Batman 80-Page Giant #3
By popular demand, I’ve decided to embark on another Batman comics reading guide, now focusing on the first decade of the 21st century. Since I’ve previously covered the late 1980s and the 1990s, by the time this new guide is over, readers will have a fairly extensive map of my ideal reading order for Gotham City-related adventures set in the continuity that followed 1986’s Crisis on Infinite Earths and came to an end around 2011’s Flashpoint.
One day, I’ll revise the whole thing into a streamlined format, taking into account the questions, suggestions, and corrections folks have made in the comments section while adding further guest spots in other series (and probably expanding the scope to include the Titans corner of the DCU, where Dick Grayson is a major player). In the meantime, for the record, here are the previous guides to this post-Crisis continuity:
- ‘Year One’ stories retconning the origins of Batman’s cast can be found here (and some cool alternative versions here)
- The late ‘80s ‘dark era,’ including post-Crisis Jason Todd’s stint as Robin, can also be found here (further down).
- Comics cover-dated 1990-1992, including Tim Drake’s debut as Robin, can be found here.
- The lead-up to and payoff of the Knighfall epic can be found here.
- The tightly interconnected comics from the mid-90s (including Gotham City’s epidemic crossovers Contagion and Legacy) can be found here and here.
- The earthquake crossover Cataclysm and its aftermath can be found here (with an addendum at the end of this post).
- The quasi-apocalyptic mega-event No Man’s Land (where Gotham is basically lawless for a year) can be found here.
So, the guide below picks up right after the end of No Man’s Land, which wrapped up in Shadow of the Bat #94, set on New Year’s Eve (but cover-dated February 2000). Before jumping in, though, let me do some housecleaning:
-I didn’t include Birds of Prey #9-14 (collected in Birds of Prey, v2 and v3) in the No Man’s Land readings because these issues don’t tie directly into that event (they mostly follow Black Canary on missions all over the world, under Oracle’s supervision), but they are well worth tracking down – not only for completeness sake (they set up plot threads that carry over into the issues below), but also because they’re quite nifty!
-Likewise, that guide didn’t include JLA #34 (collected in JLA, v6: World War III and in JLA: The Deluxe Edition, v4), but it is a necessary prelude to ‘World War III.’ In fact, there are a bunch of JLA specials and spin-offs I didn’t put in previous guides, since, despite Batman’s regular presence, that’s a large family of titles which often feels quite separate from the Gotham-centric stories. Here, once again, I’m sticking to JLA comics that are directly relevant to the Gotham series or where the Caped Crusader and his supporting cast play a prominent role (although I may reconsider this limitation in the future).
-For similar reasons, I mostly stayed clear of Peter David’s and Todd Nauck’s humorous teen team book Young Justice, even though Robin is a key cast member (and even though issue #8, guest-written by Chuck Dixon, features the Psyba-Rats!), but I’m bringing it in now because other Gothamites keep showing up. You can find the previous issues (including the prelude World Without Grown-Ups and other crossovers) in the first couple of volumes collecting Young Justice.
-The same goes for The Titans, a team book that includes Nightwing and was initially written by Devin Grayson (who was all over the Bat books at this time). I believe issues #1-13 remain uncollected.
–Hitman completists may also wish to check out the short story ‘How to Be a Super-Hero!,’ from Superman 80-Page Giant #1 (collected in Hitman, v7: Closing Time).
-Finally, hardcore purists will place greater weight than me on the Batsuit’s changes. The Dark Knight upgraded his costume right after NML, losing the yellow oval, but he still shows up in the old suit in some of the comics below, which I have no trouble ignoring (hell, I’m sure Batman goes through suits at a quick rate, so maybe every once in a while he has to dust off an old one).
NML AFTERMATH [A handful of issues dealing with the immediate fallout from No Man’s Land…]
Azrael, Agent of the Bat #62: ‘The First Day of the Rest of Your Life’ [Set on New Year’s Day of the year 2000, immediately after Shadow of the Bat #94.]
Azrael, Agent of the Bat #63: ‘The Quakists’
Azrael, Agent of the Bat #64: ‘Fugitive’
Azrael, Agent of the Bat #65: ‘The Witness’
Hitman/Lobo: ‘That Stupid Bastich’ (collected in Hitman, v7: Closing Time and Legends of the DC Universe: Doug Mahnke)
Hitman #47-50: ‘The Old Dog’ (collected in Hitman, v6: For Tomorrow)
Hitman #51-52: ‘Super Guy’ (collected in Hitman, v7: Closing Time) [Tommy Monaghan reads about the end of No Man’s Land in the newspaper, at the end, but these Hitman tales look and feel quite post-NML, so I leave it up to you to decide if they take place just before or just after the end of that event.]
