DC Comics has made Batman the centerpiece in their long history of comic book adventures through more than 80 years of fantastic stories set in Gotham. Bruce Wayne has become the favorite of many comic book readers. However, not everyone is a fan of the Caped Crusader, whether they simply don't read his books or have no real interest.
DC has cultivated a slew of stories that can appeal to readers who wouldn't be traditional Batman fans, rather people who need something a little different to get interested. Whether its genre-bending miniseries or hassle-free ongoing comics, there are plenty of great starting points for a new Batman fan. Everything from crossovers to Elseworlds can make good entry points for someone who doesn't even consider themselves a Batman fan.
10 The Last Knight On Earth
Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
The Last Knight on Earth feels like Batman's version of Old Man Logan. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the story followed Bruce Wayne after he woke up seemingly in Arkham Asylum as a patient. After he realized he was a clone of the original Bruce, Batman set off on a journey to find out how the world fell.
The Last Knight on Earth was a follow-up to a New 52 story in Detective Comics #27, which explored the idea of Batman using clones to keep his mantle alive. However, no prior reading is really required beyond a basic understanding of DC characters and an appreciation of apocalyptic stories.
9 Batman/Hellboy/Starman
James Robinson & Mike Mignola
Despite being included in the main story, Batman/Hellboy/Starman lends much more focus to the latter two heroes than it does the Caped Crusader himself. The story follows the trio of heroes who find themselves at the heart of a mystical Nazi plot when the original Starman, Ted Knight, is abducted by the magical fascists.
Batman/Hellboy/Starman focused on three of the biggest and best heroes of the 1990s, and is as much a great story for fans of Hellboy and Starman as Batman. Even for those unfamiliar with DC altogether, it's more than pleasing for fans of genres like cosmic horror, dark adventure and old school science fiction.
8 The Killing Joke
Alan Moore & Brian Bolland
The Killing Joke has been the jumping-on point for countless Batman fans since 1988. In fact, even Tim Burton -- who directed the 1989 Batman movie -- has stated that Moore's comic was the first comic book he ever loved. This is no surprise considering how Moore and Burton's styles overlap.
The Killing Joke can be summed up as the comic that tells of the worst day in Batman's life, as Joker attacks his friends and brings the hero's world crashing down. It's better off in the hands of mature readers, and the story has been known to turn non-Batman fans into lifelong readers.
7 Batman & Spawn Trilogy
Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, Greg Capullo, Klaus Janson, Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon & Alan Grant
Batman and Spawn made for a great team-up from the start, with their first crossover in 1992's Spawn/Batman. Here, the two heroes combined forces to take on an evil corporation that was converting the homeless into cyborgs to do their own evil bidding.
Spawn and Batman had their greatest shared adventure in the "War Devil" story, which explored a classic American mystery in the Roanoke disappearance. Rather than explore a rational explanation, the story instead had demons and monsters play a role, with the heroes racing to save Gotham from the same fate.
6 Flashpoint & Flashpoint Beyond
Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams & Xermanico
Flashpoint Beyond is a Batman story for people who love Watchmen. Flashpoint Beyond is an incredible, encompassing sequel to the original Flashpoint, Tom King's Batman Rebirth run, Watchmen and Geoff Johns' Doomsday Clock. The exploration of the Flashpoint timeline presented the original grimdark tone of Moore's story, with the same bleak, on-edge pessimistic tone and ultraviolent characters in play. Thomas Wayne is moreso a Batman for Punisher fans.
Flashpoint Beyond sent Thomas Wayne's Batman on a mission to undo his timeline and solve the mystery of the Clockwork Killer. Non-Bruce Wayne fans can appreciate Thomas Wayne's version in another DC world. Flashpoint Beyond offers so much variety and brilliant twists.
5 Legends Of The Dark Knight
Dennis O'Neil, Grant Morrison, Ed Hannigan, John Beatty, Klaus Janson & More
Comic book fans like the freedom to enjoy a long run without too many events taking over the series. In this, Legends of the Dark Knight is basically the perfect Batman ongoing series as it moves from self-contained arc to self-contained arc.
Legends of the Dark Knight prioritized story and creator freedom over being fixed to canon, and writers were given the ability to reimagine various aspects of the hero. Stories like "Shaman," "Venom" and "Terror" could all make for great introductions to the hero and help new readers build their first big collection.
4 Batman: The Cult
Jim Starlin & Bernie Wrightson
The aptly named Batman: The Cult has garnered a reputation for being one of the greatest yet woefully unappreciated Batman comics of all time. The story followed Batman's battle with the cult of Deacon Blackfire, who led his band of homeless fanatics and even brainwashed The Dark Knight himself.
Batman: The Cult delved into psychological horror and thriller territory, feeling some a mixture of an M. Night Shyamalan movie and Dirty Harry. Fans don't need much in the way of existing Batman knowledge and can take the excellent dark detective story at face value.
3 Batman Versus Predator Trilogy
Dave Gibbons, Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Paul Gulacy, Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, Terry Austin, Rodolfo Damaggio & Robert Campanella
One of the best ways a company can introduce readers to one of their characters is to cross them over with a popular fixture of cinema. Batman versus Predator is perhaps the best example of two legendary pop culture characters clashing in the ultimate action-packed grudge match.
Batman and Predator's fight spanned three different miniseries, and saw the Yautja defeat Batman early on, proving he wasn't quite the unbeatable character other stories make him out to be. Of course, the hero didn't stay down. The trilogy has no expectations of readers to have a deep understanding of lore, and is as much for Predator fans as it is Batman fans.
2 Batman/Judge Dredd Collection
Alan Grant, John Wagner, Chuck Dixon, Carl Critchlow, Simon Bisley, Cam Kennedy & Glenn Fabry
Each Batman/Judge Dredd collection's creative team was afforded a great deal of stylistic freedom. Whether it was the painted art style of Simon Bisley or the darker writing of Alan Grant and John Wagner, the stories were anything but standard fare for Batman.
Batman and Judge Dredd made for a brilliant team-up, arguably the Caped Crusader's greatest intercompany crossover in stories much more suited to Dredd than Bruce Wayne. All told, these comics represent the peak of the edgier style of gritty '90s comics, and reimagine Batman as a much darker antihero than usual.
1 The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller & Klaus Janson
The value of The Dark Knight Returns for mainstream or "uninitiated" Batman isn't really debated, since it is basically the most successful Batman story. Created by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson, a retired Batman dons the cape and cowl again to save his city from the criminal gang, the Mutants.
Interestingly, many Batman readers themselves have something of a love/hate relationship with The Dark Knight Returns. Frank Miller's style has always had its critics, but the results speak for themselves: The dark, gritty, future take on the Dark Knight and his war on crime pulls in new fans and gets them hooked on Batman.