I am a new comic book reader and wanted to start reading Batman. I have no idea where to start and would appreciate any help. Thanks!

Hey, you should start with Year one, For current stuff check out The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder. Hope this helps :)

I would recommend starting with anything that is marked as DC New 52.

Batman: Court of Owls is a collected edition of the first Batman issues which is good to start with.

But you can also read other collected editions, but obviously if you are totally brand new, wikipedia will be your best friend. Read modern age summaries of all the main characters to get a feel for things. For example Batman (Bruce Wayne) was gone for a time and Dick Grayson (the first Robin, current Nightwing) took over as Batman. And it might be referenced, so if you just read the summaries you will get an idea of what happened. It's really easy to get into it the more you read so don't feel intimidated!

Start with "The Long Halloween," it's easy to follow and introduces you to the world. After that go for "Year One." I know that "Year One" happens before "The Long Halloween," but I appreciated "Year One" a lot more after I was a little more acquainted with Batman. Then go anywhere, "The Court of Owls" is cool, "Batman Hush" is awesome, or you can try out "Batman and Son." Watch some of the animated movies and the animated series from the 90's if you can. Once you feel like you know Batman (or just have a good idea of who he is) go for "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Arkham Asylum."

So to summarize:

The Long Halloween

Year One

Batman Hush

watch some animated movies like "Mask of the Phantasm" and "Under the Red Hood"

catch random episodes of the animated series to get familiar with the more obscure villains

Batman and Son

The Dark Knight Returns

You can find these on ebay and amazon for pretty cheap, or just download them if you are really afraid of wasting your money. The best thing to do though is go to comic shops in your area, talk to the guys, and be a regular at a shop where the guy isn't trying to sell you crap, but hook you up.

I forgot to mention "The Killing Joke." Throw that in there after "Year One."

@UncleEmu said:

I forgot to mention "The Killing Joke." Throw that in there after "Year One."

yes

@eedwards027: welcome! This seems to be the most popular new member question on here. I think it's about time they sticky'd a "What Batman should you read?" thread up next to the Site Rules and FAQs :p

You're joining Batman at a fantastic time in the current run of ongoings; the New 52 continuity is a little over a year old, and easy to catch up on, and the current arc "Death of the Family" is about to come to a close. See if you can pick up Batman #13 through to Batman #16 in the back issues section of your local comics store; they're only a couple of months old and onto second printings, so relatively available...and the brace yourself for #17 out this Wednesday :) If that sounds like too much work, wait til #18 next month as it'll be the next best jumping-on point in the current run.