunt/Who’s Your Daddy?/Secrets’
Outsiders (v3) #20: ‘Back to Normal’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted)
Outsiders (v3) #21: ‘Silent Partner’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted) [Addresses Batman’s growing trust issues.]
Outsiders (v3) #22: ‘Deep Throat’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted)
Outsiders (v3) #23: ‘Lockdown’ (collected in Outsiders: Wanted) [Continues in Teen Titans #24.]
Teen Titans (v3) #24: ‘The Insiders – part 1’(collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3)
Outsiders (v3) #24: ‘The Insiders – part 2’ (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3)
Teen Titans (v3) #25: ‘The Insiders – part 3’ (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3)
Outsiders (v3) #25: ‘The Insiders – part 4’ (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3) [Nightwing (and Winick) leave the Outsiders. You have to somehow fit all this in before Nightwing #98 for Dick Grayson’s continuity to have a modicum of coherence. Epilogue leads straight into the mini-series The Return of Donna Troy.]
The Return of Donna Troy #1-4 (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Death and Return of Donna Troy)
Teen Titans (v3) #26: ‘Soul Searching’ (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders and in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns, v3)
POST-WAR GAMES & POST-IDENTITY CRISIS [For better or worse, War Games and Identity Crisis had noticeable consequences in the status quo. For instance, Gotham’s authorities stopped tolerating vigilantes and Black Mask became the new king of the criminal underworld. These are a bunch of comics set in the aftermath of the previous crossovers.]
JLA Classified #37-41: ‘Kid Amazo’ (collected in JLA: Kid Amazo) [Thematically, I think this tale fits quite well somewhere around here, as the ending emphasizes fissures eating the JLA from within.]
Catwoman (v3) #38-40: ‘Three Piece Suit’ (collected in Catwoman: The One You Love)
Batgirl #60-62: ‘The Hood’ (collected in Batgirl: Kicking Assassins) [Batgirl, now based in Blüdhaven, is being trained by Onyx.]
Batman: Gotham Knights #59: ‘Fire & Ice’ (collected in Batman Arkham: Mister Freeze)
Gotham Central #26-27: ‘On the Freak Beat’(collected in Gotham Central: On the Freak Beat and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [Having left Catwoman, Brubaker revisited the characters here.]
Gotham Central #28-31: ‘Keystone Kops’ (collected in Gotham Central: The Quick and the Dead, in Gotham Central: On the Freak Beat, and in Gotham Central Omnibus)
Gotham Central #32: ‘Nature’ (collected in Gotham Central: Corrigan, and in Gotham Central Omnibus)
Catwoman (v3) #41-42: ‘Of Cats and Dogs’ (collected in Catwoman: The One You Love)
Legends of the Dark Knight #190-191: ‘Cold Snap’ (collected in Batman Arkham: Mister Freeze and in Batman: The Secret City)
Batgirl #63-64: ‘Could’ve Been’ (collected in Batgirl: Kicking Assassins)
Teen Titans (v3) #27-28: ‘Legacy’ (collected in DC Comics Presents: Brightest Day #3) [Fill-in by guest team.]
Outsiders (v3) #26-27: ‘Tick Tock’ [Fill-in by guest team.]
Superman/Batman #19: ‘The New Adventures of Supergirl, the Girl of Steel’ (collected in Supergirl: Power, in The Girl of Steel, in Superman/Batman, v2, and in Superman/Batman Omnibus, v1)
Catwoman (v3) #43: ‘Pest Control’ (collected in Catwoman: The One You Love)
Batman #635-638: ‘Under the Hood’ (collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v1 and in Under the Red Hood) [Jason Todd returns from the dead. The Joker is still at the carnival where he was last seen in Gotham Knights #55.]
Batman #639-641: ‘Family Reunion’ (collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v1 and in Under the Red Hood) [While investigating the credibility of Jason’s resurrection, Batman seems in the process of figuring out that the JLA wiped his mind, presumably triggered by the events in Identity Crisis. Onyx suffers a serious shoulder injury (although, comics being comics, she has suffered worse before, so it doesn’t necessarily make much difference).]
