From: [p--te--w] at [jolt.mpx.com.au] (Peter Williams) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.info,rec.arts.comics.misc,alt.comics.batman Subject: Batman Comic List v3.0 Date: 17 Jan 1995 23:19:39 -0800 BATMAN STORIES AND TIMELINE A List of Major Batman Comic Stories Version 3.0 January 1995 Current author (versions 3.0 onwards) Peter Williams. Original author (versions to 2.10) David T. Chappell. Comments, suggestions and corrections may be sent to [p--te--w] at [mpx.com.au] LEGAL STUFF: Batman and all related characters are trademarks of DC Comics. Mention of these characters in this document is without permission of DC Comics, but said use is not intended to challenge DC's trademark rights or copyrights. Readers who want to learn more about Batman are encouraged to purchase the comic books. Permission is granted for non- profit distribution of this document, provided all headers remain intact and the original authorship is acknowledged. Any other use requires the written permission of the author. This list is available on Internet via anonymous ftp at ftp.dhhalden.no (numeric address 158.36.33.3) in the file /pub/Comics/Reference/Batman.ComicList. Mosaic users can access the above site via the WWW page ftp://ftp.dhhalden.no/pub/Comics. The Batman FAQ is available at the same site. -oOo- =Crisis on Infinite Earths= (4/85 to 3/86) is generally regarded as _the_ breakpoint in DC continuity. After Crisis finished, many characters had their histories changed. The most significant change happened to Superman, who got a complete rewrite in the =Man of Steel= (late 86) miniseries. New stories followed in his regular titles, with absolutely _no_ links to the pre-Crisis stories. Batman never got a full rewrite from scratch. The process was slow and gradual, with several additions and alterations over the years. Due to this process, there is no 'official' cutoff point between the 'old' and 'new' continuities. A general rule of thumb is that all stories are part of the new continuity, until contradicted by a later story. It all started with the limited series =Dark Knight= (aka 'The Dark Knight Returns'), appearing shortly after Crisis finished (3/86 to 6/86). Set in the future, it covered Batman's return from ten years of retirement. The story is now generally regarded as an Elseworlds story (DC's line of stories set outside the normal continuity). It has been considered as the start of a 'darker' Batman. The real changes began in 1987, with the =Batman: Year One= storyline (BATMAN 404-407, 2/87 to 5/87). This story provided a new, darker, realistic image, and the definitive origin. The basics of the Batman character generally remained intact. Year One told the story of Batman's first days as a hero. When it starts, Bruce is not in costume, and as it progresses he learns how to instil fear in criminals; for a while, no one knows whether he is human, bat, or demon. While the story did not have an immediate effect on present-day continuity, a few elements like a redefined origin for Catwoman and new love interest for Gordon popped up later. While this was running in BATMAN, an issue of DETECTIVE dealt with the gunshot wounding of Jason Todd (DETECTIVE 574, 5/87). This was similar to the incident which led to the leaving of Dick Grayson (BATMAN 408, 6/87). These two issues helped define the relationship between Batman and Robin, as well as that between Bruce and Leslie Thomkins. Leslie was the one who, with Alfred, took care of Bruce after the death of his parents. This was followed immediately by =Batman: Year Two= (DETECTIVE 575- 578, 6/87 to 9/87). It featured a new villainous vigilante - the Reaper - and Batman's confrontation with Joe Chill (the guy who murdered his parents). This story also showed the reasons behind Batman's refusal to use firearms. =Did Robin Die Tonight= (BATMAN 408, 6/87) also contained the new origin and first meeting with Jason Todd. This differed markedly from the previous origin, as Jason was now a street kid, who stole the tires off the Batmobile. Denny O'Neil provided an approximate timeline to date these stories (DETECTIVE 574, 5/87): Year 1 was 5-6 years ago, Year 2 was 4-5 years ago, Did Robin Die Tonight was about 3 years ago. These dates don't really work too well, so I've tried to work a rough timeline from references in the comics. -oOo- In DETECTIVE 574, which is assumed to be a present-day story, Leslie Thomkins reminds Bruce that it was 25 years earlier she began to