Batman comics: where to start reading? Gotham Policeman - Best Batman Comics "Arkham Mental Asylum - House of Sorrow in Sorrowful Land"

Batman (eng. Batman), originally Bat-man (eng. Bat-man, Russian. Bat-man) is a fictional superhero, the gloomy defender of the city of Gotham, which is a collective image of Chicago and New York in the United States. Possesses the strength and reflexes of a human at its peak, similar to an Olympic athlete. He uses with might and main an extensive collection of high-tech gadgets and equipment with the prefix “bat”: batarangs, batmobile, batplane, etc. The main base, called the Batcave, is located underground on the territory of the Wayne family estate. Batman is a comic book character published by Detective Comics (Russian Detective Comics), first appearing in #27 in May 1939. Along with Superman, Batman is one of the earliest and most famous comic book heroes. Created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He is sometimes referred to as the Dark Knight or The Greatest Detective.
Batman is the alter ego of Bruce Wayne, the wealthy owner of Wayne Enterprises Corporation. He declared a crusade against crime after his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, were killed in front of him by a mugger. Shocked by the cruelty and injustice of this act, little Bruce vowed to become stronger and protect the innocent so that a similar tragedy would never happen again.
Far from immediately, he adopted the image of a bat. Bruce Wayne left the city and spent several years traveling, training in hand-to-hand combat, the art of escape, studying the psychology of criminals and many other skills. The return to Gotham coincided with the appointment of police officer James Gordon, Batman's future ally, to the position of lieutenant. More about this is described in the comic book "Batman. Year one." In the future, the list of enemies and allies of Bruce Wayne expanded significantly. Sequel to Batman. Long Halloween" he will face Catwoman, and in the comic book closing the trilogy "Batman. Dark Victory ”will get a permanent partner - Robin. However, Batman does not always fight with ordinary mafiosi. One of the Dark Knight's most recognizable adversaries is the insane maniac clown nicknamed the Joker. It is their first meeting that is dedicated to the comic "Batman, the Man Who Laughs". Bruce is the founder and one of the longest running members of a group called the Justice League. Comics "Justice League. Book 1: Beginning tells about the first meeting of a team of superheroes and their joint fight against alien invaders. The Dark Knight does not shy away from working alongside other superheroes. For example, the Superman/Batman series focused on the adventures of the super duo. Of particular interest are the so-called alternative universes. Masterpiece comic "Batman. The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of an elderly Bruce Wayne who has retired from crime fighting but decides to return amid violent gang activity. Batman appears in an unexpected role in the story “Superman. red son", in which Batman's parents were killed by the KGB, so he vowed to fight the system and the Soviet Superman.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the first Batman comic, the twenty-seventh issue of the Detective Comics series. DC Comics has officially declared July 23rd as Batman Day. There's a lot to celebrate: after all, the Man-Bat is one of the most important and influential superheroes in the history of comics. Look At Me picked up 15 main stories with his participation.

"The Dark Knight Returns"

Probably the most famous Batman comic, and certainly the main Batman comic of the 80s: a dark story from Frank Miller (author of "Sin City", "300 Spartans" and much more) about 55-year-old Bruce Wayne, retired, who puts on the Batman costume for the last time and goes to battle against all his enemies. Together with Alan Moore's Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns turned the tradition of superhero comics on its head - and showed what they can do; before Miller’s series, superheroes didn’t age, didn’t get sick, and were generally flawless, he also drew an ambiguous cyberpunk universe in which there is no obvious good and evil, and even Batman seems to be not a very good psychopath. The comic remains a timeless classic, and any attempt to reinvent Batman is inevitably compared to The Return. Well, yes, this is the same comic in which Batman fights Superman, and, consider, he wins.

"Batman: Year One"

Reinventing Batman from the End (that is, writing about the future of the hero), Frank Miller set to work on the beginning of the hero, and a year after The Dark Knight Returns, he drew Year One, a comic that tells how exactly Bruce Wayne decided to put on a bat suit and start fighting crime. "Year One" is similar to "Return" - the same gloomy, on the verge of realism comic strip, revealing new features in the old hero; in order to start reading Batman comics, he fits perfectly - despite the fact that over the 75 years of the hero's existence, his origin has been told many times, it is Miller's version that can be considered the most classic.