Catwoman (v3) #44-49: ‘The One You Love’ (collected in Catwoman: The One You Love) [Will Pfeifer takes over as regular writer, kicking off a neat run. This story finishes with a cliffhanger (Zatanna comes to talk to Selina), which we will pick up in quite a while, two sections down… It’s annoying, but this arc should take place here, since Leslie Thompkins is still in Gotham City.]
Batman #642: ‘Breaking the Skin’ (collected in Batman: War Drums) [Batman still affected by the revelation of #641.]
Detective Comics #808-810 (backup stories): ‘The Beast Beneath’ (collected in Batman Arkham: Killer Croc) [Follows Killer Croc (becoming monstrous once again) after the events of Batman #642.]
Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins 2005: ‘A Friend in Need/Street Crime/Taking Sides’ (collected in Batman: War Games, v2 (2016 edition)) [Sets up ‘War Crimes.’]
Detective Comics #809-810/Batman #643-644: ‘War Crimes’ (collected in Batman: War Crimes and in War Games, v2 (2016 edition)) [Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, another stupid twist made Leslie responsible for Stephanie’s death. Also, the Cluemaster turns out to be alive after all. The Joker is arrested.]
Batman #645: ‘Show Me Yesterday, For I Can’t Find Today’ (collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v2, in Under the Red Hood, and in Legends of the DC Universe: Doug Mahnke)Gotham Central #33-36: ‘Dead Robin’ (collected in Gotham Central: Dead Robin, in Corrigan, and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [Cameo by the Titans, including Mia. The Joker is back in Arkham. This arc would certainly make it to my ideal deluxe omnibus of Batman stories.]
Detective Comics #815-816: ‘Victims’ (collected in Batman Arkham: Victor Zsasz) [Since this story is unconnected to the upcoming crossovers, it reads better here, without cluttering the flow of the next sections.]
Outsiders (v3) #28: ‘Letting It Go’ (collected in Teen Titans/Outsiders: Insiders)
Superman/Batman #20-25: ‘With a Vengeance!’ (collected in Superman/Batman: Vengeance, in Superman/Batman, v2,and in Superman/Batman Omnibus, v1) [Prelude to Infinite Crisis.]
Birds of Prey #76-80: ‘Hero Hunters’ (collected in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Starts setting up The OMAC Project.]
Nightwing (v2) #107: ‘Criminal’ (collected in Nightwing: Mobbed Up)
Batgirl #65: ‘A Mother of a Father’s Day’ (collected in Batgirl: Destruction’s Daughter)
COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS [I suppose the best you can say about Dan DiDio’s infamous stint as DC’s vice president-executive editor is that there was a relatively coherent overall tone and ideology, albeit one that privileged breaking or soiling the brightest toys. Thus, while fans were still processing Identity Crisis, Greg Rucka ruthlessly continued to push this spirit in the one-shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis. Again, depending on your emotional attachment to amusing figures from lighter times (like the old cast of Justice League International and Justice League Europe), you may find his work cruel and in incredibly poor taste or a rather intelligent, compellingly written, provocative piece of humanizing speculative fantasy. On a more practical level, this special directly set up the mini-series The OMAC Project (where Rucka took his mandate even further), Villains United, Day of Vengeance, and Rann-Thanagar War. With one exception, I’ll ignore the latter two, which are generally far from the style and setting of Batman comics.]
Blood of the Demon #1: ‘Born Again!’ [This series about Jason Blood/Etrigan, largely set in Gotham City, features several guest-appearances by Batman and/or the JLA. Scripted by Will Pfeifer, yet plotted (and penciled) by John Byrne.]
Blood of the Demon #2: ‘Hunters’
Blood of the Demon #3: ‘Friends and Enemies’
Blood of the Demon #4: ‘Masks’
Blood of the Demon #5: ‘Today We Choose Faces’
Blood of the Demon #6: ‘The Gathering Storm’ [Day of Vengeance tie-in, so technically set after Countdown to Infinite Crisis, but I’m placing it here so as not to interrupt the flow of the rest of this section.]
Blood of the Demon #7: ‘Cages of the Mind’ [Day of Vengeance tie-in.]
Blood of the Demon #8: ‘Mind Games’
Blood of the Demon #9 [No title.]
