by Ryan Silberstein, The Red Herring

As we enter this new era of The Batman, I thought it would be fun to give a few recommendations for the kind of Batman stories that inspired Matt Reeves or echo aspects of this new movie. I skipped over Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween/Dark Victory because they come up so often, but those remain classics and great entry points if you’ve never read a Batman comic. These two animated films and three comic books are also just as acceptable, if not quite as well known.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (dirs. Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm, 1993)

This movie, released in theaters in 1993, was made due to the success of Batman: The Animated Series, and while ostensibly for kids, it is so much more. While the show excelled at villain-of-the-week stories and crystallized some definitive takes on Batman’s enemies, the creators used the creative freedom of a feature film to go beyond that.  Loosely based on the Year Two comic, Mask of the Phantasm centers on a tragic romance for Bruce Wayne. In the past, the character Andrea Beaumont challenged Bruce’s vision for his life as Batman, and in the present, she complicates matters for both Bruce and Batman. How this unfolds makes Mask of the Phantasm is one of the most emotionally affecting Batman stories ever told. 

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (dir. Sam Liu, 2018)

Starting with a pair of one-shot comics by Brian Augustyn, Mike Mignola, and Eduardo Barreto, this direct-to-video animated movie places Batman in the Victorian era on the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Also drawing on movies like The Lodger, as well as historical sources like H. H. Holmes, and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, this film has a few twists and enjoys playing off knowledge of familiar characters like Poison Ivy, Harvey Dent, and others, and placing them in a new context. There are also more than a few Sherlock Holmes references, which are also really fun. It might be the only R-rated DC animated film to justify its rating, because while there is violence and harsh language here, it doesn’t feel like it is deployed for mere shock value. 

Batman: Ego and Other Tails by Darwyn Cooke

This comic was mentioned by The Batman director Matt Reeves as inspiring aspects of his film. In it, Batman is confronted by his own fear and doubts as to whether or not being Batman is the right thing for him to be doing with his life. Darwyn Cooke is one of the all time great writer-artists despite his career starting late and his life ending too soon. He broke into comics by working on Batman: The Animated Series and subsequent shows, and his DC: The New Frontier is one of my all-time favorite superhero comics. In addition to “Ego,” this also contains a fun Catwoman story and some other delightful odds and ends from his Batman work. 

“Batman: Zero Year” by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

I like a lot of Scott Snyder’s Batman stories, but his work with artist Greg Capullo stands far above the rest. Zero Year was a very different view of early Batman compared to Year One, as this is a much bigger story. At one point, The Riddler takes over Gotham, searching for a worthy opponent, and the amount of vibrant colors packed into these comics will make you rethink the phrase “Dark” Knight. Snyder’s plotting is fun and inventive, while never losing sight of the character, but Capullo’s art makes this an all-time great story. This is the comic that The Batman made me think of the most. 

“Dark Knight, Dark City” by Peter Millgian and Kieron Dwyer

This 1990 story, originally running in Batman #452-454 was an attempt to darken The Riddler, who leads Batman through an occult ritual started by Thomas Jefferson and some others in Gotham City in the late 18th century. Involving babies, blood, and a bat demon, this is a strange Batman story that mixes identity, the occult, and puzzles for a pretty satisfying read. It’s been collected a few different times, and should be easy to track down.