Fandom Overview: The Batfamily

[withpins]

Greetings, fellow humans. I'm lyraeinne, here at last to bring you the overview for DC's Batfamily. Be warned that there are a few spoilers for recent developments in the comics, most notably identity issues regarding Batman, Robin, and Batgirl.

Comments

[suki_blue]

This was great! I really enjoyed it. And it's a wonderful intro to Batfamily for anyone new.

[withpins]

Hee! Thank you so much! <3 I was going for maximum accessibility, so I'm really glad to hear that you think it worked on that level. :D

[darkhavens]

Here via suki_blue's pimp. I'm just getting into DC fandom and am still figuring out how these Bat-shaped jigsaw pieces fit together. This is a great overview! Thanks. :D

[withpins]

Oh thank you! The Batverse can be a pretty crazy overwhelming place, so I'm glad this actually made sense and didn't just feel like a confusing mess. :D

[flo_nelja]

I begin to understand why my friends love the Batfamily so much.
Are there any story arcs you particularly recommend ?

[mithen]

I'm sure lyraeinne will have her own, but a couple that spring to mind for me:

Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne for the Bruce/Dick--there's a scan of it above and the art is really stylized and rather ugly, so if you get distracted by weird art I'd avoid it, but it showcases the bond between the two of them so well.

A Lonely Place of Dying is the introduction to Tim Drake and his relationships with both Dick and Bruce.

For Batman himself, I tend to strongly recommend any of the Batman: Black and White trade paperbacks. They're basically short stories about Batman that showcase all the different facets of his personality and are really good for deciding who "your" Batman is and how you like him (he's been written so many ways that the possibilities are nearly limitless).

The currently ongoing Batman and Robin is getting really good reviews and features Dick as Batman and Damian as Robin.

I hope you can find something you like!

[withpins]

Oh, I really should have made a section for canon recs. I definitely second mithen's recommendations, especially Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne, which is really one of the most amazing and memorable Batfamily stories I've ever read in spite of the hideously ugly art.

I also really recommend the first thirty issues or so of Gotham Knights by Devin Grayson. They were the first Batstories I read when I was first getting into the fandom, and they really work well as an overview of the Batclan as a family with a pretty heavy focus on relationships rather than straight up crime-fighting. Dark Victory is also a pretty interesting take on Batman's early career, complete with a fun and unique take on the original Robin's origin

[mithen]

This was really nice, good work! Your affection for all the characters really comes through loud and clear, and I always love that in a fandom overview.

[withpins]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm really glad that came through, since I definitely trying to convey how much fun they can be. :D

[withpins]

Hee, thank you so much! <3 And oh god, originally I was going to try to cover everything from Earth 2 to the pre-Crisis Silver/Bronze Age to the Millerverse, but then I realized my essay was going to be eleventybillion pages long and I had to narrow it down somehow. No offense to poor Carrie Kelly. And I just picked up ASBAR last week and I'm still kind of in shock.

I don't really dislike Tim, but I have to say for whatever reason he's never been one of my favorites. Maybe because he's neither as fun and cute as Dick or as cranky and angst-ridden as Bruce, Damian, Cass, or even Babs. He has his layers and plenty of issues of his own, and I can definitely see why so many people find him appealing, but I've always preferred the higher extremes, I guess.