https://www.reddit.com/r/batman/wiki/recommendations/#wiki\_how\_to\_get\_started\_with\_comics.2C\_by\_.2Fu.2Fflybytiedye

Batman Year One by Frank Miller.

The Long Halloween/Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb.

The Killing Joke by Alan Moore.

The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder.

Batman: Year One is a natural fit for you. I also recommend Scott Snyder’s Batman run. Start with the Court of Owls trade paperback. Plus, Batman: The Black Mirror from the same writer.

You should also read Daredevil. Start with Brian Michael Bendis’ run.

The Long Halloween inspired a lot of Batman movies.

I would say that Year One is a popular origin story, I recommend the following Year One. The Man Who Laughs modern retelling of the Joker encounter. The Long Halloween. Dark victory is a sequel to the above.

Hush is also a popular story if you know his rogue gallery

Year One. The real deal. Solid plot and superb artwork. Guaranteed re-reading.

I'd recommend Miller's Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns (but not its sequels).

Not Hush. Never Hush.

If you are a new reader, I have a post full of many good recommendations. I hope this helps!

The Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth, The Long Halloween, Hush, The Man Who Laughs, Batman and Son and Batman RIP are just a few that spring to mind.

In the following order:

Year One.

The Man Who Laughs.

The Long Halloween.

The Killing Joke.

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

There are other significant stories, of course, and others will have different favorites. But that's my core Batman list, and Year One, Long Halloween, and Killing Joke at least are all widely recognized as among the greats.

Other widely regarded and influential stories include:

Death in the Family.

Knightfall.

Hush.

The Court of Owls.

The Dark Knight Returns.

(Note: Dark Victory and its companion, Catwoman: When In Rome follow Long Halloween, and DV deals with the introduction of Robin, but I haven't finished reading it yet, so hold off on recommending it even though I will likely add it to my list when finished.)

If you are a new reader, I have a general response to starting with Batman, if you don't mind me copying it over,  that many in the past have found quite helpful. I'm going to follow with long descriptions of many of the great Batman starting points, which make starting Batman easy. You see, with Batman, although it takes the form of a continuum of comics, it doesn't really need to be read in chronological order, despite what others may try to convince you of. That's because not all of Batman's timeline is good, some is out of print, and reading it in order you are sure to find contradictions anyway, it's a story that has been written over decades, between many different authors. As a new reader, it is easy to read Batman in trade paper back format, that is, all chapters of a given story collected in the one book. If you are wanting a website or app though, maybe try comixology, when Batman titles go on sale, or you can try getting Batman comics from your local library, and if you are in the US you can use the Hoopla app. Physical trade paper backs (or even digitally available story arcs) contain any chronology or history needed to be known of Batman in that story, and you can read these stories as one off events or standalone stories, so long as you have a general idea of what Batman characters there are and what they represent, though even new characters can make a great surprise. There are multiple jumping on points, so I will describe a few, and if one takes your interest, pick it up and start reading, because that is the best way to get into Batman, to just pick something up and start reading, getting to know what type of stories you like, what writers or artists, etc.

As an aside, and if you were interested in reading about the mechanics of what constitutes different starting points, I will elaborate, though if you are familiar with this terminology, you can always skip to the next paragraph. Now, most of the really old stuff no one will really recommend, this makes up what is often known as the gold, silver and bronze ages. In the late 80's, there was an event called Crisis on Infinite Earths, which I'm not recommending, though you may see fans refer to the stretch of comics written between the late 80's and 2011 as the "Post-Crisis Era". This Era has many beloved stories that many fans will recommend, and is easy enough to jump into.

Before that though, a fan favourite comic called The Dark Knight Returns (by Frank Miller) was written that is loved by many fans and even writers themselves, inspiring most of what even the modern Batman represents. It is a standalone story of an old Batman in a dystopic future/80's Gotham, though having a very good understanding of what Batman represents is kind of needed to understand why the comic works so well. I wouldn't necessarily read it first of these suggestions, but it is written before anything else I will recommend, and it is good to keep in mind for later reading as it is such a classic. (It has also heavily inspired many films, such as Nolan's films, BvS and even some of the Arkham games, if this interests you)

Next is the jumping on point for the start of the Post Crisis Era. Frank Miller also got to write the post-crisis origin of Batman in Batman: Year One, which is also a really great Batman story, Gordon story and origin story, of a very early career Batman and Gordon taking on low level crime, though it is written excellently. You don't need to start reading Batman comics from issue one and continue reading chronologically to enjoy Batman, though if this type of story interests you, you may want to pick it up. (This serves as the primary influence for Batman Begins, if this interests you).

