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Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order

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Created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, The Court of Owls first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #2 in 2011, at the start of the New 52 era. Previously, the Owls were not part of the DC Universe, but Snyder provided hints about the organisation in his earlier Batman work, Batman: Gates of Gotham.

The shadowy Court of Owls is an organised crime group and secret society made up of wealthy Gothamites. It has existed in Gotham City since colonial times. For a very long time, the Court was just an urban legend, until Batman discovered one of their secret base of operations. There, he found a series of old photographs of the Court’s members with one of their assassins, the Talon (William Cobb), an undead, reanimated killer. The Court kidnaps child circus performers to train and transform them into assassins known as Talons.

The Court of Owls is composed of some of Gotham City’s oldest and wealthiest families. It has controlled Gotham City for centuries, wielding political influence throughout history through murder and money. They revealed themselves to Batman when they decided to send their killer after Bruce Wayne, who had announced plans to rebuild and reshape Gotham City for the future.

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Upcoming Batman Comics, The Release Schedule (July-December 2025)

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Fighting crime in Gotham City is a full-time job — one that Batman has been doing for the past 85 years, and he’s not slowing down! As one of the most popular DC Comics heroes, the Caped Crusader always stars in many series, from his adventures in the main continuity to the Absolute version and other stories set in different realities.

DC Comics releases many books featuring the Dark Knight every year, in different formats, and it can sometimes be hard to keep track of when a book is coming out, whether it’s the latest omnibus, a new edition of an old series, a reprint, or the latest volume in a new collection.

To help you keep track of what Batman is up to, we have compiled a list of what’s coming in the second half of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. Don’t forget to check out our Batman guide to find out where each story fits into his timeline.

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Batman and Superman: A Reading Guide to DC’s Finest Team-Ups

Batman is one of the smartest superheroes in the DC Universe, while Superman is one of the most powerful. Together, they make up the World’s Finest team! 

Their friendship is one of the most enduring and iconic in comic books. These are two men with very different approaches to crime-fighting who have learned to respect and admire each other. They’ve faced many hardships, challenges, and conflicts together. While they don’t always agree and have had their share of fights, their partnership has stood the test of time and their victories and team-ups are legendary.

Batman and Superman’s relationship dates back to the Golden Age, where their Earth-Two counterparts were honorary members of the JSA, though they weren’t present in the title, to busy living many adventures in the pages of their solo titles at the time. It wasn’t until the Silver Age that their partnership truly took off, beginning with World’s Finest Comics #71 and continuing nearly uninterrupted until the series ended with issue #323.

More than 70 years later, the two heroes still work regularly together—whether it’s for a single issue, a complete storyline, a major comic book event, or as co-leads in an ongoing comic series.

If you’re curious about Superman and Batman’s friendship but don’t know where to start and what to read, this reading guide is here to help you read about one of the best team-ups in the comic book universe!

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Clayface Explained: The Many Faces of Batman’s muddiest Rogue

It may not be surprising that a character made of clay has been reshaped multiple times. In the world of DC Comics (and superhero comics in general), legacy characters are now pretty common, but few have passed the baton–or the moniker–as much as Clayface. Known for being one of Batman’s Rogues Gallery members, this adversary is undoubtedly not a simple villain but “multiple.”

From actor Basil Karlo to firefighter Johnny Williams, the Clayface name is rooted in horror and tragedy, with each version bringing something different and reshaping the character’s relationship with the Caped Crusader.

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Comic Book News of The Week: Grant Morrison returns to Batman and More

What’s going on in the Comic Book World? Life can be pretty busy, so we highlight recent news and articles that may catch your interest in our fifth edition of Comic Book News.

A week ago, Grant Morrison appeared on the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast to discuss All-Star Superman and other Man of Steel topics. But what made waves wasn’t the praise for Alex Ross’s Peace on Earth or the reveal that Superman Beyond is a personal favorite. It was the unexpected announcement that Morrison is working on a new Batman project.

As Morrison explained: “I just actually took on a job that I wasn’t expecting because I don’t need to do these things anymore, and I only do them for something interesting. It’s not Superman but it’s a Batman thing. I didn’t ever think I’d go back, but if someone comes to me with something good, and it just strikes a spark and it starts a fire, then of course I’ll do it. I’m not writing it off.”

While there are no more details, this was enough to spark excitement!

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Batman By Grant Morrison Reading Order

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Grant Morrison’s 7-year long run on Batman remains one of the most celebrated, influential, and divisive takes on the Caped Crusader. It all started in 2005 when editor Peter Tomasi approached  Morrison about writing the monthly Batman comic. As Morrison later explained, he thought at the time he had “said most of what had to say about the character with Arkham Asylum, Gothic, and Batman’s appearances in JLA. Clearly, I was wrong.” (Batman Incorporated Special #1, October 2013).

