I'VE BEEN READING A LOT OF BATMAN LATELY. A FRIEND OF MINE HAS ACCUMULATED 20 TRADE PAPERBACKS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR OPINIONS FOR ANY YOU MIGHT'VE READ? HERE ARE SOME OF MINE:

BY JEPH LOEB/TIM SALE
THE LONG HALLOWEEN AND DARK VICTORY
BOTH BOOKS ARE ESSENTIAL BATMAN READS. LOEB'S MURDER-MYSTERY STYLE IS PERFECT FOR BATMAN AND I HOPE HE HAS SOME CONTRIBUTION IN A FUTURE FILM. SALE'S ARTISTIC TOUCH COMMENTS ON THE MOOD OF GOTHAM CITY AND BRINGS YOU INTO A PERSPECTIVE I DON'T WANT TO ABANDON UNTIL IT'S OVER AND I'M FORCED TO. FOR A NEW FILM, WE'D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND BETTER ARTISTS TO BRING ONBOARD THAN THESE.

BY JEPH LOEB/JIM LEE
HUSH VOLUME ONE
JIM LEE'S PENCIL IS IMAGINATIVE AND IMPACTFUL IN THE DETAILS. THINGS LIKE GLOVES AND GLASSES BECOME A WORK OF ART ON THEIR OWN. JEPH LOEB CONTINUES TO IMPRESS WITH HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE BRUCE WAYNE/BATMAN PERSONALITY, LESSONS, THEMES, AND THE JOURNEYS THAT NOT ONLY BRING OUT THE BEST IN HIM, BUT ARE THE BEST TO RUN THROUGH WITH HIM. I LOOK FORWARD TO READING EVERYTHING HE WRITES.

KNIGHTFALL PARTS 1 - 3
COULD'VE BEEN BETTER. I DID ENJOY IT THOUGH. PART 1 WAS BEST OF THE 3. IT REALLY TOOK A LOT TO BRING BATMAN DOWN, BUT OVERALL IT SEEMED LIKE HE LEARNED LESSONS IN THIS STORY A BIT TOO LATE IN HIS LIFE. EXCUSABLE IF ONLY THE STORY WAS MORE CONSISTENT AND LESS BLOATED WITH SUPERCHARGED CAMEOS. I REALLY LIKE THE VENTRILOQUIST, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT THEY WASTED HIM HERE.

I'M CURRENTLY READING HUSH VOLUME TWO

well rip is a must, batman year 1 also, the man who laughs, the dark knight returns.

FINISHED HUSH VOLUME TWO. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN, SO I WON'T. I'M GONNA READ YEAR ONE AND DARK KNIGHT RETURNS SOON. NEVER HEARD OF RIP OR THE MAN WHO LAUGHS. ARE THEY BY MILLER, TOO?

the man who laughs is by ed brubaker and ed mahnke and was intended as a sequel to year one, rip is by grant morrison and tony daniel and is a fairly new storyline and the fallout from the arc is still on going. I will if you want give you a list of must read batman comics.