5 Best Batman Christmas Stories
2. Detective Comics #826
This story focuses on Robin (Tim Drake) at Christmas. He's cornered by thugs in an alley with no means of escape. A good Samaritan drives by, comes to a screeching halt and tells Robin to get in quickly. But of course, it's the Joker.
This is a one-shot issue, written by Paul Dini, who is best known for his work on Batman: The Animated Series. Essentially, this is the Joker from the animated series, but without the constraints of being in a cartoon. He's brutal, terrifying, and murderous.
He puts Robin under some psychological torture before he means to kill him. While Christmas isn't in the forefront of this story, we do see touches of the December setting with the Joker in a Santa hat and Tim tied up with Christmas lights.
This story ranks so high on this list for not just being a Christmas story, but one of the best Joker stories of all time. Batman himself does not feature prominently in this issue, but the story doesn't suffer from his absence. If you haven't read this one before, it's an absolute must.