Detective Comics #742: ‘The Honored Dead’ (collected in Batman: New Gotham, v1 and in Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman) [Establishes the new status quo of the GCPD and of Gotham’s organized crime.]
Gotham City Secret Files & Origins [Most stories and additional material deal with the city’s transition into a new status quo. If you want to avoid spoilers, make sure you ignore the individual ‘Profile’ pages.]
The Batman Chronicles #22: ‘Pay the Ferryman/Cry, Uncle/Daughter of the Demon’ [In the middle story, Stephanie Brown goes out as Spoiler for the first time since her baby was born.]
Robin (v4) #74: ‘The worse is yet to come’ [Sets up Tim Drake’s new status quo, stuck in a boarding school.]
Robin (v4) #75: ‘Trashed’
Robin (v4) #76: ‘Wings Over Brentwood’ [Tim meets Jason Bard, so this comes before ‘The Hunt for Oracle.’]
Robin (v4) #77: ‘Dark is the Night’
The Batman Chronicles #20: ‘Whippersnappers of Mass Destruction/Photo Finish/The Rage of Angels’ [Tim is still getting adjusted to his new look.]
JLA #36-41: ‘World War III’ (collected in JLA, v6: World War III and in JLA: The Deluxe Edition, v4) [The culmination of Grant Morrison’s groundbreaking JLA run, after years of buildup, with plenty of Batman, Oracle, and Huntress (and even a few Hitman cameos).]
Young Justice #15: ‘Unstrung’(collected in Young Justice, v2)
Young Justice #16: ‘Aftermath’(collected in Young Justice, v2)
Young Justice #17: ‘Stuff Blows Up’(collected in Young Justice, v2)
Young Justice #18: ‘Revolting Developments’ (collected in Young Justice, v3)
Young Justice #19: ‘Banned, On the Run’ (collected in Young Justice, v3)
Young Justice: Sins of Youth #1: ‘Justice for All’(collected in Young Justice, v3)
Young Justice: Sins of Youth Secret Files & Origins (collected in Young Justice, v3)
Sins of Youth: JLA, Jr. (collected in Young Justice, v3)
Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin (collected in Young Justice, v3)
Young Justice: Sins of Youth #2: ‘The Stunning Conclusion’(collected in Young Justice, v3)
Young Justice #20: ‘Time Out’(collected in Young Justice, v4)
Young Justice #21: ‘Young, Just Us Too’(collected in Young Justice, v4)
Young Justice #22: ‘Father’s Day/Stakeout/Other Interests/…The Best Intentions!’(collected in Young Justice, v4)
The Titans #14: ‘Chain of Command’
The Titans #15-16: ‘Survival’
The Titans #17: ‘Striking Back’
The Titans #18: ‘Prisoners of War’
The Titans #19: ‘The Price of Victory’
The Titans #20: ‘Transitions’
Nightwing (v2) #40: ‘The Devil Dies At Dawn’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle) [A neat homage to old-school pulp magazines, like those featuring The Spider… Not really linked to NML, but I’m placing it here because it precedes the interconnected stories below.]
THE HUNT FOR ORACLE [The series written by Chuck Dixon had such tight cross-continuity – with subplots carrying over back and forth – that he basically carved out his own corner of the DC universe… This reached a crescendo during a stretch of Birds of Prey and Nightwing issues that jointly paid off storylines Dixon had been developing for years.]
Birds of Prey #15: ‘Facetime’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3)
Action Comics #765: ‘A Clown Comes to Metropolis’ (collected in Superman: ‘Til Death Do Us Part and Superman: The City of Tomorrow, v2) [Although not written by Dixon, this Joker tale definitely belongs between Birds of Prey #15 and #16.]
Birds of Prey #16: ‘The Joker’s Tale’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3)
Birds of Prey #17: ‘Nuclear Roulette’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3) [The Joker becomes such a danger to world peace that, by the end, he is sent to the Slab, a metahuman prison (instead of Arkham Asylum).]