look after him - following the death of his parents. Compare this to Year One, which is stated to occur 18 years after their deaths. In BATMAN 408 ("Did Robin die Tonight") Ma Gunn mentions that Batman has been coming to Crime Alley on June 26 (the anniversary of his parents death) for "6 years or more". Also, in this issue, Bruce parts company with Dick Grayson. "Several weeks" pass, and Batman returns to Crime Alley, where he takes on Jason Todd, who has stolen the tyres of the Batmobile. BATMAN 409 follows on immediately (the next day and night). BATMAN 410 begins 6 months later, and with BATMAN 411 they cover a period of four days. This is Jason's first outing as Robin. He is also referred to as a fifth grade dropout, which makes him at least 12, probably 13 (the magic age for Robins :) Now, in BATMAN 416, we have a recounting of events that took place "one year ago". In that, Bruce states that he hasn't heard from Dick in 18 months, and Dick mentions in flashback that after the events of Batman 408 he left and they haven't talked since. So far so good. Now, Dick also states that at the time they broke up, they had been together for "six long years" Dick also mentions that he was 19 at the time of the break-up. We now turn to the =Batman: Year Three= story arc (BATMAN 436-439, 9/89 to 10/89 [biweekly]), which takes place both in the present and the past. It deals with the death of Dick's parents, leading to him becoming Robin. In the present, it deals with the release of the man who caused their deaths, Anthony Zucco. Dick returns to Wayne Manor in the present, mentioning that it is now two years since he left. This dates it at 6 months after the events in BATMAN 416. Anthony Zucco has served "12 years" at this point. Jason Todd has died a "few weeks" earlier ( =Death in the Family=, Batman 426-429, 12/88 to 1/89 [biweekly]). Alfred states that "It was almost ten years ago when Richard Grayson became a victim". Reference is made to Alfred petitioning the parole board for "the past 11 years" not to release him. Finally, Zucco hid a diary before he was arrested "11 years ago". Finally, we turn to =A Lonely Place of Dying= (BATMAN 440-442, NEW TITANS 60-61, 11/89 to 1/90 [Biweekly]). This follows on within a month after =Batman: Year Three= since Bruce has funded the orphanage, which was due to close a month after the beginning of that story. In NEW TITANS 60 we learn that it was actually only a few days ago. A few days later, Tim Drake is talking with Dick Grayson. Tim is 13 years old at this stage. He recalls seeing Dick doing a quadruple somersault as Robin when he [Tim] was "about nine" ie four years earlier. We also learn that Dick became Robin about six months after the shooting of his parents, and that he was 13 at the time. So, what have we got? Denny's dates can't fit with the later stories - they would have =Year Two= occur only two years prior to =Did Robin Die Tonight?=, and one year between Dick starting and Jason dying. Lets call "Lonely Place of Dying" Year 0, and date from then. 0 Lonely Place of Dying - Tim begins as new Robin unofficially, age 13 0 Year 3 (present day stuff) Bruce age 35 (approx) -0.1 Jason dies (approx) - age 15 (approx) -0.5 Nightwing meets Jason -1.5 Jason becomes Robin -2 Did Robin die tonight - Dick leaves age 19, Bruce meets Jason age 13 -4 Dick as Robin - age 17, Tim recognises him, age 9 -8 Dick becomes Robin - age 13 -8.5 Year 3 - Dick's parents killed - Dick age 12.5, Tim age 4.5 -9.5 Year 2 -10.5 Year 1 - Batman starts age 24. Mention of Superman in Metropolis. -28 Bruce Wayne's parents killed. (approx) - Bruce age 6 Some dates have had to be adjusted. Tim's age references are essential, so they stay. Leslie's "25 years" reference has had to be stretched a bit to about 27 years. The "18 years" reference in Year One remains. Dick's time away from the manor fits in as well. Year Three's references to the death of Dick's parents are too large (need to be about 8 years, not 10). All of the Lonely Place of Dying references remain. As yet I haven't been able to re-read the later issues to date the above in terms of 'present-day'. At a guess, it has been about a year, and probably no more than two since the events of =Lonely Place of Dying=. Zero Hour's timeline is interesting, but compresses recent events too much to be valid in terms of existing continuity. It dates events as follows: 0 Present day 0 Azrael / Bane (KnightFall/Quest/End) -1 Tim Drake as Robin -3 Jason