Blood of the Demon #10: ‘New Gods and Monsters’
Blood of the Demon #11: ‘Angels & Devils’
Blood of the Demon #12: ‘Wrath of the Lamb’
Countdown to Infinite Crisis (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus) [Introduces the Society of Supervillains (already hinted at in Teen Titans #23 and Superman/Batman #19), which will be popping up across the DCU, often in issues labelled as Villains United tie-ins (even if they’re not directly related to the core plot of the mini-series with the same name).]
Villains United #1: ‘And Empires in the Purpose’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United) [True to form, Gail Simone wrote the niftiest project in this era, about the Secret Six (a group of criminals who refused to join the Society of Supervillains). Instead of dour pseudo-realism, we got lively goofiness pitting dozens of kooky characters – from big guns to deep cuts – against each other, with bouncy art by Dale Eaglesham.]
Villains United #2: ‘A Fire in the Steppes’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United)
Villains United #3: ‘Privileged to Spill Her Blood’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United)
Villains United #4: ‘A Weapon to Unify’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United)
Villains United #5: ‘Victims of Aggression’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United)
Villains United #6: ‘At the End of All Things’ (collected in Villains United, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United) [Must take place after Birds of Prey #80.]
Batgirl #66-70: ‘Destruction’s Daughter’ (collected in Batgirl: Destruction’s Daughter) [Set before – or early in – The OMAC Project. Features the Society of Supervillains. Ends with a cliffhanger, but it will take a while for us to get there…]
Birds of Prey #81-83: ‘The Battle Within’ (collected in Birds of Prey: The Battle Within, in Fighters by Trade, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Set after Countdown to Infinite Crisis and before the bulk The OMAC Project.]
Birds of Prey #84: ‘Knock-Out’ (collected in Birds of Prey: The Battle Within, in Fighters by Trade, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Birds of Prey #85: ‘A New Morning’s Resolution’ (collected in Birds of Prey: The Battle Within, in Fighters by Trade, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Birds of Prey #86: ‘A Wakeful Time’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch, in Fighters by Trade, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1)
Nightwing (v2) #108: ‘Who’s Got the Button?’ (collected in Nightwing: Mobbed Up)
Nightwing (v2) #109: ‘Cold Turkey’ (collected in Nightwing: Mobbed Up)
Nightwing (v2) #110: ‘Incorporation’ (collected in Nightwing: Mobbed Up) [References the Society of Supervillains.]
Nightwing (v2) #111: ‘Signed, Sophia’ (collected in Nightwing: Mobbed Up)
Nightwing (v2) #112: ‘The Devil You Know’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade)
Nightwing (v2) #113: ‘The Scorpion and the Frog’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade)
Nightwing (v2) #114: ‘Cowboys and Indians’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade)
Nightwing (v2) #115: ‘No-Fly Zone’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade)
Batman: Gotham Knights #60: ‘The Games People Play’ (collected in The Hush Saga Omnibus)
Batman: Gotham Knights #61-65: ‘Human Nature’ (collected in The Hush Saga Omnibus)
Batman: Gotham Knights #66: ‘Job Termination’(collected in Batman: Hush Returns and in The Hush Saga Omnibus) [Features the Society of Supervillains.]
Batman: Gotham Knights #67: ‘The Life of Riley’ (collected in The Hush Saga Omnibus)
Batman: Gotham Knights #68-71: ‘The Shape of Things to Come’ (collected in The Hush Saga Omnibus and in Batman Arkham: Clayface)
Batman: Gotham Knights #72: ‘The Letter’
Batman: Gotham Knights #73-74: ‘Payback’ (collected in The Hush Saga Omnibus) [This series ends on a cliffhanger. We will only find out the resolution to the last scene years later, in a flashback from Detective Comics #849.]
Robin (v4) #142: ‘Officer Candidate’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness)
The OMAC Project #1: ‘The Eye in the Sky’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
The OMAC Project #2: ‘There Is No I in Team’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
The OMAC Project #3: ‘The M-E in Team’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Superman (v2) #219: ‘Sacrifice – part 1’ (collected in Superman: Sacrifice and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus) [Kicks off a crossover that strongly impacts the turning point in the middle of The OMAC Project.]