Nightwing (v2) #41: ‘Hero of the City’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle) [Greg Land replaces Scott McDaniel on art, drastically changing the aesthetics to gritty photorealism. Suitably, the series also begins to lean more into hardboiled crime fiction, as Dick Grayson joins Blüdhaven’s corrupt police force…]
Nightwing (v2) #42: ‘Tonight’s the Nite’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Nightwing (v2) #43: ‘Improper Angles’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Birds of Prey #18: ‘The Hateful’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3)
Nightwing (v2) #44: ‘The Stalkers’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Birds of Prey #19: ‘Masks’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3)
Nightwing (v2) #45: ‘The Hunt for Oracle, part 1: To the Slaughter’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Birds of Prey #20: ‘The Hunt for Oracle, part 2: The Noose!’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3 and in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Nightwing (v2) #46: ‘The Hunt for Oracle, part 3: The Dying Hours’ (collected in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Birds of Prey #21: ‘The Hunt for Oracle, part 4: The Deep’ (collected in Birds of Prey, v3 and in Nightwing, v5: The Hunt for Oracle)
Birds of Prey #22-24: ‘The Hostage Heart’
Birds of Prey #25: ‘Old Habits’
Nightwing (v2) #47: ‘The Quarry’ (collected in Nightwing, v6: Big Guns and in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect)
Nightwing (v2) #48-49: ‘The Sylph’ (collected in Nightwing, v6: Big Guns and in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect)
Nightwing (v2) #50: ‘Big Guns’ (collected in Nightwing, v6: Big Guns and in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect)
NEW GOTHAM [Following a bible carefully prepared by group editor Dennis O’Neil and creative art director Mark Chiarello, the various comics have a fairly coherent approach to the newly reconstructed Gotham City. Their storylines remain largely independent, so the series can be read separately, although they cumulatively create this great sense of world-building, from the shady workings of City Hall (now under Mayor Daniel Dickerson) to the tensions between the citizens who deserted Gotham during No Man’s Land (‘Deezees’) and those who stayed behind during the whole ordeal (‘Original Gothamites,’ or OGs). Since all these runs take place more or less at the same time, in theory you can read many of them however you choose – the order below is my personal preference, with some minor justifications between brackets.]
Detective Comics #743-749 (collected in Batman: Evolution and in Batman: New Gotham, v1) [This is the series I’d start with, as it lays the blueprint for many of the others. The standalone #747 is a key issue in the larger arc of Detective Renee Montoya (it will pay off years later, in Gotham Central). Greg Rucka’s noirish police-procedural scripts and Shawn Martinbrough’s highly stylized pencils, with monochrome colors, appear to target a slightly older audience.]
Batman #575-581 [Scott McDaniel moves from Nightwing to Batman, which becomes a cartoony counterpoint to the more mature Detective Comics and Gotham Knights. Writer Larry Hama sticks to this mandate, but unfortunately his run isn’t very inspired… #575 introduces the villain Banner.]
Catwoman (v2) #78-88 [Bronwyn Carlton takes over as writer, showing us Catwoman rebuilding her life in Gotham, which is still under reconstruction. Banner reappears in issue #85. Since #87 is a fill-in that doesn’t fit in the middle of this extended story arc very neatly, I suggest reading it after #88 (i.e. reversing the order). The last panel of #88 features the taunting blurb: ‘Next: Batman Dies!!!’ For more on that, see a couple of sections below.]
Azrael, Agent of the Bat #66-69 [Having abandoned his Azrael persona for a month, Jean Paul Valley agrees to get back in his costume later in this arc. By the end, he is not fully committed to returning to his old ways, but I suppose it makes sense to read this before Gotham Knights #5, where he once again shows up in full costume (presumably a brief exception he opened at some point, as a favor to Oracle).]
Batman: Gotham Knights #1-11 (collected in Gotham Knights: Transference) [Although they’re mostly one-and-done tales, Devin Grayson wrote the early issues of Gotham Knights with a strong unifying device (their narration taken from mysterious files), so reading them in one go has a stronger effect. #5 features the return of the version of the villain known as The Key, introduced in JLA #6-8 (where Batman previously fought him). I’m not annotating the (often brilliant) black & white back-ups, which are not strictly tied to current continuity, but they’re highly recommended.]
Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1-6 (collected in Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood and in Birds of Prey: Huntress [Rucka retcons some of the Huntress’ backstory. Her initial conversation with Nightwing sounds like the first time they’re talking since NML.]
Batgirl #1-11 (collected in Batgirl, v1: Silent Knight and, previously in the two Batgirl volumes titled Silent Running and A Knight Alone) [Cassandra Cain learns how to be Batgirl under Oracle’s and Batman’s guidance. Visually, this series isn’t far from Batman, but it has more of a teen angst vibe.]
Robin (v4) #78-81 [Set during school term.]
Batman 80-Page Giant #3 [Calendar Man is released from prison in March 2000 and quickly loses his mind because he missed the chance to commemorate the transition into a new calendar era with a terror attack (as you do…). The climax takes place in the summer.]
Robin 80-Page Giant #1 [Set in the summer.]
Young Justice #23-30: (collected in Young Justice, v4) [Issues #23-25 take place in the Olympic Games (in Australia), so in September 2000.]