"Batman: The Killing Joke"

The Joker is the main character in Batman's supervillain gallery; a hero who complements Batman and makes his story many times deeper and, in general, scarier. Like the man in the bat suit, the Joker has gone through many interpretations throughout his history, from harmless prankster to terrorist to dangerous maniac. The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, is the ultimate book for a hero - here's another version of his origin (the Joker here is a failed stand-up comedian) and it is shown to what cruelties he is capable of reaching. The ending in The Killing Joke is very ambiguous: for a long time it was believed that Batman, as usual, does not kill his main opponent and sends him to a mental hospital; but acclaimed screenwriter Grant Morrison recently suggested that the opposite is true.

"Arkham Psychiatric Hospital - a mourning house in a mournful land"

A schizophrenic experimental comic dedicated to an important building in Batman mythology, Arkham Asylum, where Batman, who never kills, sends defeated supervillains. According to the plot of "House of Sorrow", there is a riot in Arkham, and Batman goes there to deal with it. After that, the plot of the comic becomes somewhat difficult to follow: it is extremely abstractly drawn, filled with Jungian symbolism, and even the villains here are the embodiment of Batman's internal psychological problems. We highly recommend reading the 2004 edition of the comic, which was released for his fifteenth birthday: there are comments from the author, Grant Morrison, which make the book much clearer.

"The Long Halloween", "Dark Victory"

The dilogy by screenwriter Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, which we have combined into one paragraph, is the best detective story featuring Batman. The first book describes a year-long story of a maniac who kills his victims on holidays and who is hunted by all of Gotham - from the police and Batman to the mafia. In the second - another year in the life of Batman, in which the authors fold all the ends left after the first comic. Loeb and Sale cover every major Batman theme in Halloween and Victory; there are mysterious murders, and the whole story has a tragic tone, and almost all the main supervillains manage to appear, and the dilogy, as usual, ends rather ambiguously and even sadly. In addition, the comics are brilliantly drawn: no one has drawn Batman like Tim Sale.

"Batman: Year 100"

Batman: Year 100

DC Comics, 2006, Paul Pope

Year 100 is one of the most distinctive graphic novels of the 2000s. Independent comics star Paul Pope has blasted Bruce Wayne and his eternal enemies out of the Batman myth and sent the action into a 2039 cyberpunk world of Heavy Liquid and 100%, in which a police state is watching its citizens. Who cares who's under the helmet: Batman is always a legend, a non-conformist urban guerrilla who behaves like a cypherpunk, always tries to get to the bottom of the truth and never succumbs to authority. Crossing techniques from manga and European comics, Pope created a fresh take on the character. In addition, this is simply an exciting read: in fact, the entire narrative is a series of dynamic chases from which it is impossible to tear oneself away. An excellent fusion of mass and author's comics.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Like any other important superhero, Batman has experienced a huge number of strange interpretations and transmigrations to alternate realities and time periods, from the Middle Ages and the far future to vampires and zombies. Gotham by Gaslight is a late 19th century steampunk Batman conceived by Brian Augustin and drawn by Mike Mignola. (Author of Hellboy). A short, literally fifty page story in which a young Bruce Wayne returns to America from a trip to Europe and, of course, brings with him Jack the Ripper, with whom he has to fight. Gotham by Gaslight became the first comic book in the Elseworlds series (included it there, however, after the release), in which Batman was just placed in different alternative realities, but Mignola and Augustin did it better than all subsequent authors.

Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

Red Rain, DC Comics, 1991, Doug Menh, Kelly Jones

An amazing comic that pits Batman against the main vampire in history: Gotham is attacked by Dracula, who begins to turn its inhabitants into his vampire servants (and he manages to convert many - for example, the Joker). Of course, the only person who can stop him is Batman; but only Bruce Wayne is also infected and turned into a vampire. Batman is often referred to as the creature of the night. (this is logical, given that he dresses in a bat suit), and in "Red Rain" this is interpreted literally. Comic book writers have been into vampires long before the creators of movies and TV shows - and Red Rain is just about the best thing that has been done with them. The comic teeters on the edge of farce, but is absolutely brilliantly drawn, which greatly helps the story.