Action Comics #829: ‘Sacrifice – part 2’ (collected in Superman: Sacrifice and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Adventures of Superman #642: ‘Sacrifice – part 3’ (collected in Superman: Sacrifice and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Wonder Woman (v2) #219: ‘Sacrifice – part 4’ (collected in The OMAC Project, in Superman: Sacrifice, in Wonder Woman: Mission’s End, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, in Wonder Woman: Her Greatest Battles, in The Many Lives of Maxwell Lord, and in Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka)
Wonder Woman (v2) #220: ‘Affirmative Defense’ (collected in Superman: Sacrifice, in Wonder Woman: Mission’s End, and in Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka) [The first scene (following directly from ‘Sacrifice’) also appears in Adventures of Superman #643 and in The OMAC Project #4, so they take place at the same time.]
Adventures of Superman #643: ‘Fragmentation’ (collected in Superman: Sacrifice)
The OMAC Project #4: ‘The King is Dead’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
The OMAC Project #5: ‘…Long Live the King’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
The OMAC Project #6: ‘Loss of Signal’ (collected in The OMAC Project and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Robin (v4) #143: ‘Rock the Haven’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness) [Set during The OMAC Project #6.]
Robin (v4) #144: ‘Days of Fire and Madness’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness)
Robin (v4) #145: ‘Too Many Villains!’ (collected in Robin: Days of Fire and Madness) [Ends on a cliffhanger about a Titans-related emergency, but, again, it will take a while for us to get there…]
Teen Titans (v3) #29: ‘Life and Death’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death and in DC Comics Presents: Robin War) [Set right after The OMAC Project (so it doesn’t quite fit in with Robin #145 unless you disregard the latter’s cliffhanger).]
Birds of Prey #87-90: ‘Perfect Pitch’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch, in Fighters by Trade, and in Birds of Prey by Gail Simone Omnibus, v1) [Set right after The OMAC Project. Features the Society of Supervillains.]
Batman #646-447: ‘Franchise’ (collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v2 and in Under the Red Hood) [Features the Society of Supervillains.]
Teen Titans (v3) #30-31: ‘Lost and Found’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death) [Ending sets up Infinite Crisis.]
JLA #115-119 : ‘Crisis of Conscience’ (collected in JLA: Crisis of Conscience, in JLA, v9, and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus) [This arc, written by Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg, is still dealing with the fallout from Identity Crisis. Selina’s appearance here only makes sense before Catwoman #50. The explosive ending leads into Infinite Crisis…]
INFINITE CRISIS [A sequel to the 1980s’ Crisis on Infinite Earths that sought the same expansive, continuity-heavy, universe-shattering impact as that classic crossover event. Writer Geoff Johns and artist Phil Jiminez were certainly as close in style as you could get to the original’s creative team of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez… Typically, Gotham and Batman’s cast played a sizeable role, so fans of that corner of the DCU may wish to explore both the main series and some of the tie-ins. That said, I’m leaving out the Outsiders issues because Nightwing was no longer on the team.]
JLA #120: ‘Requiem for a League’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9) [The series’ final arc overlaps with Infinite Crisis #1.]
JLA #121: ‘Call to Arms’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9)
JLA #122: ‘OMAC Nation’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9)
JLA #123: ‘Key Encounters’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9)
JLA #124: ‘Envy is the Key’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9)
JLA #125: ‘Mind Field’ (collected in JLA: World Without a Justice League and in JLA, v9)
Infinite Crisis #1: ‘Infinite Crisis’ (collected in Infinite Crisis, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse)
Gotham Central #37: ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ (collected in Gotham Central: Dead Robin, in Corrigan, and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [Expands a scene from Infinite Crisis #1.]
Batman Annual #25: ‘Daedalus and Icarus: The Return of Jason Todd’ (collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v2, in Under the Red Hood, and in A Death in the Family Deluxe Edition) [Jason Todd’s return gets retroactively explained through the end of Infinite Crisis #1.]
Infinite Crisis #2: ‘The Survivors’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Infinite Crisis #3: ‘Divine Intervention’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Gotham Central #38-40: ‘Corrigan II’ (collected in Gotham Central: Dead Robin, in Corrigan, and in Gotham Central Omnibus) [Crispus Allen dies.]