JLA: Earth 2 [Bill Clinton is still president.]
Nightwing 80-Page Giant #1 (collected in Nightwing, v6: Big Guns and in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect)
Hitman #53-60 (collected in Hitman, v7: Closing Time) [The events of NML took place in the ‘previous year,’ which just means this story takes place sometime in 2000. I guess this is as good a place as any to read it.]
The Titans #21-25
Harley Quinn #1-4 (collected in Harley Quinn: Preludes & Knock-Knock Jokes and in Harley Quinn by Karl Kesel and Terry Dodson: The Deluxe Edition, v1) [Issue #1 seems to kick off with the Joker back in Arkham, which I’m attributing to the fact that some of this series may be reflecting Harley Quinn’s distorted recollections (and not just lack of coordination with editor Matt Idelson). That said, issue #3 is explicitly set not only after the events of Catwoman #84 (to which it alludes), but also after Lex Luthor’s election as president of the USA (in November 2000).]
TOWER OF BABEL (& AFTERMATH) [Mark Waid takes over the writing of JLA, keeping a similar vibe to Morrison’s. His run (which is worth reading in one go, since it’s quite fluid) includes the classic arc ‘Tower of Babel,’ where Batman gets expelled from the team.]
JLA #43: ‘Tower of Babel, part 1: Survival of the Fittest’ (collected in JLA: Tower of Babel) [I skipped #42 because it’s a fill-in that doesn’t include any of Gotham’s cast (although it is an awesome issue).]
JLA #44: ‘Tower of Babel, part 2: Seven Little Indians’ (collected in JLA: Tower of Babel)
JLA Secret Files & Origins #3: ‘Blame/The Advance Man’ [‘Blame’ shows some of the background of ‘Tower of Babel.’ Obviously, this tale can be read later, as a flashback, but I think it works better if you still don’t know exactly how things will turn out. The second main story introduces the Advance Man.]
JLA #45: ‘Tower of Babel, part 3: Protected by the Cold’ (collected in JLA: Tower of Babel)
JLA #46: ‘Tower of Babel, part 4: Harsh Worlds’ (collected in JLA: Tower of Babel)
Detective Comics #750: ‘Dependence’ (collected in Batman; Evolution, in Batman: New Gotham, v1, and in Batman Arkham: Ra’s al Ghul) [Set in the aftermath of ‘Tower of Babel.’]
JLA #47: ‘Into the Woods’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall) [The team is still arguing over Batman’s expulsion.]
JLA #48: ‘Truth is Stranger’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall) [Batman cameo]
JLA #49: ‘Unhappily Ever After’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall)
JLA #50: ‘Dream Team’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall) [Batman rejoins the team.]
JLA #51: ‘Man and Superman’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall)
JLA #52: ‘Element of Surprise’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall)
JLA #53: ‘It Takes a Thief’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall) [Alfred is still working for Bruce.]
JLA #54: ‘United We Fall’ (collected in JLA: Divided We Fall)
JLA #55-58: ‘Terror Incognita’ (collected in JLA: Terror Incognita)
Action Comics #772-773: ‘Kith and Kin’ [Talia al Ghul, now estranged from her father, becomes the head of Lexcorp while Lex Luthor is POTUS.]
Justice Leagues: JL? [The Advance Man makes the entire world forget the JLA in this very fun, narratively experimental – and shamefully uncollected – mini-series.]
Justice Leagues: Justice League of Amazons
Justice Leagues: Justice League of Atlantis
Justice Leagues: Justice League of Arkham
Justice Leagues: Justice League of Aliens
Justice Leagues: JLA
LOOSE CONTINUITY [Scattered comics that came out in the early 2000s without a clear time stamp, but which mostly seem to take place before Sasha Bordeaux joined the cast and/or before Officer Down. They can be read in any sequence, so I’m listing them in the general order they came out.]
Batgirl Annual #1: ‘Introducing: Aruna!/The Origin of Aruna Shende’ (collected in Batgirl, v1: Silent Knight)
JLA Annual #4: ‘On Call/Ruins’[Includes a particularly memorable use of Batman’s name…]
Batman Annual #24: ‘Lost Boys/Slightly Berserk’
Batman: Outlaws #1-3
The Batman Chronicles #23: ‘The Bomb, the Bull, the Butler & the Bat/Automotive/The Mimic’ [One of the handful of instances where you have to disregard the yellow oval in the Batsuit, although by definition this anthology generally deals with tales scattered across time, so you can also place these before the costume change. For example, the third story may be set before the Birds of Prey ongoing series (i.e. before Jason Bard’s temporary blindness).]