Todd killed -3 Jason Todd as Robin -4 Robin becomes Nightwing -8 Dick Grayson as Robin -10 Batman begins. -25 Bruce Wayne's parents killed Of course, with DC releasing 'Year One' annuals this year, things may get even further twisted :) -oOo- What follows is a list of several major Batman comic-book stories that fit into the current continuity. Unlike the Superman titles, however, there is no strict continuity for the Batman comic books. Events from one story occasionally lead into another, and subplots rarely carry over from one major story line to the next. When a character re-appears after a long absence, he may or may not have been affected by the events of the story in which he last appeared. Due to this loose integration, nearly all previous stories are potentially "history" and thus possibly relevant to any other Batman story. The following abbreviations are used within the list to indicate the title of the various comic books. Abbreviation Title ================================================= ACTION ACTION COMICS ADVENTURES THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN BATMAN BATMAN CATWOMAN CATWOMAN DETECTIVE DETECTIVE COMICS JLTF JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE LEGENDS BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT MANOFSTEEL THE MAN OF STEEL mini-series MAN O'STEEL SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL ROBIN ROBIN (regular series) SHADOW BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT SUPERMAN SUPERMAN (Volume 2) TITANS THE NEW TITANS ZERO HOUR ZERO HOUR REGULAR SERIES: Shown below are important events and major story lines from the regular Batman titles. They are listed in chronological order starting with the first major "official" story. Story/Event Title and issues Cover Dates ========================================================================= Year One -- redone origin and first appearances of Batman BATMAN 404 - 407 Feb 87 - May 87 -- First team-up with Superman MAN OF STEEL (mini) 3 Early Nov 86 -- Year Two -- early crimefighting, meets Joe Chill DETECTIVE 575 - 578 Jun 87 - Sep 87 -- Did Robin Die Tonight? -- Dick retired as Robin, Jason starts BATMAN 408 Jun 87 -- Ten Nights of the Beast -- KGBeast assassin BATMAN 417 - 419 Mar 88 - Jun 88 -- A Death in the Family -- the Joker kills Robin (Jason Todd) BATMAN 426 - 429 Early Dec 88 - Late Jan 89 [428 - Jason Todd dies] -- Blind Justice -- Batmans back is broken DETECTIVE 598 - 600 Mar 89 - May 89 -- Many Deaths of the Batman -- Batman's teachers are murdered BATMAN 433 - 435 May 89 - Jul 89 -- Year Three -- first Robin (current events) BATMAN 436 - 439 Early Aug 89 - Late Sep 89 -- A Lonely Place of Dying -- Tim Drake unofficially becomes Robin BATMAN 440 - 442 (parts 1, 3, 5) TITANS 60 - 61 (parts 2, 4) Nov 89 - Jan 90 -- The Mudpack -- Clayfaces teamup DETECTIVE 604 - 607 Sep 89 - Dec 89 -- Dark Knight over Metropolis -- Superman-Batman team-up SUPERMAN 44, ADVENTURES 467, ACTION 654 Jun 90 [ADV 467 - Batman gets Kryptonite ring] -- The Penguin Affair -- introduction of Harold BATMAN 448 - 449 (parts 1, 3) DETECTIVE 615 (part 2) Early Jun 90 - Late Jun 90 -- Dark Knight/Dark City -- Riddler possessed BATMAN 452 - 454 Early Aug 90 - Sep 90 -- Identity Crisis -- Robin officially/New costume BATMAN 455-457 Oct 90 - Dec 90 -- Shadow Box -- King Snake BATMAN 467 - 469 Late Aug 91 - Late Sep 91 -- The Idiot Root BATMAN 472 - 473 (parts 1, 3) DETECTIVE 639 - 640 (parts 2, 4) Dec 91 - Jan 92 -- Destroyer -- Gotham landscape redefined BATMAN 474, LEGENDS 33, DETECTIVE 641 Feb 92 -- Electric City DETECTIVE 644 - 646 May 92 - Jul 92 -- Knightfall BATMAN 492 - 500 (parts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19) DETECTIVE 659 - 666 (parts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18) SHOWCASE '93 7 -8 (parts 13, 14) SHADOW 16-18 (parts 16a, 16b, 16c) Early May 93 - Oct 93 -- Knightquest: The Search -- Bruce searches for Shondra JLTF 5 - 6 (parts 1, 2) SHADOW 21 - 23 (parts 3, 4, 5) LEGENDS 59 - 61 ('Quarry' parts 1, 2, 3) Oct 93 - Jun 94 -- Knightquest: The Crusade -- Jean Paul wears the Mantle of the Bat SHADOW 19 - 20 DETECTIVE 667 - 670 ROBIN 1 BATMAN 501 - 504 CATWOMAN 6 -7 DETECTIVE 671 - 673 (Death of Batman parts 1-3) BATMAN 505 - 507 SHADOW 25 DETECTIVE 674 SHADOW 26 - 27 (Creatures of Clay parts 1-2) BATMAN 508 SHADOW 28 DETECTIVE 675 ROBIN 7 (KnightQuest - the Conclusion) Late Oct 93 - Jun 94 -- KnightsEnd -- Bruce Wayne becomes Batman again