Just got my Copy of...

[ApexPredator87]

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth! Must say the artwork of the Graphic Novel is incredible and the story so far is damn good.

i'm not that far into it yet, but i'm already hooked. they had other there at the comic store as well such as: Year One, Knightfall, A Death in the Family and Joker.

i look forward to reading all of them because it's been so long since i've actually bought much less read a comic book.

:)

[Old_BenKenobi]

Arkham Asylum is a work of art but its not something I enjoyed reading.

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

Out of all the novels i have read, i disliked that one the most

[ApexPredator87]

but why? i've heard so much good things about it.

i will admit sometimes it gets hard to read but i've enjoyed most of it.

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I disliked the drawing style and i guess everything was spoiled for meh and i kinda rushed through it since i had to return it to the library

[ApexPredator87]

can you refer which of these i should check out next?

i.e: The Long Halloween, Cataclytism, Year One, Joker, A Death in the Family?

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I loved Long Halloween! Its basically TDK

[Old_BenKenobi]

but why? i've heard so much good things about it.

i will admit sometimes it gets hard to read but i've enjoyed most of it.

probably because it was so hard to read. Its a great story and a great look at Batman (and a great parody) and it has amazing artwork but I've never felt the desire to pick it up again.

And the next story you should read is definitely Year One, then The Long Halloween. A Death In The Family takes place later on in the chronology and requires a bit of familiarization. Same with Cataclysm and Knightfall. Joker you could read next, just keep in mind that like Arkham Asylum its not connected to the continuity and is its own take on the franchise.

[ICK14]

i.e: The Long Halloween, Cataclytism, Year One, Joker, A Death in the Family?

Out of the ones you listed I'd get Long Halloween. Yet there's stuff in there that you wouldn't get unless you read Year One. The only reason why I don't suggest Year One is because it didn't have a very good ending. I didn't realize that the climax was happening until I finished it and it made Catwoman absolutely pointless. But other than that its pretty good and it does lead into The Long Halloween.

But I STRONGLY suggest The Dark Knight Returns. Best Batman tale in my opinion. But Arkham Asylum is pretty good too. :)

[ApexPredator87]

thanks.

Year One and Long Halloween it is!

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

The Dark Knight Returns has an epic ending!

[ICK14]

The Dark Knight Returns has an epic ending!

I KNOW! Probably the best thought out ending in any comic book besides Watchmen.

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I KNOW! Probably the best thought out ending in any comic book besides Watchmen.

hhaha unlike watchmen if they made a movie ti wouldnt suck

[ICK14]

hhaha unlike watchmen if they made a movie ti wouldnt suck

I enjoyed Watchmen!!! But I'm pretty sure that Hollywood could some how mess up The Dark Knight Returns if they tried. LOL!

[Old_BenKenobi]

hhaha unlike watchmen if they made a movie ti wouldnt suck

The Dark Knight Returns would be a tough one to make into a movie because its split into four episodes with an overarching plot, so the story stops and starts a couple times over the course of it. Its also fairly dated with the plot focusing around the Cold War and the Reagan years.

A DKR movie could be made but the story would have to be altered rather drastically and doing so would instantly split the fanbase in three parts: Those who like the movie and the changes, those who think the changes suck and those who hate Frank Miller.

[Zur-en-ah]

can you refer which of these i should check out next?

i.e: The Long Halloween, Cataclytism, Year One, Joker, A Death in the Family?

Year One, The Long Halloween, Death in the Family, then Joker (in that order)

I'd leave out Cataclysm as its mince (No Man's Land, however ... )

[freeze131]

In all honesty, I didn't like Long Halloween as much as TDKR or year one.

[FalcoPhoenix808]

Long Halloween is a great story, if you check that one out you'll eventually want to check out Dark Victory as well. Year One is a great read too, which should go without saying. I was never taken with A Death in the Family so much, it's an alright story - I thought Batman The Cult was much better from that particular era. I remember buying Arkham Asylum A Serious House on Serious Earth back when it first came out, but it's been so long since I've last read it I have forgotten most of it.