Batman: Gotham Knights #12: ‘Damages’ (collected in Gotham Knights: Transference)
Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire #1-3 (collected in Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire)
JLA: Welcome to the Working Week [James Gordon is police commissioner. Lex Luthor is POTUS.]
Detective Comics #787: ‘Mimsy Were the Borogoves’ (collected in Batman: False Faces and in Batman by Brian K. Vaughan)
Legends of the Dark Knight #168: ‘Urban Legend’ (collected in Batman: Under the Cowl)
JLA Classified #10-15: ‘New Maps of Hell’ [Also set during Lex Luthor’s presidency, with Kyle Rayner still as the team’s Green Lantern.]
Batman Confidential #26-28: ‘A New Dawn’
Legends of the Dark Knight (v2) #63-65: ‘Elements of Crime’
LEAD-UP TO BATMAN DIES!!! [In late 2000 (i.e. in the issues cover-dated January 2001), DC’s marketing threatened Batman was about to die. It’s fun to see this convergence, so I’ve clustered the various stories leading up to it…]
Batman: Turning Points #1-5 (collected in Batman: Turning Points)[Five tales about the friendship between Batman and James Gordon, set at different moments in time, from the ‘Year One’ era to the ‘New Gotham’ era. Not explicitly part of the Batman dies!!! campaign, but it came out at the same time and I remember reading this back then and suspecting something tragic was in store for one of these two characters, so I’m placing it within the general build-up.]
Batman #582-583: ‘Fearless’ (collected in Batman by Ed Brubaker) [Ed Brubaker takes over as writer. His first story sets up a feud between Batman and the Penguin that will pay off in Batman Dies!!!.]
Batman #584: ‘The Dark Knight Project’ (collected in Batman by Ed Brubaker)
Detective Comics #751-752: ‘A Walk in the Park’ (collected in Batman: New Gotham, v1) [Sasha Bordeaux becomes Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard. A blurb in the letters page announces the upcoming Batman Dies!!! event.]
Batman #585: ‘Measure for Measure’ (collected in Batman by Ed Brubaker) [Sasha is already on the job. The last panel’s blurb reads ‘Next issue: Batman Dies!’]
Robin (v4) #82: ‘The New Kid’
Robin (v4) #83: ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’
Robin (v4) #84: ‘Unfathomable’ [Last panel blurb: ‘Next: Batman Dies!!! (And Robin, Too!)’]
Nightwing (v2) #51: ‘Tad’ (collected in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect) [A blurb in the letters page announces the upcoming ‘Batman Dies!!!’ event. Curiously, this issue already reads like just the sort of one-shot that will make up the event…]
BATMAN DIES!!! [Not so much an event as a non-event… A bunch of unconnected issues spotlight villains who *wished* Batman died.]
Batman #586: ‘Penguin Dreams’ (collected in Batman by Ed Brubaker)
Robin (v4) #85: ‘Fool’s Errand’
Nightwing (v2) #52: ‘Modern Romance’ (collected in Nightwing, v6: To Serve and Protect and in The Strange Deaths of Batman)
Detective Comics #753: ‘The Janus Double-Down’ (collected in Batman: New Gotham, v1)
Catwoman (v2) #89: ‘Always Leave ’em Laughing’
Birds of Prey #26: ‘The Suitor’ [Someone forgot to tell Chuck Dixon that Talia is no longer working for her father, although I suppose the final scene is ambiguous enough for us to accept she has a side project besides running Lexcorp…]
OFFICER DOWN [A crossover connecting most Batman-related titles (which shifted creative teams for a month) with long-term consequences, most notably the removal of James Gordon as police commissioner and of Alfred Pennyworth as Bruce Wayne’s butler. Their (sort of) exits evoke Dennis O’Neil’s own retirement as group editor. Azrael shows up in costume. Except for the Batgirl tie-in, they’re all collected in the Batman: Officer Down paperback.]
Batman #587: ‘These are your rights’
Batgirl #12: ‘Mute Witness’
Robin (v4) #86: ‘Behind the lines’
Birds of Prey #27: ‘Armed and Dangerous’
Catwoman (v2) #90: ‘Smoking Gun’
Nightwing (v2) #53: ‘Inculpatory’
Detective Comics #754: ‘Monster in a Box’
Batman: Gotham Knights #13: ‘The End’
Just wanted to say thank you so much for continuing this series! I read most of the late 90s into the 2000s era while growing up and it’s been great to reread with such a comprehensive reading order. Super appreciate all the hard work you’ve gone through to put this together.
Thank you, that’s great to know! After a hiatus, I hope to post the next instalment later this month…