There are a lot of ways to be a Batman fan.
Maybe your comic shop knows your Wednesday order by heart. Maybe your Batman wears a black rubber cowl and drives a Batmobile that still looks impossibly cool almost 40 years later. Or maybe you’re trying to find a Batman book for someone who isn’t quite ready for The Dark Knight Returns yet.
Batman can be a detective, a superhero, a gothic nightmare, a family man and a movie star, sometimes all before breakfast.
This Batman Day, September 19, is a particularly good excuse to head to your local comic shop and figure out which version of the Caped Crusader is yours. And while you’re there, the first thing you’ll want to look for is Batman of Two Worlds, a special one-shot featuring two all-new stories—one starring the Batman of DC’s main universe and another featuring his hulking Absolute Universe counterpart. They may not share a rooftop, but together, the two stories make a perfect Batman Day pairing.
BATMAN OF TWO WORLDS cover art by Nick Dragotta
But don’t stop there. Whether you’re introducing someone to Batman for the first time or looking for your next Bat-read, there’s plenty waiting on the shelf.
For the Wednesday Warriors (and the Wednesday-Curious)
If your comic shop already knows your pull list by heart, this section is probably for you.
Batman of Two Worlds is the natural starting point for this year’s guide: two radically different Bruce Waynes, two approaches to justice and a reminder that there has never been one way to tell a Batman story.
The release puts two of the most talked-about versions of Batman currently appearing in comics side by side in one special issue. Matt Fraction and Javi Fernández take on Batman, while Scott Snyder and Nick Derrington head to the Absolute Universe, with both stories exploring the idea of theft, and what justice looks like to two very different Bruce Waynes.
BATMAN VOL. 1: DAYLIGHT
Direct Market Exclusive HC (9781799518488) Cover Art by Nick Dragotta
HC (9781799506225) and TP (9781799506232) Cover Art by Jorge Jiménez
If that Batman special has you wanting more, Batman Vol. 1: Daylight collects the beginning of Fraction and Jorge Jiménez’s current Batman run. There’s a new suit, a new Batmobile, plenty of new threats and, most importantly, a clean place to start if you haven’t been following Batman month to month. The Batman Day 2026 exclusive edition gives comic shop readers an especially fitting way to jump aboard, with a special Absolute Batman artist Nick Dragotta cover that mirrors the look of The Zoo with his interpretation of the main universe Batman.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 1: THE ZOO HC (9781799505242) and TP (9781799505259) Cover Art by Nick Dragotta
ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 2: ABOMINATION HC (9781799507505) and TP (9781799507512) Cover Art by Nick Dragotta
ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 3: DEVIL’S WORKSHOP HC (9781799508908) and TP (9781799508915) Cover Art by Nick Dragotta
And then there’s Absolute Batman.
Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s reinvention asks what happens when you take away the Wayne fortune, the mansion and all the resources Bruce traditionally has at his disposal, only to discover that he’s still Batman. Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo, Absolute Batman Vol. 2: Abomination and Absolute Batman Vol. 3: Devil’s Workshop give you plenty to catch up on, with radically reimagined versions of familiar Gotham faces joining Bruce along the way.
For the Michael Keaton Batman Fans
You know who you are.
For some of us, Gotham will always have impossibly tall gothic architecture, Prince on the soundtrack and Michael Keaton underneath the cowl.
BATMAN ’89
Direct Market Exclusive HC (9781799518792)
HC (9781779512680) and TP (9781799503866) Cover Art by Joe Quinones
Batman ’89, the comic from original Batman screenwriter Sam Hamm and artist Joe Quinones, returns to the world established by Tim Burton’s films and picks up the threads that the movies left behind, including the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face.
For Batman Day, the exclusive hardcover comes wrapped in a special dust jacket with artwork from the 1989 movie and includes a digital code for the film.
Consider the movie a reward for supporting your local comic shop. What happens after that is between you and the Bat-Signal.
For the Well-Established Batman Shelf
If copies of Batman: Hush, The Long Halloween or The Dark Knight Returns have been following you from bookshelf to bookshelf for years, Batman Day has some particularly interesting reasons to revisit familiar corners of Gotham.