Batman #648-650: ‘All They Do Is Watch Us Kill’(collected in Batman: Under the Hood, v2 and in Under the Red Hood) [Amidst all the Crisis stuff, poor Batman still has to deal with Black Mask, the Red Hood, and the Joker. Blüdhaven gets destroyed halfway through, so this overlaps with Infinite Crisis #4.]
Nightwing (v2) #116: ‘Marathon’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade) [Blüdhaven’s destruction from Nightwing’s perspective.]
Infinite Crisis #4: ‘Homecoming’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus) [Starts with Blüdhaven’s destruction and carries on from there. Superboy fights Superboy-Prime. At the morgue, Crispus Allen becomes the new Spectre.]
Teen Titans (v3) #32: ‘Doom’s Day’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death) [Expands the fight between the Superboys.]
Teen Titans Annual (v3) #1: ‘Love & War’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death) [Deals with the direct aftermath of Superboy’s fight and of Blüdhaven’s destruction. Partly overlaps with Infinite Crisis #5.]
Robin (v4) #146-147: ‘The Virtual Cell’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death) [Continues to deal with aftermath of Superboy’s fight.]
Catwoman (v3) #50-52: ‘Backward Masking’ (collected in Catwoman: Backwards Masking) [Picks up the cliffhanger from way back in Catwoman #49 and carries on into the present Crisis time. Because of Black Mask, the ending must take place after Batman #649.]
Infinite Crisis #5: ‘Faith’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Teen Titans (v3) #33: ‘The Brave and the Bold’ (collected in Teen Titans: Life and Death)
Infinite Crisis #6: ‘Touchdown’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
The OMAC Project – Infinite Crisis Special: ‘The Lazarus Protocol’ (collected in Infinite Crisis Companion and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Birds of Prey #91: ‘Donor’ (collected in Birds of Prey: Fighters by Trade)
Batgirl #71-73: ‘Blood Matters’ (collected in Batgirl: Destruction’s Daughter) [Picks up the cliffhanger from way back in Batgirl #70. Cassandra has a near-death vision in which Stephanie’s ghost (somehow) shows her that Blüdhaven has been destroyed.]
Villains United – Infinite Crisis Special: ‘A Hero Dies But One’ (collected in Infinite Crisis Companion, in Infinite Crisis Omnibus, and in Secret Six: Villains United)
Infinite Crisis #7: ‘Finale’ (collected in Infinite Crisis and in Infinite Crisis Omnibus)
Nightwing (v2) #117: ‘Fix You’ (collected in Nightwing: Renegade)
Superman/Batman #26: ‘The Boys Are Back in Town!/Sam’s Story’ (collected in Superman/Batman, v2,and in Superman/Batman Omnibus, v1)
The time feels right for a cyberpunk reminder that comic book covers can be awesome…
Later than usual, I know, but check out those eyes…
Tomorrow is Gotham Calling’s 12th anniversary!
It has become a bit of a struggle to keep up with even a biweekly pace of longer posts, although hopefully this hasn’t affected their quality. It isn’t a matter of lack of ideas (my notes and unfinished drafts keep growing and morphing like the unstoppable force of Fleisher’s and Aparo’s Spectre…), just a question of time and energy to put them down.
Honestly, given my workload and other life stuff, I don’t see things getting easier in the next three years, but there is already enough material in the pipeline to make sure that, at least in the months ahead, the blog remains a reliable place where readers can pick up cool recommendations and/or amuse themselves with the quirks of comic books and movies. Next week, for instance, I’ll finally post the fourth installment of the reading guide for early 2000s’ Batman comics (which took a while to put together, not only because I mostly dislike this particular bit of that era, but also because inter-title continuity was a veritable damn mess!).
