Ten-Year Triumphs: The Best Batman Stories by Decade
Though he’s not yet a century old, Batman’s career spans ten decades. Since his first appearance in May 1939’s Detective Comics #27 to the latest issue of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s ongoing “All In” Batman series, new adventures of the Dark Knight have appeared in print continuously, usually on a weekly basis. To celebrate this year’s Batman Day, I thought it would be interesting to look back on those many decades and choose one single Batman story from each one that I feel best represents the Bat-stories of that era. It’s pretty much an impossible task that I’m sure will have a lot of you yelling at your screens telling me why my choices are wrong…but hey, that’s what makes it fun!
One important thing to keep in mind as you read the list below. I’m using the scientific definition of a decade—a ten-year period, the first year of which ends in a 1 and the final year of which ends in a 0. So, the decade of the 1960s, for example, begins in 1961 and ends in 1970. Fair enough? Then read on, Batfans!
1930s – Batman #1, “The Joker”
Batman’s early years saw him battle weird menaces like the Mad Monk and Hugo Strange—villains straight out of the lurid pulp magazines that helped inspire the Caped Crusader’s creation. But the first foe he fought who was worthy of his deductive skills also proved to be his greatest—the Joker, who debuted in March 1940’s Batman #1 (alongside the Catwoman). The Clown Prince of Crime’s first story is a classic locked room mystery, in which he announces in advance the victim he will kill, giving Batman a suspense-inducing deadline. This tale—written by Bill Finger, penciled by Bob Kane and inked by Jerry Robinson—would later inspire the plots of Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knight and the recent second-season finale of TV’s Batman: Caped Crusader.
1940s – Batman #30, “While the City Sleeps!”
While Catwoman is a strong contender for the title of Love of Batman’s Life, fans know our hero’s heart truly belongs to Gotham City itself. The first tale to explore the depth of Batman’s feelings for his hometown can be found in August 1945’s Batman #30. It’s a tribute to the men and women who work alongside Batman in his crusade—Gotham’s night workers. Written by Bill Finger, it boasts art from the first truly great draftsman in Batman comic history—artist Dick Sprang, who, like everyone who wrote and drew Batman through his first few decades, worked uncredited.
1950s – Detective Comics #211, “The Jungle Cat Queen!”
The 1950s are often considered Batman’s goofy years in which he fought alien invaders and traveled through time in the wake of the Comics Code Authority’s establishment. Goofy though they may be, these years also represented a peak in Batman comics’ craftsmanship, thanks to the pairing of artist Dick Sprang with inker Charles Paris. The bold lines and stunning details of their work was never displayed better than in September 1954’s Detective Comics#211, “The Jungle Cat Queen!” (written by sci-fi pulp writer Edmond Hamilton and featured in Batman: A Celebration of 75 Years). Kinky and colorful, it proved too much for the Comics Code Authority—in its wake, Catwoman vanished from comics for twelve years.
1960s – Detective Comics #395, “The Secret of the Waiting Graves”
When Len Wein took over editorship of the Bat books in the late 1960s, he paired artist Neal Adams with writer Dennis O’Neil. Together, they proved to be the Lennon and McCartney of DC, rejuvenating Batman as a detective and crimefighter after the 1966 Adam West TV show rendered him a comedic figure. Adams’ lithe, agile vigilante perfectly complemented O’Neil’s plots, which challenged readers to solve Batman’s cases in the manner of an Ellery Queen mystery story. It’s almost impossible to select a favorite from amidst their gothic-infused output, so I’m going with the tale that launched the Adams/O’Neil partnership: January 1970’s “The Secret of the Waiting Graves” in Detective Comics #395 (inked by Dick Giordano).
