Reddit reviews Batman: The Long Halloween
We found 43 Reddit comments about Batman: The Long Halloween. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
DC Comics
Reddit reviews Batman: The Long HalloweenWe found 43 Reddit comments about Batman: The Long Halloween. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Batman: Year One is a fantastic way to begin. It introduces the major elements, tells a solid story, and the art work is fantastic.
The Long Halloween and Dark Victory are my next two suggestions. They're also my personal favorites (and Christian Bales!).
Others of note:
The Killing Joke
Arkham Asylum
Batman: Absolution
Batman: The Cult
A Death in the Family
Batman: Hush
I've got a few more but they're a bit scattered in terms of story line or canon. I'm also an outlier but I didn't care for "The Dark Knight Returns."
> It’s so confusing, why shouldn’t I just be able to follow his story from beginning to present?
> (I’m using Batman as an example but really I’d like help understanding how to follow comics in general as they’re all laid out this way, with overlapping arcs and timelines and such)
This isn't entirely how comics work. In general, it's not the only way other mediums work either. The REQUIREMENT that everything follows a strict, traditional/conventional 3-act structure (beginning, middle, end) is self-imposed and not necessary for good story-telling. The "beginning" of comics happened decades ago and the "end" is nowhere in sight; comics are perpetually stuck in the "middle".
You're already used to non-traditional narrative structure; it's used very often in other mediums. Why does Star Wars get a pass but not superhero comics? Did you see how Darth Vader "became" Darth Vader before he was introduced for the first time? Do you refuse to watch/read/play anything that will potentially have a prequel and ruin your "sense" of chronology? Did Memento or even Pulp Fiction melt your mind? When you go watch Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, there aren't going to be in-depth introductions for every character.
It's OK to embrace your preferences. Most people like following stories from beginning to end. Now that there is 70+ years of comic history to explore, third parties have attempted ordering it all in some subjective, complicated chronology. It's not really possible, though. How do you handle flashbacks, especially when they're embedded in another story? Do you have to change the chronology to per-panel precision? What about simultaneous story releases? Alternate universes/timelines that are fully/partially "canon" and/or merged/retconned later? Varieties of characterization by multiple writers/artists?
Most of what made these superheroes "cool" in the first place was very topical. What powers do they have? What does their costume look like? Their backstories and character growth/development were fleshed out over the coming decades, more specifically in the "modern" age of comics when the demographic started transitioning to include adults.
There's no "perfect" or "definitive" sequence of events that Batman's story occurred in. That severely limits creators from writing new stories for the character without requiring hard continuity reboots. If you start solidifying that Batman grew up in X, met character Y, fought character Z, in a strict order that can't be changed, then you can't write stories that occur in between those moments. If you plan out Batman's entire chronology to fit a realistic calendar where Bane broke his back on Wednesday and the Court of Owls revealed themselves on Friday, then you (1) will find it won't make sense (because that's not how comics are made) and (2) are stripping all of the "magic" of comics away. Keep in mind: 70+ year old shared universes are an unprecedented achievement of storytelling. No other medium has accomplished something of this scale for this long. You should expect to think of something unique like that a little differently than you might be used to.
I think it's easier to get into comics when you drop the "need" to read EVERYTHING, IN ORDER. You should just read self-contained stories and treat them like separate stories. Think of it like a jigsaw picture puzzle that you're solving one piece at a time. You won't see the big picture (continuity) until you manually piece random pieces of it together over time. You even start to develop your own "methodology" (head-canon, community discussion, etc.) of putting those pieces together (reading comics) in a way that makes sense to you personally. Comics should feel more like self-discovery/exploration than procedure/work.
This is (roughly) how I got into Batman and what I suggest to new readers:
I feel like Nolan's The Dark Knight takes more influence from Jeph Loeb's Batman: The Long Halloween than from any other published stories. In fact, if you buy this trade version of the book, you can read an introduction from Chris Nolan and David Goyer where they discuss the influence this book had on their writing and filmmaking, as well as the cinematic quality of the book itself.
> can someone point me towards a comic or book?
It's collected as a trade, on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Long-Halloween-Jeph-Loeb/dp/1401232590
I'm sure other booksellers have it too.
Hush is often regarded as one of the best Batman trades out there, so you're off to a good start.
Here's a rough list of other books you might enjoy, all widly embraced by fans of Batman while staying with a darker tone similar to Hush.