More than an endorsement and acritical encouragement of consumption of products of horrible corporations (and, sometimes, by great creators who also happen to be horrible people), Gotham Calling is about finding joy even among the filth – joy both for readers and for me, so I’m definitely sticking around (and certainly not outsourcing this shit to AI, which would pretty much defeat the purpose of this whole project). Meanwhile, you should still be able to get brief weekly reminders that comic covers can be awesome. Like this one:
If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are a bunch of humorous works to go with each of Christopher Nolan’s serious thrillers:
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Batman Returns (1992)
Nolan’s conclusion to his Batman saga, The Dark Knight Rises, is not only his worst film, from a narrative and technical standpoint, but also the most politically abhorrent. Still, there is a strong potential for fun in watching Catwoman and other rogues involved in a plan to take over/destroy Gotham City that is so unabashedly silly that it crosses the border into surrealism, inviting you to take in everything as a live-action cartoon, even if drenched in grimdark aesthetics. That potential was properly mined by Tim Burton in Batman Returns, which gorgeously cranked up the ante, handling the material’s goofiness in a way that lets you laugh with it, rather than at it.
Interstellar (2014)
Futurama: ‘Möbius Dick’ (2011)
With Interstellar, Christopher Nolan continued to exponentially push himself into new directions and levels of storytelling ambition. Not only did this space exploration epic span across galaxies, ages, and dimensions (not to mention awkward attempts to make big thematic statements about love and humanity), but it also drew on several peaks of cinema, most notably 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although it has some fierce competition from Rick and Morty, as far as I’m concerned the funniest science fiction show continues to be the cartoon Futurama, about the wacky adventures of the interplanetary delivery company Planet Express in the 31st century. And while ‘Möbius Dick’ probably won’t get anybody’s award for best episode, it satisfyingly delivers the usual brisk combination of relentless visual, verbal, character-based, and intertextual humor (the latter in the form of countless geeky easter eggs) within a tale that also thrives on the wonder and excitement of sci-fi sights in outer space, albeit one whose absurdist gags and dialogue are an irreverent counterpart to Nolan’s no-nonsense high-stakes saga.
Dunkirk (2017)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
After Interstellar, Christopher Nolan went with a more grounded setting in Dunkirk, dramatizing (and redeeming) the infamous evacuation of British soldiers from France at the beginning of World War II. Nolan being Nolan, he still worked in his fascination with overlapping experiences of time (a motif most prominent in Memento, Inception, and Interstellar, further explored in Tenet), alternating between interlocked plotlines that last, respectively, one week, one day, and one hour. Regardless, it is a film about reconsidering notions of heroism in WWII, so I can’t think of a better counterpart than Preston Sturges’ Hail the Conquering Hero, about a guy who, although he was rejected by the marines, gets mistaken for a war hero, a misunderstanding that rapidly escalates beyond control. The caustic way this classic screwball farce mocked society’s relationship with the armed forces during the war itself feels even more irreverent when compared to the dominant tone of 21st-century cinema, Dunkirk included.
Tenet (2020)
Trancers (1984)
With Tenet, Nolan returned to science fiction, now in the form of a spy-fi action yarn that starts out as what looks like a particularly kickass entry in the Mission: Impossible film series before diving head-on into mind-bending time-travelling paradoxes. On the opposite end of the scale in terms of production values, Trancers also brings in an original approach to time travel (here, only consciousness can go to the past, inhabiting your ancestors’ bodies). Because, instead of a high-budget thriller, we are dealing with a schlocky B movie ripping off Terminator, the solutions for how technology operates and looks like have to be quite creative (an acting choice, a bit of makeup, or a cheesy laser effect can go a long way), which actually works in favor of the film’s charm. Along with a winning cast (including an entertainingly joyful Helen Hunt), the consistent sense of humor elevates the material, with proto-cyberpunk neo-noir trappings presented with a tongue firmly lodged in the cheek, as if winking at an audience aware of the production’s limitations. Thus, while the movie isn’t necessarily an outright comedy, it contains enough jokes (especially fish-out-of-water stuff) and bonkers grindhouse vibes to willingly earn a superior share of hearty laughs.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Oppenheimer, a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, particularly of his key role in the development of atomic bombs during World War II, shoots in various directions (from psychological drama to espionage, with some neo-western touches thrown in for good measure), but – as I put it at the time – it eventually settles into one hell of a political thriller about the origins of the Cold War. In that sense, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb feels not only like a humorous reversal of tone, but also like a natural continuation of the saga of a world-threatening arms race fueled by unhinged anticommunism (especially as the film begins with a very deadpan tone before gradually building up the absurdity). I’ve written about this one before: ‘Deterrence based on mutually assured destruction rests on the assumption that everyone will act logically, but what happens when irrational, stupid, and fanatical people get into positions of power? […] In this dark satire of the balance of terror, a deranged Air Force general manages to order an attack on the USSR (by exploiting a logical loophole in the system), so it’s up to the US President, an RAF captain, and a mad scientist (all of them played by Peter Sellers) to figure out how to prevent WWIII. Like other Stanley Kubrick pictures, Dr. Strangelove is about the dehumanizing logic of war, but on a larger scale and much funnier than usual.’