Morrison’s work on Batman started at the end of the Modern Age and concluded at the start of New 52. His approach—treating the entire publishing history as Batman’s life story—created one of the most iconic sagas featuring the Dark Knight. It’s an epic, metaphysical tale filled with weird sci-fi elements, colorful and dangerous villains, unexpected plot twists, and, at its core, the tragic effects of trauma and broken families. As often, Bruce Wayne’s loss of his parents is still at the heart of the story, the same way that Damian Wayne, Son of Batman, is.

Structured in three parts, Morrison’s epic tale takes the reader on a wild ride, from the deconstruction of Batman’s history in the first part, to the playful spirit of adventure in the second, and finally, to the ambitious, James Bond-style story of the third. Not everything works, but there is no doubt that when it is, it is sort of magical.

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Outsiders Reading Order, A DC Comics Team (featuring Batman!)

When Wayne Enterprises manager Lucius Fox goes missing in Markovia, Batman recruits the Justice League of America (JLA) to find him, only to have Superman informing him that he promised the State Department that no member of the team would interfere in the Markovian Revolution.

As a result, Batman resigns from the JLA and goes to Markovia with Black Lightning. The duo encounters Metamorpho along with new heroes Katana, Halo, and Geo-Force. At the end of their mission, Batman convinces them to come together as a team. And thus, The Outsiders were formed!

Created by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Jim Aparo, The Outsiders first appeared in a preview of The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983), the final issue of that series, before making their official debut in the own title, Batman and The Outsiders, the following month.

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Batman Rogues Gallery: Who are The Dark Knight’s Enemies?

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Batman is one of the most iconic comic book heroes, so it is not a surprise that some of his enemies are iconic comic book villains in their own right. But the infamous Batman Rogues Gallery comprises more than your usual suspects. With 85 years of comics under his belt, the Dark Knight had to stop a lot of criminals. As he is not a hero with powers, but one known for his high intelligence and fighting skills, he had to face a lot of intelligent, creative, and often misguided individuals.

These antagonists aren’t just obstacles for Batman. They are larger-than-life with personas that are often connected to the city’s corruption, darkness, and extremes. Most of them have been created to be reflections of his character, each embodying a different facet of his psyche, his mission, or the city he protects. This made the Rogues Gallery as diverse as it is iconic, with criminal masterminds, deranged psychopaths, tragic antiheroes, and cunning opportunists.

Also, you may ask where the term “Rogues Gallery” comes from. It finds its origin in law enforcement as it historically refers to a collection of criminal mugshots. 

Follow the guide as we introduce you to the most notable antagonists who regularly face the Caped Crusader!

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Batman: The Intercompany Crossovers, From Alien to Spider-Man, Hellboy, TMNT, Spawn, Dredd, and more

With the DC Versus Marvel Omnibus coming out, we are reminded that comic intercompany crossovers, when heroes from different publishing houses meet, are a popular yet rare occurrence. Maybe not that rare as it is a profitable endeavor after all. In fact, DC’s own Batman has met a lot of heroes from other comic book universes, he even catches criminals on a monthly basis with Scooby-Doo‘s Mystery Team nowadays!

Some of the Dark Knight’s adventures side by side or even against other non-regular DC Comics characters have become the stuff of legend when others have been forgotten. One thing most of them (not all) have in common though, is that they are totally out-of-continuity stories. But some are quite interesting to discover for curious fans who want to know how Batman would fare against Aliens and/or a Predator, or what would look like a team-up with Tarzan, Spider-Man, Danger Girl, or Spawn.

Yes, some of those intercompany crossovers seem to be (and are) oddities. Here is our guide to those crazy and unpredictable comic book meetings.

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Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale’s Batman Reading Order

Happy Halloween! No team in the Batman mythos is associated with this celebration more than Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale for their The Long Halloween story. Presented as a classic detective story, The Long Halloween is one of the most celebrated and influential Batman tales, featuring Tim Sale’s striking art, a good introduction to the world of Gotham, Batman’s Rogue Gallery, and an origin story for Two-Face.

For Loeb and Sale, it all started with Challengers of the Unknown (1991), their first creative collaboration that would lead to more iconic works. When editor Archie Goodwin asked artist Tim Sale in the early ’90s to work on another Legends of the Dark Knight arc after Blades (with James Robinson), Sale asked if Loeb—who was working in Hollywood at the time—could write it. This resulted in what is now known as The Haunted Knight, a collection of three Halloween-themed stories.

For Loeb, the plan was to stop there—he had another job. However, Archie Goodwin had other ideas. He asked Frank Miller about the gangsters featured in Year One, and Miller said he had no further plans for them, giving Goodwin free rein. As Loeb recalled, “Archie thought we should do something bigger with this group in mind, maybe something longer than the 80 pages of the first Halloween special. Maybe… a year.” (from The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition.)

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