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Batman

Batman / Superman: World’s Finest Comics and the Return of the Classic DC Spirit

For new readers, reading old comics from the Golden to the Bronze Age can sometimes be rough. They were aimed at children at the time, with almost no one thinking that they would be reprinted and collected 80 years later. While exploring those years of comics can be interesting and fun, it’s also an acquired taste. The writing style was completely different to modern standards, often more wordy and descriptive, and accompanied by great art that was sometimes recycled throughout issues (anyone who has read Lee and Kirby’s run on Fantastic Four will have noticed some repeated panels!).

At DC Comics, these stories are all part of the Pre-Crisis era, which is set before the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was the first major crisis, but certainly not the last! The timeline has changed significantly since then due to the many crises that have occurred, resulting in changes to the origins, events and canons of the DC Universe’s superheroes.

This past few years, writer Mark Waid has dedicated a certain amount of his time to exploring DC’s new past. As he explained in a interview on DC.com, “the joy of using the past is in recontextualizing earlier eras and earlier ideas for the modern audience by coupling genuine character moments with some of the cooler forgotten artifacts of DC history. I don’t want to just retell past stories—I want to find new ways into history that resonate today.”

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Batman: Dark Patterns (Review): A Carefully Crafted Dark Knight Tale

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When it comes to superhero movies, people are no longer interested in origin stories, but comic book readers and writers are still passionate about what made a character become the crime fighter they are known to be. During the post-Crisis era, Batman’s early years as the Caped Crusader were explored in depth. Perhaps to the degree that DC Comics lost interest. A few decades later, the past feels more present than ever, with writers regularly revisiting the lore they discovered as readers and modernizing dated elements. But it goes even further. It’s not just about comic books from the past, it’s about giving characters a place in their own history. That said, this book is perfect for any new reader looking to enjoy a complete Batman tale.

Written by Dan Watters with art by Hayden Sherman, Batman: Dark Patterns is a 12-issue miniseries that explores Gotham City’s past and carves out a place for its greatest detective within it. Set around Batman’s third year, the story is divided into four thematically linked investigations that slowly build upon each other to form a larger tale.

Each case starts as an apparently self-contained crime. Batman follows leads, questions suspects, and moves methodically through the city. He collaborates with Jim Gordon, who introduced him to Dr. Sereika, a forensic pathologist at Gotham University. Sereika is an odd man, but a competent one. His insights are valuable, but his attitude is suspect. Like everybody else, he has secrets. Dark Patterns is about uncovering those secrets, and everyone else’s, especially those rooted in Gotham’s past.

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Batman Absolute Edition: A Full List

Years before DC Comics launched Batman into the Absolute Universe, it had already found a use for the word “Absolute.” As a matter of fact, it was first used a quarter of a century earlier on a reprint of the first twelve issues of The Authority by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch. 

Before that, DC had already tested the oversized deluxe format with The Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection (which eventually joined the Absolute collection in 2015), but it’s The Authority book that came to define the expectation readers have with the Absolute format: oversized 8 by 12 inches (200 mm × 300 mm) books presented in a slipcased edition with cloth bookmark, high-quality hardcover collections of previously published comics, typically restored, corrected and recolored with additional material such as sketches, scripts, annotations, commentary, or extras that are not in the standard trade paperback.

Without surprise, Batman’s stories found their way to the Absolute collection as the Dark Knight’s long history is filled with now-classic tales created by master cartoonists. Batman has already conquered other formats, and you can read his stories thanks to the omnibus collection.

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Batman All In Reading Order

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During the Absolute Power event, Amanda Waller tried and ultimately failed to neutralize the superhero community and the wider metahuman population. In fact, this prompted the formation of a new and improved Justice League, featuring the largest roster ever. The heroes are All In the JL, while the Absolute Universe, a parallel reality shaped by Darkseid that redefines familiar characters and power structures across the DC multiverse, is created. 

With the Batman titles, the transition from the Dawn of DC era to All In is not marked by a big break. With delays in the publication of Hush 2, the direct sequel to the classic Hush story, written by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, Chip Zdarsky’s run on Batman was slightly extended, and, eventually, Matt Fraction took over Batman (Jorge Jiménez is still the artist on the book). Detective Comics is now written by Tom Taylor with art by Pete Woods. And while Batman is not dominating the DC Universe as he once did, Superman has been pushed forward recently, there are still a lot of Bat-Family adventures to read.

Of course, there is also the popular Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, which reinvented Bruce Wayne’s life, creating a working-class version of the character who confronts crime with limited resources. This universe has a dedicated reading guide.

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Best Batman and Catwoman Comics, Your Essential BatCat Reading Order

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With Valentine’s Day upon us, romance is in the air! To celebrate, Comic Book Treasury has chosen to focus on one of the most iconic relationships in comic book history: Batman and Catwoman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the Bat and the Cat first met in Batman #1 in spring 1940. Introduced as a mysterious burglar and jewel thief, Catwoman was conceived to appeal to female readers and add sex appeal. She was introduced as a friendly foe, a member of his rogue’s gallery, and a potential love interest.

This was the start of what would become a complex love-hate relationship that has been explored and put through many challenges, including deaths and other perils such as the end of the DC Universe!

Today, the spotlight is on the couple as the stars of our Essential Reading Order. This selection of comics is the perfect way to understand their cat-and-mouse relationship, which is filled with attraction and conflict, flirtation and moral ambiguity.

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Thomas Wayne Reading Order (The Flashpoint Batman)

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Today is Batman Day! Everybody knows the origin story of Batman. Thomas and Martha Wayne went out with their son Bruce for a family outing in town. In the infamous Crime Alley, they are murdered in a street mugging gone wrong. Only one of them survives and ultimately becomes Batman.

In the 2011 reality-shattering crossover event Flashpoint, written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by Andy Kubert, the one who survives is not young Bruce, but his father, the renowned Gotham City surgeon and philanthropist Thomas Wayne. 

Flashpoint begins when Barry Allen, the Flash, wakes up in an altered timeline where the world is on the brink of collapse. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war, Superman is missing, and the Justice League was never formed. At the heart of this reality is a changed Gotham City, where crime is rampant and hope is scarce. This is not the world Barry knows, and at its center is a very different Batman.

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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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Batman Comics: The 2026 Release Schedule

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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 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

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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, too 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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