"Batman Black and White"

A book made from a simple idea: to gather all the best writers and artists in comics, give them a few pages each and ask them to write and draw short and exciting Batman stories - and also make them black and white. As you might guess, "Black and White" is not as deep and solid as other Batman stories, but the anthology is full of witty ideas; the main thing is that all the stories are very different, from serious to funny. There is, for example, a story from Neil Gaiman and Simon Beasley that features the Joker and Batman as actors playing roles in the pages of a comic book. Or a story about Batman as a legend that a mother tells her son in the distant future.

"Batman: Black Mirror"

Running in the Detective Comics series in the first half of 2011, the Black Mirror story arc is the newest story on this list, and perhaps the best thing to happen to Batman in the last five years. Scott Snyder designed a series of scary and mysterious stories flowing into each other about the life of Gotham - the city here appears not just as a background, but as a separate character in the story - and this brought himself to the rank of the main author of DC Comics. Everything is great in Black Mirror: both the detective story and the drawing (responsible for Jock and Francesco Francavilla), and the characters - first of all (spoiler) this is the crazy son of Commissioner James Gordon.

"Batman: Quiet"

Sometimes the journey is more important than the result, and one of the most popular stories of the 2000s, created by the duo of the already mentioned Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, is a great example of this. Hush is like a summer movie blockbuster: a very effective story that runs through all the key superheroes of Gotham for a dozen issues and surprises with unexpected plot twists, but rather leaves the reader at a loss in the end. Hush introduced the villain of the same name into the world of Batman and resurrected former Robin Jason Todd, who was killed by the Joker, but this is not what he is interested in. Although Loeb revisited his favorite detective story with the gallery of characters, the plot proved to be the weak point of the novel. But here they fight very nicely (and punch Superman in the face)- and a very sexy Catwoman. Why something else?

"Batman: Gothic"

Batman is one of the most popular comic book characters. Everyone knows the story of millionaire Bruce Wayne, whose parents were shot dead by a robber in an alley near a movie theater. When Bruce grew up, he applied all his knowledge, strength and money to fight crime, wearing a bat costume for intimidation.

But if everything is simple with Batman films - there are only about a dozen of them - then understanding the history of comics is much more difficult. Many people have a question: where to start?

It may seem that the answer is obvious: you need to get to know the character from the very first releases. But in the case of Batman, this is hardly worth doing. Firstly, comics about this hero have been published for almost 80 years, and it will take too long to read. Secondly, most of the old stories will seem too simple to the modern reader, and the graphics uninteresting. Thirdly, even among modern editions, a significant part is passing stories that are unlikely to attract a new reader. So, if you're not going to write a scientific work on Batman, it's not necessary to study the entire huge archive.

Moreover, over the past years, the hero's biography has been repeatedly rewritten along with the entire DC Comics universe, as well as in the form of separate branches. Therefore, to begin with, it is better to choose a dozen generally recognized best works.

10 comics to start with

1 Batman: Year One

One of the best Batman comics and a great way to get to know the hero's story. It was written by the famous Frank Miller - the author of "", "300" and many other popular comics.

In the story, a young millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne returns to his native Gotham. He is faced with a rampant crime on the streets and decides to protect the city in the form of a night avenger. In parallel, the first steps of Commissioner Jim Gordon are shown - he is transferred to Gotham, and he is trying to fight corruption in power. You can even say that Gordon is the main character of this comic. And Miller's main goal is to show all the gloom of life in Gotham, mired in crime.

Batman in a suit does not appear here much, more emphasis is placed on how Bruce Wayne comes up with an image for himself - this, by the way, he copied quite accurately in the movie “Batman. Start".

The artist for the Year One series is David Mazzucchelli. But, according to him, Miller did most of the work himself, he only had to finish the drawings. Moreover, the comic can be found in two versions: a standard one, where everything is drawn in pale colors traditional for Miller, and a special edition with brighter colors. There is also a 2011 cartoon of the same name, where this story is almost frame-by-frame retold.

2. Killer joke

The work of the brilliant comic book writer Alan Moore. A very short but very atmospheric story about how Batman can sometimes be as obsessed as those he preys on.