I''d also suggest reading Identity Crisis. Batman isn't the only character of the story, and while he doesn't make many appearances when he does he certainly makes an impact. Lastly, Gotham Central is also a great read, but it focuses on the GCPD MCU rather than on Batman himself, and how they deal with supervillains and working in a city with a masked vigilante.
Hope this helps.
I also got into comics with Batman Rebirth, afterwards I found this list here on reddit and all of them are just great, few of them are even extraordinary and without any of them we wouldn't have the Batman we have right now.
If I had to pick some highlights, it were The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, No Man's Land, Black Mirror and Hush, especially Hush was fantastic.
Still love Batman Rebirth though.
EDIT: Formatting
Here's a big list of DC recommendations I've made before. You can pick them up in trades, or as single issues. Check Amazon, or Comixology, or InStockTrades.
> For New 52 Batman and Batman-related books, I recommend the following:
 
>For other New 52, I would recommend:
 
>And here are some good pre-N52 that you should definitely check out:
On the Marvel side, I personally recommend Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, Mard Waid's Daredevil, Nathan Edmondson's Black Widow, Cullen Bunn's Magneto, and Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man.
I'm going to list what I think are important, or perhaps emblematic, Batman graphic novels with links to their
wikiamazon page, because the wiki pages were surprisingly unhelpful, so you can check them out. Hopefully you find something that interests you.The Dark Knight Returns: The book that revitalized the genre in the 80s. An important Batman read; however, I think there are better reads.
Year One: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy borrows from Year One, and a lot of others I've listed, in some pretty cool ways. As the title suggests this comic tells the story of the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman.
The Killing Joke: The quintessential Joker story told by one of the most important men in comics, Alan Moore. The story is short, especially for a graphic novel, but fantastic.
The Long Halloween: One of my personal favorites. TLH highlights Batman's detective roots following him on a year long hunt for a serial killer. Much of the rouge gallery makes an appearance and the murder mystery elements are classic Batman at his best.
Hush: A good example of a newer Batman comic; it was first published serially during 2002 and 2003. Very good read, definitely take a look.
Arkham Asylum: A newer comic that I have yet to read but thought I would add it to the list because it usually comes up in conversations like this one. I'm hoping to read it soon.
A very long list that I believe is full of gems:
Preacher, Volume 1 by Ennis
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Gaiman
Invincible: Family Matters by Kirkman
Southern Bastards
Kingdom Come
Marvels
Watchmen
Saga
Mind MGMT
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Batman: The Long Halloween
Pride of Baghdad
All Star Superman
The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye
Thor: God of Thunder
Annihilation (read it digitally on Marvel Unlimited, finding it in print is costly)
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Volume 1 (by far, my favorite take on the characters. Hickman writes them to perfection.)
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt
> Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is strongly influenced by "The Dark Knight Returns" and another of Frank Miller's comics, "Batman: Year One" (1987). A lot of what those comics did seem pretty obvious (even campy, in their own way) nowadays, but at the time they were fairly revolutionary.
I'd offer that Year One has held up remarkably well. Except for being somewhat anti-climatic, it's damned good.
The Dark Knight Returns hasn't held up as well, IMO. There are massive pacing issues. Fortunately, the animated version is very faithful to the story and more accessible to a modern audience. So for people who want to see the story but aren't keen on reading the book, the animated version is a good alternative. (I'm still not a huge fan, but it works better, IMO.)
I'll also throw out a recommendation for The Long Halloween, 'cause it's awesome and also influenced Nolan (and the Arkham games, to some extent).
As for Batman, I would recommend The Court of Owls and its sequel, The City of Owls
If you enjoyed Batman Year One, the writer behind the previously mentioned stories did his own take on the Batman origin called Zero Year that draws a lot of inspiration from Year One. It's also a two-parter. First is Secret City and it's followed by Dark City
If you want more stuff in a similar style to Year One, the same writer has probably the most famous Batman story of all time. It's called Dark Knight Returns
Finally, another essential Batman story would have to be The Long Halloween It has a sequel called Dark Victory and it has its moments but it's eerily similar to the first one and isn't nearly as good.
Personally, I would stray away from events. I'm sure some are alright but most of them just pale in comparison to what the rest of the industry has to offer.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Batman: The Long Halloween is a good place to go after reading Year One.
Batman - Year One, the Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush , the New 52 era.
Green Lantern - Secret Origin, Green Lanterns, the Green Lantern , Earth One
Stephanie Batgirl - Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, Batman Inc, Tynion's Detective Comics
Arkham Games Based - Year One, Arkham Asylum, Hush, Under the Red Hood
You would probably be better off picking up issues collected in graphic novel/trade paperback/omnibus form, especially since you said your SO isn't interested in collecting. Superboy, Batman, and Justice League are all popular, long-running series with hundreds of issues which is both prohibitively expensive and takes up a lot of space.
