The Batman Movie: 10 Comics Matt Reeves NEEDS To Adapt

6. Private Casebook

Batman Private Casebook Zatanna
DC Comics/Dustin Nguyen

Paul Dini is a name most will recognise from Batman: The Animated Series. The writer penned some of the most notable episodes from that show, including Harley and Ivy, Almost Got 'Im and Joker's Favor, and later presided over several Batman comic books in the years following.

Perhaps the writer's most overlooked series, however, came during his stint on Detective Comics and Streets of Gotham towards the end of the last decade. Together with Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs, Dini presided over his own little corner of Batman's world and told some seriously brilliant tales in the process, including Heart of Hush. However, for the purposes of this list, it is Private Casebook that deserves special attention.

An anthology comprised of several unique one-shots that showcase Batman's investigative prowess, Private Casebook is not only a great book to newcomers but also one for longtime fans of the character. It features a fantastic couple of team-up stories with Zatanna, where both are forced to confront the Ventriloquist, and several others that spotlight various mysteries involving villains like the Wonderland Gang, the Riddler, and a figure known as the Lilly Killer.

It's a fantastic collection, and even if just one mystery ends up inspiring an element of Reeves' film, it'll be all the better for it.

Advertisement
Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.