5 batman books that best capture background info

Hey guys

Sorry if this is redundant but I am really interested in starting the batman new 52 series. However, I would like to brush up on some history so that I have more background information. I do not have too much money or time right now so I would like to limit myself to 5 batman volumes which are best suited to prepare me for the Court of Owls. I realize the vast history of the batman comic and that I am missing out on a lot by limiting myself to 5, but I plan on going back later when time opens up so until then 5 batman volumes will have to suffice. Any ideas? Any from Morrison's run will be more ideal but I am open to others if they are more integral to the current plot in your eyes.

To put it in perspective, I have seen Batman the animated series, all of the movies, and even some of the animated movies such as Under the Red Hood so I do have a decent idea of the Rogue's gallery and such. I have never read a batman comic though.

Honestly, I don't think Court of Owls is that great, but a lot of people disagree with me.For starting off get

Year One

The Long Halloween

Hush

Under the Hood

after that read Knightfall is you want and the Grant Morrison Batman run

Everything UncleEmu said would more than prepare you. Really, as long as you've read Year One, you're probably fine. The Court of Owls focuses on Batman going solo, so background knowledge is unnecessary. You could also watch Year One's animated adaptation, if you don't want to read it. It's Batman's definitive origin story. If you only read this story, be sure to read some of the wiki pages on each Robin (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne).

Grant Morrison's run is really long, but really great if you want to understand what happened leading up to Flashpoint (the event that started the New 52 relaunch). The last few Bruce Wayne Grant Morrison arcs were TheBlack Glove, Batman R.I.P., and Battle for the Cowl. Then, you should read the Black Mirror, another Scott Snyder Batman story. However, the Black Mirror is about Dick Grayson as Batman (not Bruce Wayne), so if you don't want to read that, an alternative would be to go further back and read Batman and Son. It's the origin story of Damian Wayne, another story by Grant Morrison (but preceding The Black Glove).

Yup

as far as the Morrison Run goes, you want to read everything. it isn't all good, but it all references itself, and if you miss something you might be confused later

The Complete Grant Morrison Batman Run and Relevant Tie-ins (Pre-New 52)*

0) The Black Casebook

1) Batman and Son

2) The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul ###

3) The Black Glove

4) Heart of Hush

5) Batman RIP (676-678)

6) Robin (175-176)

7) Batman Rip (679-681)

8) Outsiders (11-13) ###

9) Nightwing (147-150)

10) Last Rites - Last Days of Gotham

11) RIP Missing Chapter (701)

12) Final Crisis (1-5)

13) Last Rites - Batman (682-683)

14) Final Crisis (6-7)

15) RIP Missing Chapter (702)

16) Whatever happened to the Caped Crusader ###

17) Last Rites - Nightwing (151-153)

18) Last Rites - Faces of Evil

19) Robin (183)

20) Battle for the Cowl

21) Batman and Robin (1-12)

22) The Return of Bruce Wayne (1-4)

23) The Road Home Prequel (Batman 703) ###

24) Time and the Batman (Batman 700)

25) Batman and Robin (13-14)

26) The Return of Bruce Wayne (5-6)

27) Batman and Robin (15-16)

28) The Road Home ###

29) The Return

30) Batman, Inc (1)

31) Batman and Robin (17-25) ###

32) Batman, Inc (2-8)

33) Batman, Inc - Leviathan Strikes!

### - it’s not necessary for understanding of the continuity, but everything on this list is worth

reading at least once

* - an understanding of Final Crisis and the tie-ins to that would certainly help, and some people

would argue are relevant, but I only wanted to include Batman and Batfamily stuff on this list

Thanks a lot guys really appreciate it. Just watched Year One. I think I'll start with Long Halloween then move on to Hush, the Red Hood and then pick a few from the Morrison run.

these are my favorites from the Morrison run, in order

0) The Black Casebook (read this first, it is essential even though it might seem dumb at first)

1) Batman and Son

2) The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul ###

3) The Black Glove

5) Batman RIP (if you get the trade it has Last Rites 682-683, and I'm pretty sure the deluxe addition also has the Missing Chapters)

9) Nightwing (147-150) (not necessary, but it's really good)

11) RIP Missing Chapter (701)

13) Last Rites - Batman (682-683)

15) RIP Missing Chapter (702)

24) Time and the Batman (Batman 700)

30) Batman, Inc (the tpb has Leviathan Strikes)

Only the first volume of Batman Inc is out so far right? I heard that the next volume of Batman Inc is meant to capture the New 52 alterations. I realize there must be some discrepancies when you alter the universe but are the continuity issues between the pre and post-Flashpoint Batman Inc titles deep plot points or just minor stuff that I can ignore?

Nope. Morrison couldn't care less about New 52 and Batman Inc. continues like nothing ever happened. So just pick up that first volume, it contains everything pre-flashpoint. It's really good

Will do buddy. Morrison's the man. Pretty excited about finally getting started on Batman.

Knightfall is an epic story, both in content and in length, way more than just a trade if one considers the entire arc. Considering you want to read New 52 and you wish to keep your reading light I will assume you know the standard back story, you've watched Year One, so that's a great start. Books like Long Halloween and Hush are awesome, but haven't proven relevant to the New 52 yet. Don't be confused, they are still canon, but you can go back to those later and in between, when you catch up. The entirety of the Batman mythos is intact, with the exception of Bruce being younger, which causes some indiscrepincies, but thats a whole other topic. Outside of the most common knowledge of the character and what you've learned from Year One, my recommendations to catch you up on the bat history and bring you into the New 52 are as follows.

-Batman: Under the Red Hood. The animated feature covers A Lonely Place of Dying and Under the Red Hood stories.

-Batman and Son

-Batman RIP

-Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn

-Return of Bruce Wayne

-Batman INC

You could skip the Red Hood as its an older story with Jason Todd but its easy to catch up on with 80 minutes or so and would explain Bruce's relationship with Jason, (if you're not familiar with the story). Other than that, just read the Morrisson run to bring you up to speed. INC will serve as a book end to Morrissons run in the New 52 which is why I've included it. Once again, these are not necessarily the most epic or classic stories but rather the shortest way to catch up.