It also depends on which iterations your SO is most into. Superboy is a title that's been held by multiple characters (Clark Kent, Conner Kent, Jon Kent, etc), the same goes for Batman (Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, John Paul Valley, etc), and the Justice League cast is a rotating ensemble.
You can check the sidebar for recommendations but here are a few I'd recommend to get you started (my Superboy knowledge is very limited so take those with a grain of salt):
Superboy:
Batman:
Justice League:
good choices!
May I also recommend Arkham Asylum, Long Halloween and Killing Joke for some more quality Bat-reading!
These books, probably in this order, make for a really good intro to Batman comics and also fit with the general feel of the show, either setting up origins or focusing on the city as a character:
Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One - Classic. Big influence on both Gotham and Nolanverse.
Jeph Loeb’s [Long Halloween](Batman: The Long Halloween https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401232590/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_f4FqDbZZ35GEQ) and Dark Victory which are kind of a Year Two and Year Three (don’t read the books called Y2 and Y3 though)
Chuck Dixon’s Robin: Year One - What it sounds like—Robin’s first cases, not his origin. Robin faces off against Mad Hatter, Two Face, and more. The copy I linked also has Batgirl: Year One which is pretty fun.
Jeph Loeb’s Batman: Hush - A great intro to all of the villains as Batman faces off against each one, ultimately revealing a new villain rooted in his past.
Paul Dini’s Heart of Hush and Streets of Gotham (it has 3 volumes—good to know that midway through, Bruce “dies” and is replaced by Dick Grayson as Batman, but it’s still accessible without reading all of that) - HOH is a sequel to Hush and has a lot of Bat/Cat. Streets focuses on the life of the Gotham underbelly, with characters like “the Carpenter” who builds all the booby traps for the villains and the realtor who finds their hideouts. Also acts as a sequel to Heart of Hush.
Scott Snyder’s Gates of Gotham - also has Dick as Batman but delves into cool Gotham history
Scott Snyder’s Black Mirror - again, Dick is Batman. Takes place before Gates but Streets goes into Gates more fluidly. This book is creepy AF and gets into some of the Gordon family history.
Scott Snyder’s Court of Owls - Though this can be read without any of the others as it was designed as an entry point for new readers. It’s also probably the best book on the list. REALLY good.
Peter Tomasi’s Batman and Robin - The issues collected here are a great storyline that are about Bruce and his 12-year-old biological son Damian, whose mother is Talia al Ghul (daughter of Ra’s and sister of Nyssa).
If there’s a particular character or aspect of the show you like, there may be others as well but these are a good core starting set.
(You can also check your library for these—many have graphic novels on the shelves but some also have a subscription to something called Hoopla which lets you “check out” digital versions of comics/graphic novels.)
Introduction to Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?
Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.
Acquire/Buy comics:
Marvel
DC
You can skip to the 2016 re-launch with DC Universe: Rebirth and then any Rebirth series #1.
Other
Can I just pick all the studio ghibli films?! SO AWESOME. Spirited Away was my first one, it was my dad who chose for us to rent it from the video store c: They've brought me so many wonderful memories, I even got to study them in high school for Advanced Higher English!
I would quite like The Long Halloween off of Lewis' list, either of the David Thorne books or these sharpies off my own list c:
I LOVE KEVIN! <3
Happy belated birthday!
I've always wanted to make an amazing Batman costume. The store bought ones are always so bad. I want to make a movie quality one with real armor, pads, and a menacing cowl. If I had the right materials and time, I bet I could pull it off.
To keep with the theme of Halloween and Batman, [this] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1401232590/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;colid=2HTHRVKNRES31&amp;coliid=I2VPOUU98JYN94) would be perfect!
I’m assuming you probably heard or read a lot of these already but their worth repeating on the chance that you haven’t.
Here's some (modern?) recommendations for Dick Grayson's intro as Robin, he's my favourite comicbook character so this may be more info that you've asked for. This is a list I previously suggested to someone else.
Or just read The Long Halloween. It was one of the inspirations for the Nolan Batman films. For more background on Bane, check out Batman vs Bane.
