Between the Arkham games and the Animated Series, we've got our all time best Batman actor (besides Adam West): Kevin Conroy, whose rich and measured tones work as well for billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne as they do for terrifying protector of the night. Go drop him a line on Twitter or something. He probably doesn't get enough love. Y'know, compared to billionaire playboys Christian Bale and George Clooney, anyway.
55. Try And Understand Final Crisis
The climax of one of DC's recent big crossover events saw Batman dying...sort of. Final Crisis is an absolutely bonkers and mostly impenetrable story about the world's conquering and imminent destruction by death-obsessed gods from beyond space, and as every superpowered being in the universe falls to Darkseid and his forces of Apokolips it looks like the Caped Crusader is the only one who can save us...we think. We're still not sure. We should really set a day aside to try and puzzle out exactly what went on in this book - maybe with help from one of the many annotated guides online - and this seems like as good an opportunity as any!
54. See If You Can Read All Of Grant Morrison's Run In A Day
Whilst we can't recommend Final Crisis in good faith, we do often speak highly of Morrison's epic run on the main Batman titles which began in 2007 and finally wrapped up last year. During his time writing the adventures of the Dark Knight he figured out a way to make all the varied portrayals of the character - from sixties camp to eighties brooding grittiness - make sense together, gave Bruce Wayne a long lost song in the form of new Robin Damian, and took the fight against crime worldwide with the formation of Batman Incorporated, franchising the cowl out to vigilantes across the globe. With art handled by some of the industry's top talents (including JH Williams III, Frank Quitely and Chris Burnham), it's a pretty big collection of comics...but an excellent one!
53. Easily Read...Most Of Frank Miller's Batman In A Day
If that's too big a time commitment, however - especially when you've already put aside 31 hours in the day to watch the entire Batma animated series - you could instead plump for Frank Miller's iconic work with the character. Or some of it, at least. All Star Batman & Robin was, ahem, something of a misstep for the writer/artist, but you can't really go wrong with the dystopian future of The Dark Knight Returns or the revisionist history of Year One's origin story, especially as the latter's in concert with David Mazzucchelli's artwork. Not a cheerful day's reading, but two of the best Batman stories ever told, for sure.
52. Remember There's A Batman: Year Two
Less celebrated was Batman: Year Two, a story arc that came out a year after Miller and Mazzucchelli's Year One, and which has absolutely nothing in common with its almost namesake. Written by Mike W Barr and illustrated by Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Farmer and Todd McFarlane, this was less of a gritty reworking of Bruce Wayne's origin story and more of a ridiculous over-the-top story which involves him teaming up with the mugger who killed his parents in order to take down another, more vicious vigilante. It's great, just in a different way to Year One. In a similar way that Batman & Robin is entertaining, just in a different way to the Dark Knight Rises.
51. And Year 100
Much better, in a non-ironic way, is underground artist Paul Pope's award-winning Batman: Year 100. A more gonzo take on The Dark Knight Returns, the story sees Gotham on the verge of becoming a police state in the far-off future of 2039, as Commissioner Gordon's grandson deals with sightings of the legendary crimefighter. Pope's scratchy, unique style really makes this story, and the collected edition also includes his story "The Berlin Batman", an alternate reality tale of Bruce Wayne as a cubist artist-turned-freedom fighting Jew in Nazi Germany. Both totally great, both things you should spend with today. Along with the twenty-odd other things we've already suggested.
50. Look Over A Map Of Gotham
Since he's been around for over seven decades at this point, there's nary a corner of Batman's character and world that hasn't been poured over and fleshed out by creators and fans alike. One of our favourite pieces of totally unnecessary but totally cool ephemera when it comes to the Dark Knight mythos is Elliot R Brown's map of Gotham City, originally pieced together for the No Man's Land storyline (where the town was torn apart by earthquakes and abandoned by the US government) but has since become the official layout for Batman's stomping grounds. If you're as nerdy as us, you'll love Brown's breakdown of how he put the map together. And you're reading a list of things to do on Batman Day, so we're fairly certain you're approaching our level of nerditude
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