As well, for some good, ongoing and early post-crisis Batman stories, there are Batman: The Caped Crusader volumes 1-6, Batman: The Dark Knight Detective volumes 1-8 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat volumes 1-4. From these, I highly recommend those featuring Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle as creators. They are responsible for the introduction of such characters as Ratcatcher, Zsasz, Ventriloquist and Anarky.

My next recommendation is also a great starting point, that of Batman: The Long Halloween (by Jeph Loeb), though also works as a solid continuation of Year One (though don't feel too constrained by chronology, each work as great stand alone stories). TLH is heralded by many Batman fans as one of the great Batman mystery stories, still featuring an early career Batman to start as a good jumping in point, though starting to have Batman approach more super crime in his stories. As great as TLH is on its own though, it also has a sequel that is even better (though depends heavily on having read TLH) called Batman: Dark Victory, for future reference if this story interests you. (These also serve as big influences on The Dark Knight, if this interests you).

Next up, Batman: The Killing Joke (by Alan Moore) is also easy first readings for a new Batman fan, a stand alone story featuring one of Batman's greatest and most influential confrontations with the Joker. This is the comic that lead to Batman comics becoming dark, and has about as much influence as TDKR has had on the comics industry (both came out at roughly the same time), and once again, a broad understanding of what makes Batman Batman, what makes the Joker the Joker, and an understanding of their history of confrontations is suggested before reading, as this story really encapsulates all of that, though also serves as an easy enough stand alone story. (This story is a huge influence on Batman '89, The Dark Knight, the Arkham games, and was adapted in 2016 into an animated movie, that wasn't really as good, so definitely read and don't watch this one.)

After all of this, Batman stories start getting convoluted, continuity heavy, or not all that good, until in the mid 2000's when Batman: Hush came out (also by Jeph Loeb, who wrote TLH), a new starting point for readers with a mid career Batman, once again solving a great Batman mystery and with one of comics greatest artists Jim Lee, featuring many of Batman's most well known allies and villains, this is the comic that got people into reading Batman comics again after the 90's. If you're worried about timelines at all though, don't feel too concerned, as it was the first Batman comic I ever read and I was never confused, and is I feel a great recommendation for new readers, encapsulating many great moments of mystery, action and a wide span of well known characters that it has a lot for every fan. After this though, it becomes a little harder to recommend starting on points for what is a late career, post-crisis Batman.

(1/2)

Batman 2011, Court of Owls. It’s relatively modern but it’s basically a classic at this point. Note that the story is comprised of two volumes

'Knightfall' (the first part) might be a good place to start? It's more or less where I began and it's not too gritty but it still has a serious and developed storyline and characters.

Read what everyone here is telling you to cuz there are good suggestions. But do yourself a favor and watch the Batman. It’s a fucking masterpiece.

Ignore comics, watch BTAS

There are no single best. I usua suggest to read Batman by era. Each era can be read on it's own. Each era has many many comics, but a few really stand out.

Here are the eras I define, and for a beginner I would pick "The Hush Saga era" to start - Even if Batman: Hush is not the best story nor an origin story, it shows a bit of everything.

Early years

1. Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
2. Batman and the Monsters + Batman and the Mad Monk - in Legends of the Dark Knight by Matt Wagner
3. Batman: Prey + Batman: Terror by Doug Moench - in Batman: Prey Omnibus
4. Batman: The Man Who Laught by Ed Brubaker
5. Batman: Gothic by Grant Morrison
6. Batman: Going Sane by J.M. DeMatteis
7. Batman: Venom by Denis O'Neil

New comers in the Batfamily

1. The Long Halloween + Dark Victory + Catwoman: When in Rome by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
2. Robin: Year One
3. Batgirl: Year One
4. Batman: Strange Apparitions + Dark Detective by Steve Englehart - in Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart
5. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth by Grant Morrison & Dave McKean
6. The Killing Joke by Alan Moore & Brian Boland
7. Batman: The Cult by Jim Starling
8. Batman: A Death in the Family + A Lonely Place of Dying by George Perez, Jim Starling and Marv Wolfman - in Death in the Family (new edition)
9. Batman: Birth of the Demon by Dennis O'Neil
10. Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City by Peter Milligan
11. The Joker: Devil's Advocate by Chuck Dixon