Batman has been published non-stop since 1939, so yes, it is still being published, and there is a lot of it. As to reading most, you have tens of thousands of comics to read (if not more) so it is unlikely that you will be able to read all of the Batman comics. That reading list on the side is comprised of above average graphic novels (which are generally a "run" of comics that tell a self contained story, where as if you buy a single comic on its own it likely will not make sense because it will likely be in the middle of a story arc). So I recommend buying graphic novels because they are a self contained story, meaning that you don't need other comics to understand the plot. All of the ones on the side there are really great, but there are so many other great graphic novels, for instance, you mentioned that you liked the game Arkham Asylum, which was loosely based on the graphic novel of the same name. If you really want to try to read all the Batman stories in order I recommend The Batman Chronicles which is a republication of every Batman comic in order of publication, but you should really read some other graphic novels first because The Batman Chronicles starts with the 1939 comics, and the Batman mythos have changed a lot since then, also, because there are so many comics The Batman Chronicles are expensive, so far 10 volumes have been released and they have only gotten to 1943, so it will be many volumes before they reach some of the best Batman stories. I hope I helped and feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Also, I recommend the graphic novels Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Hush, and The Long Halloween.
I'm just returning to comics after several years' absence. Also, my tastes are...suspect.
So, one thing to understand about Batman and comics is that there are different publication eras. From the characters inception in 1939 to early 1986, the character was part of what is known as the pre-crisis era. This version of Batman is most commonly characterised like the Adam West version of the character, with other eras being characterised differently.
A DC wide event happened called Crisis on Infinite Earths, which rebooted the DC timeline, and so Frank Miller wrote Year One, which told the origin story of this new version of Batman. It is still to this day one of the best Batman stories ever told. In continuation of this timeline, a following story called Year Two was penned. This wasn't as greatly received, and so was not really collected all that well until very recently. Most modern readers probably haven't read Year Two, or even Year Three for that matter. Year Three was another later edition, telling the post-crisis introduction of Dick Grayson into Bruce's life, and their time as Batman and Robin. It again was not really collected until recently making up part of the second Caped Crusader collection.
These stories were all a continuation of one another, but from the time of them being written, something happened, which altered the way fans looked at the series', and as a result also changed how DC represented it's post-crisis timeline. Jeph Loeb wrote a similar series taking place in Batman's second year, called The Long Halloween, which was again a masterpiece, and still one of the best Batman comics written to this day. It also had a follow up, set in Batman's third year called Dark Victory, which also showed the introduction of Dick Grayson and the beginnings of the Dynamic Duo. Fans and comic writers loved these two stories by Loeb so much that DC quitely did their best to erase Year Two and Three from the canon, in favour of canonising Long Halloween and Dark Victory (see DC not collecting either Years Two or Three until recently, and DC letting Loeb later write Hush, which was canon, and also canonised the events of Long Halloween within).
So, why have Years Two and Three ben collected recently if DC wanted the audience to forget it? That again has to do with how DC structures it's in comic universe. DC didn't want to confuse audiences on the post-crisis timeline while the post-crisis timeline was still the current DC timeline, but the post-crisis timeline is no longer, so they can collect older stories now without much confusion. In 2011, an event called Flashpoint happened, which DC chose as a time to once again reboot their universe, leading to what is known now as the New 52 series, or post-Flashpoint timeline. So, this is again a new and different version of Batman, so his origin from Year One no longer exists, as that was a different Batman. Batman writer Scott Snyder got to create his own version of this new Batman's origin called Zero Year, told in two parts, Secret City and Dark City. Something important to know is that Zero Year is not set before Year One, as the two origins are from completely differnt timelines, it's just that DC uses "Batman: Year ___" as a title for name and brand recognition.
I hope this above information helps, let me know if you have any questions, though while I'm at it, I also saw you had another post with a similar topic, discussing this as a reading order:
> Zero year>Year One>Court of owls new 52 v1>Year 2>Death in the family>Year 3>A Lonely Place of Dying
I hope I can clarify. In the New 52, it is best to read in volume order (1 to 10), despite volumes 4 and 5 being Zero Year, they are told in Flashback, and you don't need to read them first. For New 52, I'd recommend reading this order (you don't have to read all, go arc by arc, and see if you find it fun):
Court of Owls, City of Owls, Death of the Family, Zero Year - Secret City, Zero Year - Dark City, Graveyard Shift, Endgame, Superheavy, Bloom, Epilogue.