BATMAN 509 - 510 (parts 1, 7) SHADOW 29 - 30 (parts 2, 8) DETECTIVE 676 - 677 (parts 3, 9) LEGENDS 62 - 63 (parts 4, 10) ROBIN 8 - 9 (parts 5, Aftermath 1) CATWOMAN 12 -13 (parts 6, Aftermath 2) Jul 94 - Aug 94 -- Zero Hour -- chronal disruptions & time travel BATMAN 511, MAN O'STEEL 27, SHADOW 31, DETECTIVE 678, ROBIN 10 ZERO HOUR 4, 3, 2, 1 Sept 94 -- Zero Month -- retelling of origin stories BATMAN 0, SHADOW 0, DETECTIVE 0, ROBIN 0 Oct 94 -- Prodigal -- Dick Grayson takes the mantle of the bat BATMAN 512 - 514 (parts 1, 5, 9) SHADOW 32 - 34 (parts 2, 6, 10) DETECTIVE 679 - 681 (parts 3, 7, 11) ROBIN 11 - 13 (parts 4, 8, 12) Nov 94 - Jan 95 -- The Troika -- Bruce Wayne returns to fight renegade Russians BATMAN 515, SHADOW 35, DETECTIVE 682, ROBIN 14 Feb 95 -- Dark Knight -- possible future DARK KNIGHT 1 - 4 Mar 86 - Jun 86 [2 - Carrie Kelly becomes female Robin, 3 - Joker dies, 4 - Alfred dies] ======================================================================== GRAPHIC NOVELS: Several Batman-related graphic novels have been printed that may fit into the current continuity. Title (Year) -- Story/Event ======================================================================== BATMAN: The Killing Joke (1988) -- the Joker cripples Batgirl BATMAN: Son of The Demon (1987) -- Ra's al Ghul & Talia has Bruce's baby BATMAN: Arkham Asylum (1989) -- Batman must reclaim Arkham BATMAN: Bride of The Demon (1990) -- Ra's al Ghul BATMAN: Digital Justice (1990) Computer generated art BATMAN: 3D (1990) -- 3-D novel /w 3-D glasses BATMAN: Full Circle (1991) -- Follow up to Year Two BATMAN: Birth of The Demon (1992) -- Ra's al Ghul origin BATMAN: Night Cries (1992) -- child abuse ======================================================================== PRESTIGE FORMAT MINI-SERIES: Several prestige format mini-series fit into the current continuity. The two "World's Finest" stories feature a team-up of Batman and Superman, each of the which was a three-issue limited series. Though the stories themselves have not specified exactly where they fit with the regular series, various story elements reveal the possible location (see also Superman Comic List by David Chappell). Title (Year) -- Story/Event =========================================================================== WORLD'S FINEST (1990) -- Luthor & Joker manipulate orphanages after "Dark Night Over Metropolis" (ACTION #654, Jun 90) before death of Luthor, Sr. (ACTION #660, Dec 90) BATMAN: SWORD OF AZRAEL (1992) -- first appearance of Azrael after "A Lonely Place of Dying" before "Knightfall" LEGENDS OF THE WORLD'S FINEST (1994) -- demons and Silver Banshee try to conquer Earth. after WORLD'S FINEST before Knightfall (BATMAN #492, EMay 93) =========================================================================== TRADE PAPERBACKS: The trade paperbacks listed below reprint existing comics into collected form. They contain no new material. Title Story =========================================================================== BATMAN: YEAR ONE Year One BATMAN: YEAR TWO Year Two BATMAN: GOTHIC Gothic story from LEGENDS BATMAN: PREY Prey story from LEGENDS BATMAN: VENOM Venom story from LEGENDS BATMAN: TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST Ten Nights of the Beast BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY Death in the Family WORLD'S FINEST World's Finest mini-series BATMAN: A LONELY PLACE OF DYING A Lonely Place of Dying BATMAN: SWORD OF AZRAEL Sword of Azrael mini-series BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL PT.1--BROKEN BAT first half of Knightfall BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL PT.2--WHO RULES THE NIGHT second half of Knightfall ZERO HOUR: CRISIS IN TIME Zero Hour BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS DARK KNIGHT mini-series =========================================================================== NOVELS: Only one novel has been published thus far that is part of the modern continuity. It incorporates the Knightfall, Knightquest, and Knightsend storylines. Title Year Author ============================================================ BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL 1994 Dennis O'Neil ============================================================ (end) -- Peter Williams [p--te--w] at [mpx.com.au] (Microplex) Sydney, Australia. "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research!" Disclaimer: Any opinions lurking above are mine, all mine! Bwahahaha ...