Dark days for Gotham

1. The Sword of Azrael by Dennis O'Neil
2. Knightfall (new omnibus) by Various - incluse Revange of Bane, Knightfall, Knightquest, KnightsEnd, Prodigual, Troika
3. Batman: Contagion + Legacy by Chuck Dixon
4. Batman: Cataclysm + Batman: No Man's Land by Various

The New Gotham

1. New Gotham by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka
2. Turning Point by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka
3. Gotham Central by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka
4. Bruce Wayne: Murderer ? + Bruce Wayne Fugitive by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka
5. Batman: War Drums + Batman: War Games by various

With The Justice League

1. JLA: Year One by Mark Waid
2. JLA: Tower of Babel by Mark Waid

The Hush Saga

1. Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee
2. Batman: Detective + Batman: Death and the City + Batman: Private Casebook + Batman: Heart of Hush + Streets of Gotham: Hush Money + Streets of Gotham: Leviathan + Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush by Paul Dini

The Damian Wayne Saga

1. Batman: Under the Red Hood + Red Hood: Lost Days by Judd Winick
2. Batman & Son + Batman & Robin + Batman Inc. by Grant Morrison
3. Batman Inc. New52 (by Morrison) + Batman & Robin New52 by Peter J. Tomasi + We Are Robin by Lee Bermejo + Robin, Son of Batman by Ray Fawkes

The New52 era

1. Batwoman: Hydrology by J.H. Williams III
2. Batman: Court of Owls + Batman: Night of Owls Saga by Scott Snyder
3. Batman: Death of the Family + Endgame by Scott Snyder
4. Batman: Zero Year by Scott Snyder
5. Penguin: Pain and Prejudice by Gregg Hurwitz
6. Batman: Cycle of Violence + Batman: Mad + Batman: Clay by Gregg Hurwitz
7. Batman by Buccellato & Francis Manupul

The Rebirth era

1. Detective Comics Rebirth by James Tynion IV (aka Rise and Fall of the Batmen)
2. Batman Rebirth by Tom King

The DC Univers era

1. Detective Comics by Peter J. Tomasi
2. Batman by James Tynion IV (aka Joker War)
3. Dark Knights: Metal + Batman: Who Laughs + Superman/Batman: The Infected + No Justice + Justice League by Scott Snyder + Year of the Villains: Hell Arisen + Death: Metal

Elseworlds and other good reads

• Batman: Mad Love by Paul Dini
• Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke
• Batman: White Knight + Batman: Curse of the White Knight by Sean Murphy
• Batman: Universe by Brian Micheal Bendis
• Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I, II, III by James Tynion IV
• The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman by Liam Sharp - canon
• Batman: Earth-One by Geoff Johns
• Gates of Gotham by Scott Snyder - canon
• Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn & Mike Mignola
• The Doom that Came to Gotham by Mike Mignola
• Tales of the Multiverse: Batman-Vampire by Doug Moench & Kelly Jones
• Li'l Gotham + Batman Tales: Once Upon A Crime by Dustin Nguyen

Have fun.

As Bats has been around since 1939, it really depends on you, there are so many different takes on the character.

For ME;

Year One

A Death in the Family

The Killing Joke

The Dark Knight Returns

The Man Who Falls

Detective Comics #572 (Fifty year anniversary issue, has Sherlock Holmes in it)

First 7 issues of Justice League in 1987, Batman is the leader and I love his portrayal.

The Killing Joke

Hush

Death of the family

Year One

Batman Ego

Under the red hood

Black Mirror

The Dark Knight returns

The long Halloween

Dark Victory

Mad Love

The Court of owls

Endgame

If you are a new reader, I have a general response to starting with Batman, if you don't mind me copying it over, that many in the past have found quite helpful. I'm going to follow with long descriptions of many of the great Batman starting points, which make starting Batman easy. You see, with Batman, although it takes the form of a continuum of comics, it doesn't really need to be read in chronological order, despite what others may try to convince you of. That's because not all of Batman's timeline is good, some is out of print, and reading it in order you are sure to find contradictions anyway, it's a story that has been written over decades, between many different authors. As a new reader, it is easy to read Batman in trade paper back format, that is, all chapters of a given story collected in the one book. If you are wanting a website or app though, maybe try comixology, when Batman titles go on sale, or you can try getting Batman comics from your local library, and if you are in the US you can use the Hoopla app. Physical trade paper backs (or even digitally available story arcs) contain any chronology or history needed to be known of Batman in that story, and you can read these stories as one off events or standalone stories, so long as you have a general idea of what Batman characters there are and what they represent, though even new characters can make a great surprise. There are multiple jumping on points, so I will describe a few, and if one takes your interest, pick it up and start reading, because that is the best way to get into Batman, to just pick something up and start reading, getting to know what type of stories you like, what writers or artists, etc.