1970s – Detective Comics #475-476, “The Laughing Fish”/“The Sign of the Joker”
While O’Neil and Adams’ 1973 story “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge” (in Batman #251) returned the Clown Prince of Crime to his roots as a homicidal maniac after the Comics Code-courting stories of the ’50s and ’60s, it was a two-part story in February 1978’s Detective Comics #475 and March’s #476 (“The Laughing Fish”/“The Sign of the Joker”) that cemented his reputation as Batman’s greatest arch-enemy for all time. Inked by Marshall Rogers, these issues would later inspire the 1989 Batman film with Michael Keaton and remain the high-water mark of the two foes’ eternal war. It’s the Batman/Joker story that all comic creators aspire to, knowingly or not. The entire brief but seminal Rogers/Englehart run (inked by Terry Austin)—of which these issues are the finale—can be found in the collection Strange Apparitions.
Is Batman: Year One the most perfect Batman story ever told? It’s a claim that doesn’t come lightly. The year prior had given readers writer/artist Frank Miller’s epochal The Dark Knight Returns, which cemented Batman as DC’s most popular character (and which he remains to the present day). But the four-part Year One—debuting in January 1987’s Batman #404—is the ultimate in lean, meaty, minimal superhero storytelling. Written by Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, it’s the model for all origin tales and served in part as the inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. More importantly, along with Dark Knight Returns, Watchmenand Art Spiegelman’sMaus, it marked a turning point for the comic book medium as a whole.
1990s –Batman: The Long Halloween
The greatest ongoing Batman comic of the 1990s was the anthology title Legends of the Dark Knight, which gave free reign to creators’ imaginations, freed of any continuity restrictions. Set in the early years of the Dark Knight’s career, it functioned as a kind of informal sequel to Year One. The most noteworthy new talent it spawned was artist Tim Sale, whose expressionistic cartooning paired with writer Jeph Loeb on three memorable Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special one-shots (collected in Batman: Haunted Knight). But their most enduring creation remains Batman: The Long Halloween, the 13-issue holiday-themed maxiseries showcasing most of the Batman’s fabled rogues gallery in a smart crime epic, part of which was folded into The Dark Knight film.
Batman: Hushis the blockbuster Batman story that reintroduced the Dark Knight and his rogues gallery to a new millennium of readers. Featuring bravura pencilling by Jim Lee (inked by Scott Williams) and a taut high-concept tale written by Jeph Loeb, it spanned October 2002’s Batman #608 through September 2003’s Batman #619. It introduced a keeper of a new villain in its title character, one with ties to Bruce Wayne’s past. And it inspired toy lines, animated films, statues and video games. Hush also served as a mission statement for both Lee and DC, a testimonial that superhero comics could be as exciting as any Hollywood movie. Lee would, of course, go on to be appointed to Co-Publisher of the company in 2010 and President in 2023.
2010s – Batman: The Court of Owls
The greatest new Batman villain since Harley Quinn was introduced by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo in Batman: The Court of Owls,the seven-part New 52 era Batman saga that launched in September 2011’s Batman #1. Giving Batman a secret society of nigh unstoppable fiends sequestered beneath Gotham to contend with, The Court of Owls brought Snyder’s finely honed horror sensibilities to Batman and launched a collaboration with Capullo that proved the definitive Batman pairing of the 2010s. Snyder continues finding new dimensions to the character to this day, as demonstrated by the astounding success of the currently ongoing Absolute Batman.
2020s –Batman & Robin: Year One
A large part of Batman’s success is due to the character’s malleability. He is, as the saying goes, whatever Gotham needs him to be. He’s also whatever his creators need him to be, from the baroque stylings of Jim Lee and Greg Capullo to the shadowy minimalism of David Mazzucchelli and Tim Sale. Artist Chris Samnee falls in the latter camp, while bringing the lightness of Silver Age artists like Dick Sprang to his work. His stay in Gotham City recently kicked off in October 2024 with the first issue of his twelve-part Batman & Robin: Year One. Written by Mark Waid (who’d previously partnered with Samnee on Daredevil, Black Widow, and Captain America)and focused on the early days of the crimefighting pals’ relationship, it’s as beautifully crafted a Batman comic as any. Thankfully, a sequel series, Batman & Robin: Year One – Dynamic Duos, has just launched.
Batman Day is September 19th! Learn more about the Caped Crusader and his comics, movies, games and more by visiting our Batman Day hub.
Joseph McCabe writes about comics, film and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Instagram at @joe_mccabe_editor.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joseph McCabe and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
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