In the center is the confrontation between the hero and his eternal enemy the Joker. And it is the famous clown who is trying to prove to Batman that a person needs only one bad day to turn into a psychopath. To this end, he kidnaps Commissioner Jim Gordon, and before that he shoots his daughter Barbara in the spine.

The comic is also important in that it tells the origin story of the Joker, although he himself is not sure of his memories.

He himself confessed his love for the "Killing Joke". And Jared Leto, before trying on the image of the Joker in Suicide Squad, posted a photo in which he copied the character from the cover of the comic book.

In 2016, a cartoon of the same name was released, in which the backstory of Batman and Barbara's love relationship was added to the plot of The Killing Joke. But for many fans of the comic, this part seemed superfluous, and they prefer to watch the cartoon from the middle.

3. The man who laughs

Chronologically, this comic takes place before The Killing Joke and directly continues Year One. However, here again the origin story of the Joker is recalled, so it is better to read them in that order.

Batman investigates the appearance of a new maniac in the city. He announces in advance on television the names of his victims - rich people from Gotham. But, despite all efforts, none of them can be saved, they all die with a frozen smile on their faces. Batman tries to catch the criminal and realizes that this case is connected with a man who once fell into chemical reagents at a factory.

Interestingly, in fact this comic is a remake of the very first appearance of the Joker on the pages of DC Comics in 1940. Authors Ed Brubaker and Doug Monkey only modernized the plot and picture and connected it with later events of the DC Universe. And the name itself refers to the novel by Victor Hugo, or rather, to its main character, from whom the Joker was once copied.

4. "Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory"

Two detective stories from acclaimed author Jeph Loeb (now in charge of the television division). These are two separate stories, but it is better to read them in a row, since they are drawn by the same artist Tim Sale, and literally continue each other.

The first plot is more confusing. And here Batman often has to justify his title of the best detective than the best fighter. A maniac appears in the city, killing only on holidays, and he chooses victims among members of large mafia clans. Indeed, until the very end it is almost impossible to guess who the killer is.

In "Dark Victory", a maniac kills cops, leaving clues in the form of a child's game "gallows" at the crime scene. Here the story is a little simpler, but those who liked The Long Halloween will definitely appreciate the continuation.

It is in this comic that prosecutor Harvey Dent gets acid poured over his face, after which he becomes the madman Two-Face. The Grayson family of circus acrobats also perishes here, and Batman takes on an assistant for the first time - Dick Grayson, the first Robin.

Visually, these comics are very gothic. Batman's cape often looks like a black blob on the floor. By the way, the performer of the role of Batman Christian Bale said that he tried to copy his image from these stories.

5. Death in the family

One of the rather old comics, which now looks rustic. But to understand the depth of the character, it is simply necessary. Moreover, the old comics seem to many to be entirely bright and positive.

To begin with, you need to consider that Batman had several partners with the common name Robin. The first of these is Dick Grayson, whose story begins in The Long Halloween. Later, he moved to another city and took the name Nightwing - there is a separate comic book series about him, and now they are filming a series. After that, Batman found a new assistant - a homeless orphan Jason Todd. He became the second Robin. But the readers did not really like this character, and then the authors decided on a really cruel move. In the "A Death in the Family" story arc, the Joker locked Jason in a warehouse and beat him to death with a crowbar.

6 Knightfall

And one more important, though not very visually interesting plot. For those who watched Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, the comic book is definitely recommended reading. After all, it is here that Batman faces an opponent Bane, who is superior in strength and cunning, and he breaks his back in a duel.

This story significantly changes the perception of Bruce Wayne. First, he loses the image of an invincible hero. And secondly, the authors show that Batman is not only Wayne, his costume can be transferred to another person. And the one who tried on the image of a bat was the warrior Azrael, who used completely different methods of dealing with villains.

7. Batman: Quiet!

Another work by Jeph Loeb, and again a detective. Although this time the plot is much less twisted.

The mysterious character Hush appears in Gotham (the word hush means "quietly" in translation). He subjugates all the criminals and plays some very strange game. And his main goal, of course, will be Batman.