For the Post-crisis timeline on the other hand:
You could read Year One -> Year Two -> Year Three, but the latter two are not the best. I would instead suggest Year One -> Long Halloween -> Dark Victory. This introduces Dick Grayson as Robin. I see you have A Death in the Family (different to volume 3 of the New 52) and A Lonely PLace of Dying listed, but they are different Robins. A Death in the Family involves the second Robin, Jason Todd, so it wouldn't make sense to read that before Year Three/Dark Victory, which introduces the first Robin. A Lonely PLace of Dying introduces Tim Drake, the third Robin, and it would be after Year Three, but like, way after. If you really wanted the right order for introducing the core Bat-cast, it would be more similar to:
Batman Year One -> Long Halloween -> Dark Victory -> Batgirl/Robin: Year One -> Batman: Second Chances -> Batman: The Killing Joke -> Batman: A Death in the Family/A Lonely Place of Dying (these are actually collected together in modern collections of these comics). Then after that in the 90's, there were these really big sagas like Knightfall and No Man's Land, they are a lot to get through, and there's already a lot here. And to remind you, this timeline does not really cross over with or interact with the New 52 timeline.
I hope this all helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.
You should read The Long Halloween. It is one of the best comics I have ever read, Batman or otherwise.
Sadly, I can't speak for DC Rebirth. I haven't read any of it. I can say that I loved the New52.
Batman list, in order of what I would read first.
Staples for Batman
Flash list (I don't know as much about the Flash)
Batman/Flash related things
I don't think DC is necisarily darker then Marvel, but if your looking for good Batman books with interesting villains then I think I can compile a list for you.
Batman - Hush is pretty good, I personally like the art a lot and it has a wide variety of villains in it that keeps it interesting.
Batman The Long Holloween is one of my favorites, it has all of the classic Batman villains in it, and it was definitely influential in the making of the Nolan trilogy.
These are both detective stories though so you don't know who the main villain is until the end of the book.
Also I feel like that maybe you may have just not found the right Marvel book for you because they have a plethora of excellent villains ranging from Doctor Doom to Magneto.
It's 13 collected comics but typically purchased as a book
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Long-Halloween-Jeph-Loeb/dp/1401232590
Holy smokes, Batman! - it's on the more expensive side of you limit, butttt relevant, so I had to put it on there :P
This is a far less expensive addon that I would love also :)
Thanks for the contest!
P.S. I NEED to see the finished costume when you put it all together...this is not a want...but a yes, you need pictures!!!
Good choice.
I'd also recommend (in no particular order):
Aaand...that's it...those are all the Batman comics I've read. *sob*
i'm showin the 11th according to amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401232590
http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Long-Halloween-Jeph-Loeb/dp/1401232590/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1346692875&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+long+halloween
I think the one you have is the correct cover actually. Mine must be a later edition with bonus art or something...?
At least it's not The Long Halloween.
Now, as for which character to start with, I'd advise you to start with Batman comics. His comics are very accessible, and he has tons of fantastic stories. Of course, with Batman stories, rarely do you need any pre-reading. Some stories have some required reading and/or are sequels to a previous story, though.
The de facto first trade to get is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller. The first major Batman story chronologically, but more importantly, it's a fantastic story overall.
Another great story is the KnightSaga. You mentioned you were interested in Bane. Well, this is as interesting as Bane gets. It's a trilogy of storylines, consisting of Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1, Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest, and finally Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3: KnightsEnd. The Knightfall Saga does not require any pre-reading, by the way.
Now, another way to go, is that you can just forget about everything pre-new52 (post-Crisis) and just jump into Batman Vol. 2, which is the New 52 relaunch of the Batman title. I wouldn't recommend completely dismissing every Batman story that isn't 52, though. Because even though his new 52 stories have been consistently superb, you'd be missing out on a lot of good shit. If you do feel overwhelmed, though, and just want to jump into the relaunch so you can catch up and then read it monthly, start with Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52). It's one of the best Batman stories of all time, by the way, so regardless of whether or not you wanna put off post-Crisis stories, read Court of Owls, which is the first 5 New 52 Batman trades currently out.
Other Batman/Batfamily recommendations:
---
You also asked for Vixen recs. I'd really recommend getting Vixen: Return of the Lion, which is a 2008 mini-series, written by G Willow Wilson. She is a brilliant writer, I think this mini-series will peak your interest. It doesn't require pre-reading as well.
---
Sorry for the late reply. Hope this helped :)
jeph loeb and tim sale's batman Long Halloween is my favorite graphic novel. its a murder mystery that happens to take place in gotham. I've read it and still don't know who did it
DC is kicking some serious ass with Rebirth now, which is an initiative to bring their characters back to their roots, or what made them great and famous.
