Batman: The Long Halloween


Jeph Loeb - 1997
    Working with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant James Gordon, Batman races against the clock as he tries to discover who Holiday is before he claims his next victim each month. A mystery that has the reader continually guessing the identity of the killer, this story also ties into the events that transform Harvey Dent into Batman's deadly enemy, Two-Face.

Batman: The Killing Joke


Alan Moore - 1988
    Looking to prove that any man can be pushed past his breaking point and go mad, the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl), the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man. But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth


Grant Morrison - 1989
    Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison. During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knight's own sanity is placed in jeopardy. This special anniversary edition trade paperback also reproduces the original script with annotations by Morrison and editor Karen Berger.

Kingdom Come


Mark Waid - 1996
    Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and almost every other character from DC Comics must choose sides in what could be the final battle of them all.

Joker


Brian Azzarello - 2008
    The Joker has been mysteriously released from Arkham Asylum, and he's none to happy about what's happened to his Gotham City rackets while he's been "away." What follows is a harrowing night of revenge, murder and manic crime as only The Joker can deliver it, as he brutally takes back his stolen assets from The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Killer Croc and others. Brian Azzarello brings to THE JOKER all the visceral intensity and criminal insight that has made his Vertigo graphic novel series 100 BULLETS one of the most critically-acclaimed and award-winning series in all of comics.

Batman, Volume 1: The Court of Owls


Scott Snyder - 2012
    As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he’s sworn to protect.Batman has heard tales of Gotham City’s Court of Owls: that the members of this powerful cabal are the true rulers of Gotham. The Dark Knight dismissed the stories as rumors and old wives’ tales. Gotham was his city. Until now.A brutal assassin is sinking his razor-sharp talons into the city’s best and brightest, as well as its most dangerous and deadly. If the dark legends are true, his masters are more powerful predators than the Batman could ever imagine.Collects issues #1-7 of Batman.

Superman: Red Son


Mark Millar - 2003
    and who, as the champion of the common worker, fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, Socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.In this Elseworlds tale, a familiar rocketship crash-lands on Earth carrying an infant who will one day become the most powerful being on the planet. But his ship doesn't land in America. He is not raised in Smallville, Kansas. Instead, he makes his new home on a collective in the Soviet Union!Collecting SUPERMAN: RED SON #1-3.

Batman: Noël


Lee Bermejo - 2011
    Members of Batman's supporting cast enact roles analogous to those from A Christmas Carol, with Robin, Catwoman, Superman, The Joker and more playing roles that will be familiar to anyone who knows Dickens' original holiday tale.

X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga


Chris Claremont - 1983
    One of their own members, Jean Grey, has gained power beyond all comprehension, and that power has corrupted her absolutely Now they must decide if the life of the woman they cherish is worth the existence of the entire universe.Collects X-Men #129-137.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs


Ed Brubaker - 2005
    Written by Ed Brubaker Art by Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher, Aaron Sowd and Steve Bird Cover by Mahnke Witness Batman's first encounter with The Joker in this hardcover volume collecting the graphic novel BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke! This collection also includes DETECTIVE COMICS #784-786, a murder-mystery tale guest-starring Green Lantern Alan Scott!

Wolverine: Origin


Paul Jenkins - 2001
    Collects Wolverine: Origin #1-6

Batman: Earth One, Volume 1


Geoff Johns - 2012
    He is just a man: fallible, vulnerable, and angry.In a Gotham City where friend and foe are indistinguishable, Bruce Wayne's path toward becoming the Dark Knight is riddled with more obstacles than ever before. Focused on punishing his parents’ true killers, and the corrupt police that allowed them to go free, Bruce Wayne's thirst for vengeance fuels his mad crusade and no one, not even Alfred, can stop him.In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestselling Superman: Earth One, Volume 1, writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank re-imagine a new mythology for the Dark Knight, where the familiar is no longer the expected in this long-awaited original graphic novel from DC Comics.

Batman: White Knight


Sean Murphy - 2018
    Until now…Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, The Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. First, he plans to reconcile with Harley Quinn, and then he’ll try to save the city from the one person who he thinks is truly Gotham City’s greatest villain: Batman!Superstar writer and artist Sean Murphy (PUNK ROCK JESUS, THE WAKE) presents a eight-issue miniseries of a twisted Gotham City with a massive cast of heroes and villains that, at its heart, is a tragic story of a hero and a villain: Batman and The Joker. But which is the hero—and which the villain?COLLECTING: Batman: White Knight 1-8

Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction


Mike Mignola - 1994
    Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding. Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar." ... Hellboy is a brilliant example of how to elevate the comic of the future to a higher literary level while achieving a higher pitch of excitement." --Robert Bloch, from his introduction

Identity Crisis


Brad Meltzer - 2004
    The most talked-about and successful miniseries of 2004 the story that has created ripple effects throughout the DC Universe for many years to come is now available in a stunning hardcover volume! New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer (GREEN ARROW) teams with artists Rags Morales & Michael Bair (WONDER WOMAN) and cover artist Michael Turner (SUPERMAN/BATMAN) to deliver an all-too-human look into the lives of super-heroes, and the terrible price they pay for doing good.When the spouse of a JLA member is brutally murdered, the entire super-hero community searches for the killer, fearing their own loved ones may be the next targets! But before the mystery is fully solved, a number of long-buried secrets rise to the surface, threatening to tear apart and divide the heroes before they can bring the mysterious killer to justice.Bonus features include extended commentary by Meltzer and Morales, the rest of the creative team talking about their favorite moments, a look at Morales's sketchbook and more!