From the "Long Halloween" this comic is distinguished primarily by graphics. Here the artist was the famous Jim Lee, and it is impossible not to recognize his style. Firstly, he draws in detail a lot of little things: the background, clothing details, vehicles and weapons. And secondly, he draws heroes in a very specific way. For this, critics often scold him, because all the men in his comics have strong-willed chins and clenched teeth, and the women have large breasts. But the fans love him for it.

In Batman: Quiet, Jim Lee was allowed to enjoy the portrayal of female characters - at least for a short time, almost all the main characters of DC comics appear here: from Harley Quinn to Catwoman. And by the way, this is where the relationship between Batman and the Cat will reach a new level.

8. Arkham Asylum. House of Sorrow in Sorrowful Land

For those who still think that comics are just pictorial superhero stories, you should definitely read the work of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. Because it was not created to tell the reader something. It's just frightening. The plot of Arkham Asylum is simple: the Joker organizes a riot in a psychiatric hospital, where he was once again hidden, and takes the staff hostage. He is ready to release the hospital staff on one condition - Batman must voluntarily surrender to him.

In parallel, the story of the man who built the clinic is revealed. He tried to cope with childhood trauma and even help others, but ended up going insane himself.

It would seem that the authors do not tell anything new, but the approach to the main character is changing here. Once in the hospital, Batman asks himself the question: what if this is the place for a man who dresses up in a bat costume. In addition, the authors embodied their ideas in a very non-standard way. The comic is a collection of frightening pictures, photographs, hard-to-read and many hidden characters on every page.

All this immerses the viewer into a world of madness and nightmares. If you stay alone with this comic late at night, then reading will turn into watching a real horror movie, when every rustle frightens.

9. Return of the dark knight

And again, a lover of hard stories Frank Miller. In contrast to the Year One comic, this is a story about an elderly Batman who plans to retire. Bruce Wayne is in his 50s and has been away from Gotham for a long time. During this time, the government has banned all superheroes, and Superman now follows orders from the president. Wayne enters the fight against a gang of mutants, but then he will have to confront Superman himself in an unequal battle.

Fans of subtle drawing of characters with this comic will have a hard time, because Miller illustrated it himself, and he does everything rough and sweeping. But the plot compensates for the simplicity of the drawing many times over. Here, each character is presented ambiguously, and it is impossible to make out who is still a hero and who is a villain.

According to the plot of the comic, a cartoon of the same name was shot, accurately conveying the content. And it was taken as a basis by Zack Snyder when he filmed the film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Although the director turned many themes upside down, an elderly Bruce Wayne and a fight in an iron suit came straight from Miller's story.

10 Batman: Earth-1

For those weary of the endless repetition of Batman's origin story, DC has an outlet in Earth-1. This, one might say, is a parallel world where the characters are more like real people.

The creators of this comic book about Batman decided to tell about the youth of the hero a little differently. Yes, his parents also die, but the motive for turning young Bruce Wayne into Batman is not revenge, but rather guilt. And the butler Albert plays an equally important role. Here he not only serves and helps Bruce - the former military man turns into his main mentor. It seems that the authors of the series "" were guided by this story.

Earth-1 is a great way to see more believable and down-to-earth heroes. The novice Batman is here with might and main breaking his favorite gadgets, he falls, loses and is afraid. Everything is like in life.

10 more comics for those who are already involved

Those who have read the main comics and liked them can be taken for more complex stories.

11. Lonely place to die

After the death of Jason Todd, Batman has a new Robin - Tim Drake. And this is the only case when the boy himself found Bruce Wayne, having figured out who was hiding under the mask of a bat. But, like all Batman partners, tragic events occur in the life of young Tim.

12. Under the red cap

The return of Jason Todd was hinted at in Batman: Quiet!, but then it turned out to be a hoax. But in the series "Under the Red Cap" he really came back to life. True, in a different way: now Todd acts as an anti-hero - a kind of reflection of Batman's cruelty.

13. Gotham by gaslight

If you are tired of watching the same characters, be sure to read this comic. What if Batman lives not in our time, but in the Victorian era? And who, if not him, should calculate the very first maniac in the world -? In addition to the unusual idea and entourage, this plot is also interesting in its complete departure from the canons. This means that anyone can be the killer.

