On Line

For a long time now, it seems like whenever I ask anybody whether they have read any of the latest Batman books (Detective Comics, Batman, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight), they always respond that they don’t read any of the Batman books for any number of lame and pathetic reasons. Now my question to all of those people is, Why the heck not?!? What more of a reason could you possibly need for reading these books than the fact that they feature the most recognizable and popular comic book character of the last century?!? There have been plenty of good stories featured in these Batman books in the last several months. For all of you non-Batman readers out there, I must say that you guys have been missing out on some very good stories that include many notable Batman villains and allies. So that you may get back into the swing with Batman and catch up on some of his latest stories, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best stories that can be found in the last 12 months or so worth of Batman books. These stories include:

· “Snow” – Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #192-196
A retelling of Victor Freeze’s tragic path towards becoming Mr. Freeze from a different perspective than some might remember seeing Mr. Freeze.

· “Blaze of Glory” – Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #197-199
A story of cold-hearted, uncompromising revenge on the part of a random thug taken down by the Batman during a past heist.

· “Cold Case” - Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #201-203
The latest story to hit the headlines is that Thomas Wayne is reportedly evidenced to have been the notorious Gotham Ripper. Follow Batman as he searches to uncover the truth behind this unbelievable accusation.

· “City of Crime” – Detective Comics #801-808, 811-814
As Batman wrestles with the guilt inside him for the death of Stephanie Brown (The Spoiler), a great, uncontrollable fear begins to spread throughout Gotham causing panic and violence wherever it surfaces. Batman must race to find the source of this fear and destroy it before it consumes his entire city and literally destroys it.

· “Victims” – Detective Comics #815-816
Victor Zsasz (Mr. Zsasz) has escaped from Arkham and the latest person to fall into his crosshairs is Alfred. Batman and Bruce Wayne must work together to prevent Mr. Zsasz from doing the unthinkable before it is too late.

· “Face the Face” – Detective Comics #817, Batman #651, Detective Comics #818, alternating between these titles for a total of 8 issues
The latest Batman story arc finds him returning to Gotham one year after the events in Infinite Crisis. In the year that he’s been gone, Gotham has changed quite a bit and many of his villains have changed with it. Now, a new figure has risen and he or she has been knocking off many of Batman’s less popular villains in an extremely vicious and brutal manner. Follow Batman as he tries to uncover the identity of this mysterious character.

Now that I have given you guys a list of more than enough Batman stories to keep you busy and to get you back into the Batman-side of things, I don’t want to hear any of you saying you don’t know where to start or haven’t been reading the Batman books lately. Just do yourself a nice, big favor and pick up these books or I’ll have to start taking names and making house calls. Oh yeah. That’s right. I went there.