10 Essential Batman Stories For New Readers

5. The Long Halloween

One writer who will appear on this list more than any other is Jeph Loeb, and that's because he seems to have such a good handle on the character in both his modern day and retro depictions.

Hush is one of the great Batman stories of contemporary times, but even better is The Long Halloween, Loeb and artist Tim Sale's story of the character's early days. The story throws in some of Batman's other villains - The Riddler and The Scarecrow both familiar from their own movie depictions - whilst also retelling the tragic story of Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent's transformation into Two Face. It's also just a really, really good classic detective story, with the organised crime in Gotham being just as fleshed out - and just as much of a threat - as well as new bad guy Holiday.

More than that, though, it gives a greater insight into both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and how that dual identity works, and also provides a little more background into the comradery between the Caped Crusader and Commissioner Gordon. Plus Tim Sale's art is gorgeous and his use of shadows makes this into a none-more-noir Batman tale.