The Odyssey (2026)
O Brother, Where art Thou? (2000)
Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster, The Odyssey, is a reinterpretation of Homer’s epic poem, closer to the ground (keeping some of the fantasy while downplaying the gods). If you want to laugh at an even more radical reimagining, the obvious choice is the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where art Thou?, which amusingly recreates several of the same characters and situations, yet placing them in Mississippi, during the Great Depression. Besides catching the references, you also get to bask in visuals that are at least as stunning – and often more so – than those in Nolan’s adventure.
One more brutal reminder that comic book covers can be ridiculously awesome:
Christopher Nolan. Many people love his movies, many others despise them. In both cases, at least part of the reason seems related to how seriously he approaches them, meticulously crafting works that can come across as ambitious and stimulating, but also pompous and unsubtle, or even soulless and shallow underneath the flashy surface. One thing is for sure: his films are not usually known for being (intentionally) funny, even if they’re hardly devoid of wit.
Having spent part of my summer reading Terry Eagleton’s Humour and then, a few days ago, laughing my ass off at Coyote vs. Acme, I’ve been thinking about the very different types of comedy that do it for me. The closest to a unifying theory I could find is that they tend to stand in direct contrast with works/worldviews/attitudes that take themselves especially seriously. It was with that in mind that I came up with the matching exercise below, taking Christopher Nolan’s filmography as a starting point… Regardless of how you feel about Nolan’s particular style of entertainment, I figured some of you might enjoy the following comedic gems as either a complement or an alternative to each of his projects:
Following (1998)
Wolfs (2024)
Christopher Nolan’s debut, Following, is a low-key neo-noir about a guy getting sucked into an eccentric criminal lifestyle, only to gradually find himself in over his head (unlike Nolan, whose verve and eagerness, in full display despite the shoestring budget, would pay off handsomely). By the time he made Wolfs, Jon Watts had already come a looong way since his own indie origins (including the neat Cop Car), having spent half a decade churning out MCU blockbusters. Yet Watts used his acquired freedom to do a smooth, small-scale crime comedy about a couple of professional fixers (i.e., the kind of guys rich people call when they need to get rid of a corpse), which could arguably pass as a cool throwback to the sort of twisty narrative you find in Following – except that the leads are played by George Clooney and Brad Pitt (whose charming complicity helps sell much of the humor).
Memento (2000)
Seinfeld: ‘The Betrayal’ (1997)
With its reverse chronology, continuously jumping back in time, Nolan’s breakthrough flick Memento is a gimmicky mystery movie, but one whose gimmick suits the films’ themes and the protagonist’s perspective: since he suffers from anterograde amnesia, Guy Pearce’s character tends to feel confused at beginning of each scene, not knowing what happened before, much like the audience. The same gimmick had been used in an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, ‘The Betrayal,’ but there it was put in the service of laughs, as the backwards movement turned setups into payoffs and vice-versa. This really elevates the episode, which, if it had been told linearly, probably wouldn’t stand out. That said, the show had become a fine-tuned machine by season 9, with the whole cast having perfected their characters’ specific comedic timing and the writers having developed a strong identity as a moral- and schmaltz-free alternative to Friends (which Seinfeld actually preceded by five years) in terms of mocking New York’s middle-class first-world problems, so there is still much else to enjoy (I love George’s utterance of the line ‘Jerry Seinfeld’s a FUNNY GUY’), especially for longtime fans.
