The idea for this piece came as I started writing an article entitled "comics that should be made into films" (that will be coming up soon) however while I was writing it I noticed that Batman popped up a lot. So much in fact, most of the entries were Batman. So I decided to break it off and give people who are not familiar with The Dark Knight a strong place to start. Now that most people are so what aware with character in this post-TDR world which we live in there is no reason not to do this. There are Batman stories that you MUST read, these are obvious like Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. Yet, after that people draw a blank, or others are turned off by the "darkness" found in Batman. I am a lifelong Batman fan, my girlfriend on the other hand is not. Trying to introduce her to Batman yielded this result, and it is not without basis. The Cult, Death in the Family etc are all very dark. And on the surface, Batman is too dark. The Nolanverse didn't help this viewpoint. While the comics medium is often seen as somewhat caustic by the outside world, I assure that this is not the case. Yes, the DC multiverse is confusing and the New 52 can be intimidating. However, like everything, there is just as much good as there is bad. So to say there is scope for every taste is an understatement. There are series', alternative universes and fresh takes on the Batman archetype to explore. TDKR may mark the end of director Christopher Nolan's films but it is not the final word on the series. I aim to provide a strong introduction to the comic book version of Batman. These will cover the Dark but also the reason why Batman is Batman. This guide should provide a complete picture of the world, the character and the man Bruce Wayne inhabits from post-Crisis through the "Dark Age". Let us start with...