There's this big, overarching thing called "continuity" in the comics world, that is, 'where does every series belong in the universe timeline?' DC Comics is known for doing "reboots," which is when you wipe out old continuity and start over again. They did this back in 2011, which wasn't too long ago if you think about it. You could always start there if you'd like. That doesn't mean that some older stories from before 2011 aren't worth a read, as well!
Marvel hasn't really rebooted hardcore before, making anything from the 1950's onward fair game. The only Marvel character I'd consider myself fairly knowledgeable in is Spider-Man, as well as a few Marvel crossover events through history (I mainly read DC).
There's other comic publishers besides DC and Marvel (or "The Big Two"). The Walking Dead comic series is something I always suggest for new readers. This is published by a different company.
I would recommend reading Batman: Year One or Batman: The Long Halloween if you wanted to get into Batman
I'm going to give you a set of recommendations... All of which can be had for $15 or less.
This is hands down, one of the best Batman stories I've ever read. It can be had for $11 on Amazon.
You won't need to know anything going into it. It's a little different from The Animated Series (as it's a bit dark), but the storytelling and pacing are just as good - if not better - than The Animated Series. You will think like Batman by the end of this book, putting clues together and trying to see the big picture. Probably the first book that comes to my mind when I think about Batman's detective abilities.
And if you like that, you can pick up vol. 2. (should be on the Amazon page aswell). This is actually the beginnings of the current Batman run taking place right now in the comics. So if you get into it, you're already halfway there to catching up on Batman (there's only 5 volumes out).
If you DON'T want to get into the whole serialized comics and you just want good, self-contained stories (they're called "One Shots" in the comic world) then these would be good stories:
The Killing Joke - probably considered the most famous Batman one-shot of all time. It took more than 4 years to deliver these beautiful, jaw dropping 64 pages. It tells the classic story of Batman and the Joker... Some say it's the best Batman and Joker story ever written. OP's note: this was the comic that got me into comics.
Batman: The Long Halloween - covers Batman's early days working with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent and meeting some of his most recognizable foes. This will feel very similar to your Animated Series days.
Batman: Year One - considered THE origin story of Batman for many, many, many years. This was Frank Miller at the peak of his abilities, writing Batman in a way that did not feel very cartoony at all. This book will feel the most different from The Animated Series. I put it in here because while it is much different from what you're looking for, it really shows you how even Batman made a few mistakes during his early days and it gives you a good idea of his first year on the job.
Generally, for the easiest entry, you can look at when a certain writer starts writing for a particular series, and jump in from there. If you search on Amazon (for physical trades) or Comixology (for digital issues), you can find collected volumes that put together related issues for a convenient reading experience. For example, you mentioned that you are interested in Batman. Here are some recommendations that are relatively easy on new readers:
New 52 on-going (Batman and Bat-related books):
Batman (Scott Snyder) - Start with Vol. 1 - The Court of Owls. Jump-in point of the current arc is Batman #35.
Batman and Robin (Peter J. Tomasi) - Start with Vol. 1 - Born to Kill. Jump-in point of the current arc is Robin Rises: Omega #1.
Detective Comics (Brian Buccellato) - Start with Detective Comics #30.
Grayson (Tim Seeley and Tom King) - Start with Grayson #1.
Catwoman (Genevieve Valentine) - Start with Catwoman #35.
Modern Pre-New52:
Batman: The Black Mirror (Probably the best modern Batman story IMO)
Batman: Gates of Gotham
Grant Morrison's run across multiple series is quite the doozy, but may be unfriendly to new readers. It's been collected in several different trades.
Classics:
Batman: Year One
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: The Killing Joke
SAGA! SAGA! SAGA! It's by Brian Vaughan who did Y: The Last Man (one of my all time favorites) Just read the quick description in wikipedia and hopefully you'll get excited. They're pretty cheap on amazon and they're three volumes so far, PLUS, the series is releasing new issues starting next month! (I'm SO excited) I can't stop telling people about how much I love this series. It's a mature comic BTW so no little kids should read it.
TL;DR I LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF SAGA!!!!
[Comic I want] (http://www.amazon.com/Catwoman-When-Batman-Jeph-Loeb/dp/1401207170/ref=la_B001K8P8VC_1_4?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1399673474&amp;sr=1-4) I also love this series with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, The Long Halloween is my favorite Batman comic I own so there's another suggestion for ya.
I sit at a desk 40 hours a week bored out of my mind on reddit so if you ever feel like talking comic books let me know. I don't have enough people to talk to about them. :)