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Batman New 52 Reading Order, from The Court of Owls to the end of the DC You

With New 52, a new era began in the DC Universe (and we have a full reading order of this era). For some heroes, it was a complete reboot. For others, it was not totally the case, like with the famous dark knight. When Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo took over creative duties on Batman’s main series, they didn’t start over from scratch, picking up in a way where the post-crisis era ended. Yet, they offered Bruce Wayne a revised backstory as they built a new mythology around Gotham City.

Snyder and Capullo were not the only authors working on Batman. In fact, there are multiple series: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison, Batman and Robin by Tomasi and Gleason, Batman Eternal and Batman & Robin Eternal, and Batman: The Dark Knight.

What to read before Batman New 52?

The DC Universe rebooted as the New 52 after the Flashpoint event. Therefore, you could take a look at it before reading anything else. Also, even if New 52 was a new entry point, Batman’s story was not fully rebooted and a few stories began before Flashpoint. You’ll need to take a look at Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated volume 1 before jumping into volume 2 and Batman and Robin by Tomasi, but also at Batman: Gates of Gotham written by Scott Snyder that leads into his run. Also, if you want more, take a look at our Batman: The Modern Age reading order.

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Batman New 52 Comics Reading Order:

All the Batman Omnibus of the New 52 era

Not all Batman series from the New 52 era are available in Omnibus, but the most important runs have been collected in this format:

  • Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Omnibus Vol. 1
    This is the first of two omnibus collecting Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman. This volume collects The Court of Owls storylines and Year Zero, from Batman #0-33, #23.2 and Batman Annual #1-2. Only Batman issues.
  • Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Omnibus Vol. 2
    This second volume collects Batman #34-52; Detective Comics #27; Batman Annual #3-4; Batman: Futures End #1; DC Sneak Peek: Batman #1; Detective Comics #1000 and Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1-3.
  • Batman & Robin by Tomasi & Gleason Omnibus
    Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Duo. The Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder. Father and son. This is the omnibus collecting Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s run. This volume collects Batman & Robin #20-22, Batman & Robin #0-40 From The New 52 Series, Batman & Robin Annual #1-3, Robin Rises: Omega #1, Robin Rises: Alpha #1 and a story from Secret Origins #4.
  • Batman Eternal Omnibus (2023 Edition)
    Collects Batman Eternal issues #1-52 and Batman #28.
  • Batman & Robin Eternal Omnibus
    Collects Batman & Robin Eternal #1-26 and Batman: Endgame Special Edition #1.

Your Classic Batman New 52 reading Order, Paperback Edition

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Batman: The Night of the Owls – Collects all of the tie-ins. Most of them take place after Batman #8, but some will spoil the ending. Better to read the book after. For more info, go see our full reading order of the event.
Collects Batman #8-9, Batman Annual #1, Detective Comics #9, Batman: The Dark Knight #9, Batwing #9, Batman and Robin #9, Red Hood and the Outlaws #9, Birds of Prey #9, Batgirl #9, Nightwing #8-9, and All-Star Western #9.

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Joker Batman New 52 Reading OrderWhat’s coming next is another event called Death of the Family. You can read here the full Death of the Family Reading Order.

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The Riddler Batman New 52 Reading OrderZero Year is a prequel storyline (read the full Batman: Zero Year Reading Order) that was published after the Death of the Family storyline. The story takes place a few years before The Court of Owls. You can read it here or at another moment before. As usual, the trade collecting the tie-ins put together all of the issues, whatever their order. Some contain spoilers, it’s preferable to read it after, but if it doesn’t bother you, you can read it before Dark City.

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Batman Icon Reading OrderAs part of the 75th-anniversary celebration of Batman, Batman Eternal was introduced as a year-long weekly limited series written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, and Tim Seeley.

Joker Batman New 52 Reading OrderThis is time for Endgame, the follow-up to Death of the Family. You can read here the full Endgame Reading Order.

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Batman Icon Reading OrderDC You: Technically, the New 52 era ends here with the beginning of the DC You one. Spinning out of the Convergence event (more info in the Reading Order), the DC You was a new direction that was about putting “story over continuity,” a way to allow more freedom in the storytelling. It was not a full-blown reboot. Many notable characters also underwent status quo changes.

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After Batman New 52/DC You

This is the end of another era. Now, it’s time for Rebirth with Tom King taking over creative duties on Batman’s main series.

If you want to explore a lot more of Batman’s adventures, we got you covered, just follow the guides:

We also wrote reading orders for Nightwing, Jason Todd/Red Hood, Cassandra Cain/Batgirl, Damian Wayne, Azrael, and Catwoman. More to come.

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