Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 30, 2026 | 1 comment

The Caped Crusader debuted 87 years ago…

By JASON CZERNICH

Starting in the fall of 1988, DC Comics released a new Batman hardcover during the holiday buying season every year through 2000. Growing up, it became one of my favorite holiday traditions to be given one, whether on Christmas or even earlier in the month for my birthday.

I actually miss the days when a hardcover Batman book wasn’t a monthly release. Getting multiple hardbound Caped Crusader publications now is great, but part of me still misses the time when they were a rare treat. With that in mind, here are 13 CLASSIC BATMAN HARDCOVERS to celebrate his 87th anniversary. (Detective Comics #27 debuted March 30, 1939.)

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1. 1988’s The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. What a wonderful surprise to see this under the tree that year! It was the second entry in DC Comics’ Greatest Stories Ever Told line, and it was simply a treasure trove for me. True, it wasn’t as well-rounded as The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, which would come along about a month later, but it still had some essentials — all of which I was reading for the first time:

— Batman #47 – “The Origin of the Batman!”

— Detective Comics #235 – “The First Batman”

— World’s Finest #94 – “The Origin of the Superman–Batman Team”

— Batman #156 – “Robin Dies at Dawn

— Detective Comics #457 – “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!”

And two—count ’em, two — Alan Brennert Batman tales to close out the book:

— Detective Comics #500 – “To Kill a Legend”

— The Brave and the Bold #197 – “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne”

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2. 1989’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. This bestselling original graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean is a tour de force in writing and art. When I first snuck a peek at an open copy at my local comic shop, I was thrown by its fully painted, highly expressive style. I got it on Christmas morning and devoured it that night. It remains one of my favorite Bat-tales to this day—and maybe even the first to actually scare me!

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3. 1990’s Batman: Bride of the Demon. At this point in Batman’s publishing history, only Mike W. Barr could spin a Ra’s al Ghul tale to rival Dennis O’Neil’s. Barr and artist Tom Grindberg deliver a widescreen adventure that serves as an action-packed sequel to Barr’s 1987 story Batman: Son of the Demon. Barr stayed true to Ra’s and Talia’s characters while even bringing Tim Drake into the mix for an exciting action sequence in the Batcave. Like every good Ra’s al Ghul story from that era, it had an international James Bond feel. A story featuring this villain needs to feel big—always—and this book delivered.

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4. 1991’s Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. Say what you will about their later run on the Batman monthly, but I believe this is writer Doug Moench and penciller Kelley Jones’ best outing with the Dark Knight. Batman encountering Dracula seems like a no-brainer that should have happened sooner, but once you read this tale you’ll be glad it didn’t. Moench and Jones concoct a gory, atmospheric story, and the Elseworlds label allows it to have actual consequences for Batman. The first—and best—of the Red Rain trilogy.

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5. 1992’s Batman: Birth of the Demon. Instead of another Mike W. Barr Ra’s al Ghul graphic novel, we got what is my favorite Ra’s tale: his origin, written by his co-creator Dennis O’Neil and illustrated by one of the best Batman artists of all time, Norm Breyfogle. Even better, it was Breyfogle’s first fully painted interior work—and it is gorgeous.

I cannot remember where I read it, but Mike W. Barr had reportedly planned a third Ra’s al Ghul graphic novel titled Reign of the Demon. The rumored story was an Elseworlds in which Ra’s actually succeeds in taking over the planet. I would still love to see this project realized—wouldn’t you?

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6. 1993’s Batman: Dark Joker – The Wild. I believe the Joker had appeared in one or two Elseworlds projects before this, but not as the main villain. This sword-and-sorcery take on Batman and his world was a fun read and a great opportunity to see Moench and Jones reunited. It was a strong collaboration that kept the team in sync as they headed into the next item on this list.

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7. 1994’s Batman: Bloodstorm. This book builds on the fallout from Red Rain while introducing the Joker and Selina Kyle into the mix. It ends more tragically than the first book in the Batman vampire saga, but another installment was still to come four years later.

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8. 1995’s The Joker: Devil’s Advocate. Most of the greatest Joker stories out there are scary, but this one is actually funny!

Ever since the big Arkham breakout that kicked off 1993’s Knightfall, Joker had been on the loose. When Batman finally recaptures the Clown Prince of Crime, the Gotham D.A. pushes for the death penalty—and succeeds—sending Joker to Blackgate Prison for the first time. Hilarity ensues. Writer Chuck Dixon and Detective Comics regular artist Graham Nolan deliver a Joker tale like no other—one that shows the negative impact Joker has had on Batman and his allies over the years while emphasizing the Dark Knight’s uncompromising sense of justice.

Dixon originally promised this special Joker tale would appear in Detective Comics, but somewhere along the way plans changed. It is a crime that this book is not currently in print or available digitally.

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9. 1996’s Batman/Deadman: Death & Glory. It’s always great to see this classic Brave and the Bold team together. By James Robinson and James Estes.

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10. 1997’s Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty. This “across the ages” Batman Elseworlds yarn, written by Barr featured a nice array of artists — including Scott Hampton, Gary Frank and Scott McDaniel — but was otherwise bland and unmemorable to me. I feel it would have worked better as a serialized story in Legends of the Dark Knight.

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11. 1998’s Batman: Crimson Mist. The final entry in the Elseworlds Batman vampire trilogy reads more like one of the later Hammer Dracula films. It’s not my least favorite graphic novel on this list, but it’s certainly the weakest of the four Moench–Jones hardcovers.

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12. 1999’s Batman: The Chalice. Batman and Ra’s al Ghul fighting for possession of the Holy Grail! Sounds hokey at first, but it was  a much better story, by Chuck Dixon and John Van Fleet, than the last entry on this list.

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13. 2000’s Batman: Harvest Breed. George Pratt’s supernatural murder mystery didn’t do much for me. Years later, I can’t remember much of the story. Maybe it’s time to track it down and give it a second chance.

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MORE

— The TOP 13 FIRST APPEARANCE BATMAN Action Figures — RANKED. Click here.

— DETECTIVE COMICS #27: They Came For BATMAN’s Look, But They Stayed for the Story. Click here.

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JASON CZERNICH was born smack dab in the middle of the Bronze Age of Comics. Early memories of Power Records and other Batman merchandise, as well as watching reruns of the 1966 Batman series on TV38 in Boston, imprinted on him heavily. Today, he lives and works as a clinical social worker in central Massachusetts with his wife, child, cat, and beloved French bulldog.