BATMAN: H2SH VOLUME ONE HC (9781799505464) and TP (9781799505471) Cover Art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee return with Batman: H2SH Volume One, continuing one of Batman’s most recognizable modern sagas. For longtime readers, the reunion is the event: Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee and Batman together again for the next chapter of the saga.
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN: THE LAST HALLOWEEN HC (9781799505976) and TP (9781799505983) Cover Art by Tim Sale
Jeph Loeb returns to the world he and the late Tim Sale built together for one final mystery, Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween, joined by an extraordinary roster of artists honoring Sale’s visual legacy.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS DELUXE EDITION
Direct Market Exclusive HC (9781799518174) Cover Art by Raymond Swanland
Hardcover (9781799513100) Cover Art by Frank Miller
And if your definition of Batman begins with Frank Miller, there’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition. The Batman Day exclusive features a new cover by Raymond Swanland featuring artwork from the animated adaptations and a digital code for both animated movies.
Sometimes “What should I read next?” is really “What part of Batman history do I want to visit again?” That counts too.
For the Readers Who Want Gotham Extra Gothic
Some readers want a Batman who swings across rooftops. Other readers would prefer those rooftops to be rain-soaked, vaguely threatening, and possibly hiding something deeply unpleasant. Hello, this section is for you.
BATMAN: GARGOYLE OF GOTHAM – THE DELUXE EDITION HC (9781799501176) Cover Art by Rafael Grampá
In Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham – The Deluxe Edition, writer and artist Rafael Grampá pushes Batman and Gotham fully into psychological horror. Bruce Wayne decides to abandon his civilian identity entirely just as a serial killer begins drawing him toward an increasingly personal mystery… and an entirely new collection of villains.
Turn the lights down before reading if you want. I’m not going to tell you how to live.
For the Next Generation of Bat-Fans
Of course, younger readers deserve a Batman of their own, too. If you’re raising—or shopping for—your own little Damian, there are considerably less traumatizing ways to introduce someone to Gotham.
BRUCE WAYNE: NOT SUPER: THE BAT-CATASTROPHE TR (9781779528667) Cover Art by Berat Pekmezci
Bruce Wayne: Not Super: The Bat-Catastrophe catches up with a 13-year-old Bruce Wayne who’s juggling school, secret vigilantism, and the deeply unfair realization that Selina Kyle seems much more interested in Batman than she is in Bruce. Then Hugo Strange, Jack Napier and Bane enter the picture, because apparently middle school wasn’t already difficult enough…
BATMAN: WAYNE FAMILY ADVENTURES
Vol. 1 (9781779523273), Vol. 2 (9781779523365), Vol. 3 (9781779526908), Vol. 4 (9781779526915) and Vol. 5 (9781779527356) Cover Art by StarBite
And for readers who believe Batman could occasionally stand to have a nice dinner with his children, there’s Batman: Wayne Family Adventures.
The series brings Bruce, Duke, Dick, Jason, Damian and the rest of the Bat-Family under one roof for a warmer, funnier look at life inside Wayne Manor. Expect superheroics, sibling fights, family dinners and the occasional reminder that beneath all the capes, Bruce Wayne has somehow accumulated a very large, and very opinionated, family.
Think of it as Batman for the reader who has always wondered what happens after everyone gets back to the Cave.
Same Bat-Day, Plenty of Batmen
For nearly nine decades, each generation has found its own way into Gotham, whether through a VHS worn out from repeat viewings, a recommendation from a comic shop employee, a spooky Gotham story shared by a friend, a graphic novel handed down by a sibling or a Batman action figure traded on the playground.
So, on Batman Day, visit your local comic shop. Pick up Batman of Two Worlds. Browse the shelves. Ask the person behind the counter what Batman book they can’t stop recommending.
You might walk in knowing exactly which Batman is yours. You might walk out with another one, too.
Batman Day is September 19th! Learn more about the Caped Crusader and his comics, movies, games and more by visiting our Batman Day hub.
Christine Dinh has spent her career telling stories about heroes. She’s most interested in what they teach us about ourselves.