[Zur-en-ah]

I thought Batman The Cult was much better from that particular era. I remember buying Arkham Asylum A Serious House on Serious Earth back when it first came out, but it's been so long since I've last read it I have forgotten most of it.

good on ya, Falco ... The Cult doesn't get nearly as much cred as it deserves and is one of my personal favourites as well ... one of the few stories where Jason is Robin and isn't a complete d*ck

strangely enough, I received my copy of "AA; A Serious House..." in the post this morning ... have read it before btu ages ago, looking fwd to getting back into it ... but had forgotten just how disturbing Dave McKean's artwork is

[Drazar]

can you refer which of these i should check out next?

i.e: The Long Halloween, Cataclytism, Year One, Joker, A Death in the Family?

Year One and Joker from those two lists. Death in the Family is kinda not that great, outside of the final fate of Jason Todd. It's not much else exciting story. Cataclysm forwards to No Man's Land, which is 5 volume arc.

The Long Halloween isn't really a great book, because it shows Batman as a complete moron who can't solve a murder case, along with Jeph Loeb ripping off and imitating Frank Miller, so if you want some good Frank Miller quality, just read Miller's stories. Brian Azzarello wrote Joker, so if you enjoy that i'd get Broken City aswell.

Hope that helps you out.

EDIT: Also if you enjoyed Grant Morrison's writing, he has written these trades aswell:
- Batman: Gothic
- Batman & Son
- Batman: The Black Glove
- Batman: RIP
- Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn

More trades from his Batman serie will be coming aswell. It's pretty cool stuff.

[Zur-en-ah]

is Batman Gothic any good? its the only GM tpb I don't have

[Drazar]

It's an early years Batman story where he is fightning a Satanist... Yeah sounds rather familiar doesn't it now that you look at Morrison's current run? :p It's a fun short story that shows good detective work, pretty good art that might need to get used to, it's very early 90s so the coloring for me was abit eh, but i got used to it rather quickly. The pricetag is 14.99 bucks, but i'm sure amazon or a LCS might have a treaty discount on it. :) It's a fun story, and if you're a fan of Morrison, i'd check it out.

[Old_BenKenobi]

I agree with Draz that The Long Halloween isn't very good and is really overrated. I also think the art is atrocious.

But it works as a sequel to Year One and is basically Two-Face's origin story. So I recommend it on that basis.

Another story I recommend is The Man Who Laughs, which covers Batmans first encounter with Joker. That is a good one.

[Matches Malone]

I would read Year One, then The Man Who Laughs, then The Long Halloween.

I think TDKR story is just as relevant today as it was then. We still have our share of celebrities as political figures, and political figures treated as celebrities. The paranoia of WMDs is about as strong now as it was then, and its about to get worse. The time period is different but we are in very similar circumstances.

If a Watchmen movie can be made TDKR can be made as well IMO.

[The Hylden]

While I liked The Long Halloween for some of what it presents, I do have to agree that it's not a hugely great read. Batman can't solve the murders I could understand, if the plot of the murderer was that much more intricate; the art is crap at times, but at others it's ok -- it's trying to be more representative than realistic in spots. It succeeds and fails equally. The main thing throughout the book that kept taking me out of the story was the almost constant parodying of lines and scenarios from The Godfather. Was that necessary? Or, was it just Loeb trying to bludgeon me over the head with winks and nods?

But, anyway, it's not that bad.

Along with that, I agree that A Serious House has some interesting art work (I won't go as far as to call it great, but it's interesting in spots), but the book, itself, is meh. I wasn't digging how Batman was presented, nor any other character, for that matter. Thank goodness the game we have didn't take that story verbatim, as well

[batmanboy11]

Another story I recommend is The Man Who Laughs, which covers Batmans first encounter with Joker. That is a good one.

IMO The Man Who Laughs doesn't get enough praise, its actualy pretty damn good. And you get the "Made of Wood" (te-he) story as well, which isn't bad.

[The Hylden]

Yup, I love The Man Who Laughs.

[freeze131]

I agree with Draz that The Long Halloween isn't very good and is really overrated. I also think the art is atrocious.

But it works as a sequel to Year One and is basically Two-Face's origin story. So I recommend it on that basis.