Insomnia (2002)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
In Christopher Nolan’s most straightforward film, Insomnia, a veteran police detective is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate a murder, only to get seriously disturbed both by a suspect’s mind games and by the damn perpetual daylight. I know this type of moody psychological thriller was not the main target of the spoof Hot Fuzz (which was in much closer dialogue with cult action cop movies like Point Break and Bad Boys II), but the latter still comes across like a magnificently absurdist take on a similar type of premise, with an officer assigned to a baffling British rural town, where he comes across a bizarre set of killings. That said, while Nolan’s direction is still relatively subdued at this stage, Edgar Wright already brings in his signature blend of high energy and smart comedy, making the most out of filmic language, from dazzlingly quick-cut editing to droll sound design.
Batman Begins (2005)
Darkman (1990)
As I mentioned when I first discussed Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy in Gotham Calling: ‘When you get down to it, Batman Begins may not be as down-to-earth as it is often claimed (the climax revolves around an evil plot to cause mass hysteria in Gotham City by vaporizing a fear-inducing hallucinogenic with the help of a huge microwave emitter!), but it is certainly more straight-faced than any of the previous live action films about the Caped Crusader.’ Fifteen years before he brought unprecedented gravitas to Nolan’s DCU, Liam Neeson had already starred in a dark superhero origin story with plenty of explosive action and moral ambiguity in the form of Darkman, where he played a masked scientist searching for vengeance in his city’s scuzzy streets against a bunch of vicious gangsters who had almost killed him. Because that one was co-written and directed by (pre-Spider-Man) Sam Raimi, though, the result was much more playful, with gonzo visuals, over-the-top violence, and some truly zany revenge schemes.
The Prestige (2006)
Magicians (2007)
The Prestige managed to take the campy world of British stage magicians and carefully turn it into a gothic steampunk drama full of surprising plot twists, eerie atmosphere, and operatic character development. A year later, Magicians pushed that world in the opposite direction, juxtaposing the supposed sense of wonder and spectacle with the frustrated, depressing lives and personal arguments of a double act (played by David Mitchell and Robert Webb in the dry style of Peep Show) and their assistants (Jessica Hynes practically owns the movie every moment she’s onscreen). Like The Prestige, the film seems aware that magic acts are about misdirection and relief, but instead of dramatic tension, it milks that awareness to generate tense laughter. Co-written by Jesse Armstrong, the result doesn’t reach the heights of Succession, but it trades on a similar fascination with the egomaniacal and the pathetic, filtered through merciless pitch-black humor.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Snatch (2000)
Going back to that old post: ‘The Dark Knight chronicles the Darwinian evolution of Gotham’s underworld, as traditional gangsters give way to extravagant psychopaths. This is not only a genuinely great Batman film, it’s a legitimately great crime film in its own right… hell, it’s a legitimately great film, full stop. More of an ensemble piece than a hero-driven adventure, the plot spirals between Batman, the Joker, James Gordon, and Harvey Dent. By continuously escalating the complexity of the story and moving multiple chess pieces around, Nolan pushes the audience’s concentration further than he did in The Prestige without yet reaching Inception levels. It’s one awesome scene after another, with even minor characters given a chance to shine – and while Heath Ledger steals the show as a terrifying Joker, the fact is that all the performances are top-notch (despite Christian Bale’s infamous gravely Batman-voice).’ I’m going with Snatch here because it’s also a clever, frantic saga of offbeat criminals – albeit in London. In the most hyped up of the post-Tarantino dark comedies (sorry, Go), Guy Ritchie basically takes the same elements as Nolan (gangsters, psychos, ultra-intricate narrative around a rich ensemble cast with amazing performances) and stylishly ramps them up to the point of sheer hilarity.
Inception (2010)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
With Inception, Nolan crafted both a tense labyrinthic yarn (involving a string of heists in dreams within dreams) and innovative, stimulating visuals to go with it, wrapping up the whole package with poignant characterization and an unforgettable closing shot. In many ways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind plays a similar game, offering another non-linear sci-fi tale that visualizes the multi-layered interiors of the human mind, albeit blended with a different genre: instead of a spy thriller, we get a twisted romcom. The result isn’t as madcap as previous comedies on this list (hell, at times it’s downright melancholic), but the more the film unfolds, the more the parallels branch into quirkier and amusing directions… And the ending, I’d argue, is even more powerful.
A tribute to the classic The Brave and the Bold, one of the greatest pulp adventure comics of all time…
A reminder that the pulpy covers of 1940s-50s’ Jungle Comics could look awesome:
