Batman — Comics timeline

when each title takes place

The early years

Batman: Year OneInspired Batman Begins and The Batman: Bruce Wayne's first year as Batman and Jim Gordon's first year in Gotham's corrupt police; collects the 4-issue arc

Batman: The Long HalloweenInspired The Dark Knight and The Batman: a killer strikes Gotham's mob on every holiday for a full year; collects the 13-issue miniseries

Batman: Dark VictoryThe Long Halloween's sequel: a new killer murders cops and leaves a hangman's game as a calling card; collects all 14 issues of the miniseries

The veteran Batman

Batman: The Killing JokeInspired the Joker of Batman (1989), The Dark Knight and Joker: the Joker sets out to prove one bad day can drive anyone mad; a one-shot

Batman: A Death in the FamilyJason Todd, the second Robin, goes looking for the mother he never knew, and the Joker crosses his path; collects the 4-issue arc plus 5 issues of the follow-up story

Batman: Arkham AsylumThe inmates take over Arkham Asylum and the Joker demands Batman come in alone; an original graphic novel painted by Dave McKean

Batman: Knightfall Vol. 1Inspired The Dark Knight Rises: Bane frees Arkham's villains to wear Batman down before facing him; collects the first part of the saga across several Batman titles

The 2000s

Batman: HushA mysterious bandaged villain pulls the strings on Batman's rogues one by one; collects the 12-issue arc, drawn by Jim Lee

Batman: Under the Red HoodA vigilante in a red hood wages war on Gotham's underworld with methods Batman won't accept; collects 13 issues and an annual

Batman: The Black MirrorDick Grayson wears the cowl and digs into an auction of villains' relics while Gordon's son returns to Gotham; collects 11 issues of Detective Comics

The New 52

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of OwlsA secret society said to have ruled Gotham for centuries marks Bruce Wayne for death; collects The New 52 issues #1–7

Batman: Zero YearInspired The Batman: Batman's New 52 origin, with the Riddler holding Gotham hostage; collects the 11-part arc

Standalone stories

Batman: Ego and Other TailsInspired The Batman: Bruce Wayne has a frank talk with his own Batman side; collects Ego plus other Batman and Catwoman stories by Darwyn Cooke

Batman: Earth OneAn origin retold from scratch, with a young Batman who still makes plenty of mistakes; an original graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

Batman: The Dark Knight ReturnsInspired Batman (1989), The Dark Knight Rises and Joker: at 55, Bruce Wayne puts the cowl back on in a crime-ridden Gotham; collects the 4-issue miniseries

Batman: White KnightWhat if the Joker turned sane and set out to save Gotham from Batman through politics? Collects Sean Murphy's 8-issue miniseries

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