Another story I recommend is The Man Who Laughs, which covers Batmans first encounter with Joker. That is a good one.
I know right. The art is average in some panels. But in some Batman's facial expressions just look plain retarded.
It really didn't live up to the hype for me.

The Dark Knight returns, on the other hand...

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I agree in the Long halloween they made Bats a little dense

[Zur-en-ah]

surprised there's so much criticism angled at Long Halloween ... I thought it was considered one of "the classics" ... I actually really liked it

(also, everyone always props Long Halloween and Dark Victory ... but never any mention of Haunted Knight ... wonder why? ;) )

[batmanboy11]

I agree with Draz that The Long Halloween isn't very good and is really overrated. I also think the art is atrocious.

But it works as a sequel to Year One and is basically Two-Face's origin story. So I recommend it on that basis.



I do like the story, but I will agree that Sale's art is terrible.

[Old_BenKenobi]

I know right. The art is average in some panels. But in some Batman's facial expressions just look plain retarded.
It really didn't live up to the hype for me.

The Dark Knight returns, on the other hand...

I think TDKR has beautiful artwork.

[batmanboy11]

I think TDKR has beautiful artwork.

Dito.

[Old_BenKenobi]

I mean, its ugly, but its ugly drawn in a beautiful way.

[batmanboy11]

I mean, its ugly, but its ugly drawn in a beautiful way.

I oddly understood that...

[Drazar]

I agree in the Long halloween they made Bats a little dense

Little is being kind. :p We could also nitpick (as Hylden pointed out) the obvious Godfather references. Loeb turned Miller's Falcone crime family into something more cliché, but hey you can see i'm obviously a butthurt Miller fan who just doesn't like the imitations Loeb had. I did enjoy his Catwoman: When in Rome, Batman: Haunted Knight and overall his Superman/Batman serie was fun action. Dark Victory was even more "Godfather" but atleast it was less Miller-imitating.

surprised there's so much criticism angled at Long Halloween ... I thought it was considered one of "the classics" ... I actually really liked it )

Well you know how it is. Popularity doesn't egual quality, and it's really each for their own. Some people don't like Grant Morrison comics, because of the polarizing ideas he throws into the franchises, but thats also the same reason he's so loved and awarded writer.

I mean, its ugly, but its ugly drawn in a beautiful way.

Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley did win the best art team of 1987 from Jack Kirby himself. It's creative, atmospheric and has a great usage of shadow and silhouttes... It also has alot of square boxes dedicated for massive amount of heads doing dialogue. :rasp:

[Old_BenKenobi]

Yeah, the Miller/Janson/Varley team was great. Totally out there in terms of style but Miller's compositional work is just astounding.

And I liked the 16-boxes-per-page-dedicated-to-talking-heads-and-inner-monologue thing TDKR had going on because it moved through the story and didn't waste my time. :rasp:

[Matches Malone]

Say what you will about The Long Halloween but it portrays the relationship between Batman/Gordon/Dent better than any book out there. Making it the most tragic Harvey-Two Face transformation to date IMO.

I very much like TLH & Tim Sale's Art
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5100000/Batman-The-Long-Halloween-batman-5176776-800-600.jpg

IMO The Man Who Laughs doesn't get enough praise, its actualy pretty damn good. And you get the "Made of Wood" (te-he) story as well, which isn't bad.

Completely agree another one that gets ignored even more is Lovers & Madmen, another Joker introduction story.

[The Hylden]

I think that was the best part of it, sure.

[batmanboy11]

Say what you will about The Long Halloween but it portrays the relationship between Batman/Gordon/Dent better than any book out there. Making it the most tragic Harvey-Two Face transformation to date IMO.


Completely agree another one that gets ignored even more is Lovers & Madmen, another Joker introduction story.

1. I do like TLH, especialy the Gordon/ Dent/ Batman dynamic, but the art bothers me a bit.
2. I've heard of Lovers & Madmen, but I've never been able to find it. I'll have to order it on Amazon. Its definetly been "swept under the carpet".

[The_Mad_Batter]

SPOILER ALERT!!!!





I hate the fact that Cavendish is such a weak villain. He puts on a dress and takes a razor to a girl's throat. WOW what an ending :P