14. Flashpoint: Batman. Retribution Knight

In the DC universe, global incidents regularly occur that restart the stories of all heroes. One of these events was "Flashpoint" - the plot, when the Flash went back in time and saved his mother from being killed, thereby changing the course of history. And in a parallel world in an alley, not Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, but the boy himself. As a result, Batman became his father - Thomas Wayne, much more aggressive than his son. But what happened to the mother, it is better to find out from the comics.

15. Injustice: Gods Among Us

Batman is just one of many characters in this comic. But for those who have already familiarized themselves with the eponymous, it will be useful to know the background of events. The Joker tricks Superman into killing a pregnant Lois Lane. After that, the Man of Steel goes crazy and decides to build his ideal world without crime. Over time, he turns into a real tyrant. And then some of the former colleagues, including Batman, go into resistance, trying to overthrow the power of Superman.

16. Court of Owls

It would seem that Batman put things in order on the streets of Gotham and eradicated all crime. But then he finds out that some "Owls" have been secretly managing his city for a long time. And now the Dark Knight will have to face them.

17. Noel

One of the strangest ideas is to combine the classic "" by Charles Dickens, where the spirits of Christmas came to the gloomy old man Scrooge, with characters from Batman comics. However, as it turned out, it can look very interesting.

18. Gothic

Another piece by Grant Morrison that addresses hidden fears. Here, Batman will have to confront not so much various enemies as his childhood memories. You can get acquainted with interesting facts from the youth of the hero.

19. Cult

Where else can you see Batman, who has fallen under the influence of a dangerous cult. The Dark Knight even goes so far as to pick up firearms. Although, it would seem that the founder of this cult, like the main character, wants to cleanse the city of crime.

20. Black and white

And finally - rather elegant than meaningful comics. Four short but truly gripping stories from the life of Batman, done in black and white.

Continuing the topic, we decided to present you with the ten best chapters from the life of the Dark Knight - Batman. What and why the MTV Geek reviewers chose, you can read below.

Batman: Dark Victory

Another book that sheds some light on the horror story is Gotham After Midnight, written by Steve Niles and drawn by Kelly Jones. Batman vs one of his most monstrous enemies! Niles' script is beyond praise, but Jones' style... That's what really makes this comic so great. History and drawing are combined just incredible!

Also on our list is perhaps the scariest Batman comic ever. Grant Morrison sends him into the trap of insanity, Batman ends up in the Arkham psychiatric hospital. And there he slowly goes crazy. For those looking for something a little different from your typical superhero story, highly recommended!

Alan Moore's classic comic strip re-imagines the Joker and his appearance. Full of controversial moments, the story is a must-read for all fans of interesting villains in comics! Which top Batman comic book doesn't have this story?

An unusual look at the future of Bruce Wayne in superstar Paul Pope's indie comic strip that throws Batman into a story that destroys all his glory. This is a brutal book that will prove to skeptics that comics are art too!

If you liked Batman: The Animated Series (and yes, you did, we know), then you'll want this book in your collection. She was created by Paul Dini specifically for Detective Comics. Each release is made almost perfectly and inscribed in a single story. The best way to get started with The Dark Knight comics.

One of those stories that introduces a new generation of readers to Batman. Introducing a dark take on Batman's future, Frank Miller filled the comic with now-classic dialogue and scenes.

Scott Snyder's new Batman book has quickly become one of the best stories ever! The brilliant work of artists Jock (Jock) and Francesco Francavilla (Francesco Francavilla) led to the creation of an unusual story in the noir style. We were shown all of Gotham and introduced one of the best new villains in recent times.

Alex Zalben's (MTV Geek author) favorite book about The Dark Knight, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's team classic Long Halloween has been a mystery for a year (okay, thirteen months), every issue is like a holiday! This time Batman is embroiled in an unusual story of crime and revenge. One of the best Batman stories ever written.

Are there any other contenders for the first place? Maybe you thought this comic would not be here at all? Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli created a seminal Batman book for the modern era, providing an updated look at a man driven to the brink and fighting in memory of his slain parents. Careful analysis, showing the gradual development of the personality of Bruce Wayne as Batman, was the key to undeniable success. It was on this comic that a wonderful cartoon came out this year, it was Nolan who took it as the basis when working on Batman Begins. must read.