If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics.

As one of the longest continuously running superhero characters, Batman has amassed a large number of stories over the years. But how do you, the novice fan who only just discovered Chiropteran Cavalier thanks to Batman Hate Superman: Justice Makes a Coffee, separate the wheat from the chaff and find only the very best Batman stories? Your life is busy, and the very thought of reading more than a dozen or so illustrated pamphlets exhausts you.

Well, have no fear. Applying numerical value to things that are by their very nature subjective is the exact premise of this video series. Take the three minutes or so it will take to watch this video, and you will have all the wisdom of a certified Batmanologist.

Show notes:

  • Yes, of course I consulted Chris Sims about this video, so don't say some nonsense like he never would have picked these books. Sorry I didn't pick Ten Nights of the Beast like he would have.
  • Also: good Batman stories is basically the bedrock on which this website is built. If you don't like the stories on the list, just type "Batman" into the search bar at the top of the page, and you'll find recommendations for literally hundreds more stories. I even wrote a list of them.
  • If for some reason you don't have Dark Knight Returns, Year One, or the Killing Joke already, click those names and fill in those inexcusable gaps in your Bat-library. Be warned that the Killing Joke has its problems, though.
  • If you want to see Dirtbike Batman punch a blimp, start here.
  • To see Batman dress as a gorilla to overcome severe post-traumatic stress, this is the book for you.
  • Click here for man; click here for fiend from hell.
  • For some reason, there is currently no collection of the Englehart/Rogers run of stories available in print, but a handful of them are available digitally, starting here.
  • To rot in purgatory, click here.

 

Check Out Some of Our Other Episodes of Fantastic Five

More From ComicsAlliance