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Comics and Graphic Novels

UrMyStarUrMyStar Posts: 1,473
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I'm thinking of getting into some different comics (up until now I've only read The Walking Dead and American Vampire) and I want to try something like Batman. Is it vital to read the original comics for the graphic novels (The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke for example) to make sense?

So for talking sake, if The Dark Knight Returns was published in 1986, would I need to read the issues of batman and detective comics up to that point first in order for it to make sense or is it more a stand alone?

Also (you can tell I'm a newbie :P ) how easy is it to pick up story arcs, looking on batman.wiki timeline and I see with the New 52 there's "Batman" / "Batman - The Dark Knight" / "Batman and Robin" are these stand alone comics or do they all link together with one big story arc?

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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 277
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    I was more of a Marvel fan than DC, but I've read a bit. Both Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke are stand alone stories. If you know the basics about Batman, they make sense (and are both superb). There is a sequel to DKR, but it's not a patch on the original.

    DC tend to have more jumping on points than Marvel, and do reboot occasionally. You may have heard of DC New 52 where the titles were virtually all relaunched last year.
    Titan magazines in the UK have just launched a couple of new titles reprinting the new Batman stories. I picked up Batman The Dark Knight in Sainsburys last week for £2.99.

    http://titanmagazines.com/t/the-dark-knight/
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    RolnikovRolnikov Posts: 967
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    If you're after story arcs, Knightfall and No Man's Land are currently being collected in a bunch of massive volumes, bringing together stories from lots of the Bat-titles.

    But yeah, with Batman it's mostly pretty straightforward. There's a bunch of different Robins, and even a few different Batmen, but any book you pick up will quickly get you up to speed.

    I loved Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin series.
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