As an aside, and if you were interested in reading about the mechanics of what constitutes different starting points, I will elaborate, though if you are familiar with this terminology, you can always skip to the next paragraph. Now, most of the really old stuff no one will really recommend, this makes up what is often known as the gold, silver and bronze ages. In the late 80's, there was an event called Crisis on Infinite Earths, which I'm not recommending, though you may see fans refer to the stretch of comics written between the late 80's and 2011 as the "Post-Crisis Era". This Era has many beloved stories that many fans will recommend, and is easy enough to jump into.

Before that though, a fan favourite comic called The Dark Knight Returns (by Frank Miller) was written that is loved by many fans and even writers themselves, inspiring most of what even the modern Batman represents. It is a standalone story of an old Batman in a dystopic future/80's Gotham, though having a very good understanding of what Batman represents is kind of needed to understand why the comic works so well. I wouldn't necessarily read it first of these suggestions, but it is written before anything else I will recommend, and it is good to keep in mind for later reading as it is such a classic. (It has also heavily inspired many films, such as Nolan's films, BvS and even some of the Arkham games, if this interests you)

Next is the jumping on point for the start of the Post Crisis Era. Frank Miller also got to write the post-crisis origin of Batman in Batman: Year One, which is also a really great Batman story, Gordon story and origin story, of a very early career Batman and Gordon taking on low level crime, though it is written excellently. You don't need to start reading Batman comics from issue one and continue reading chronologically to enjoy Batman, though if this type of story interests you, you may want to pick it up. (This serves as the primary influence for Batman Begins, if this interests you).

My next recommendation is also a great starting point, that of Batman: The Long Halloween (by Jeph Loeb), though also works as a solid continuation of Year One (though don't feel too constrained by chronology, each work as great stand alone stories). TLH is heralded by many Batman fans as one of the great Batman mystery stories, still featuring an early career Batman to start as a good jumping in point, though starting to have Batman approach more super crime in his stories. As great as TLH is on its own though, it also has a sequel that is even better (though depends heavily on having read TLH) called Batman: Dark Victory, for future reference if this story interests you. (These also serve as big influences on The Dark Knight, if this interests you).

Next up, Batman: The Killing Joke (by Alan Moore) is also easy first readings for a new Batman fan, a stand alone story featuring one of Batman's greatest and most influential confrontations with the Joker. This is the comic that lead to Batman comics becoming dark, and has about as much influence as TDKR has had on the comics industry (both came out at roughly the same time), and once again, a broad understanding of what makes Batman Batman, what makes the Joker the Joker, and an understanding of their history of confrontations is suggested before reading, as this story really encapsulates all of that, though also serves as an easy enough stand alone story. (This story is a huge influence on Batman '89, The Dark Knight, the Arkham games, and was adapted in 2016 into an animated movie, that wasn't really as good, so definitely read and don't watch this one.)

After all of this, Batman stories start getting convoluted, continuity heavy, or not all that good, until in the mid 2000's when Batman: Hush came out (also by Jeph Loeb, who wrote TLH), a new starting point for readers with a mid career Batman, once again solving a great Batman mystery and with one of comics greatest artists Jim Lee, featuring many of Batman's most well known allies and villains, this is the comic that got people into reading Batman comics again after the 90's. If you're worried about timelines at all though, don't feel too concerned, as it was the first Batman comic I ever read and I was never confused, and is I feel a great recommendation for new readers, encapsulating many great moments of mystery, action and a wide span of well known characters that it has a lot for every fan. After this though, it becomes a little harder to recommend starting on points for what is a late career, post-crisis Batman.

In 2011, an event called Flashpoint happened (which I'm not necessarily recommending here), that reset the DC comics universe. Many new fans shy away from things like reboots, but it actually makes reading comics easier, by providing easier jumping on points and cutting away a lot of unnecessary history and continuity. The in-universe mechanics of how a reboot happened are not really that important though, but the next "Era" of comics is known as the New 52 universe.

The New 52 Batman series is also a really great set of Batman comics (only 10 volumes in this run, and all of really great quality) that's great for new readers. Start with Scott Snyder's Batman: Court of Owls (volume 1), one of the great modern detective/mystery Batman stories, which can be followed up with Batman: City of Owls (volume 2, and needed to finish off that story), which can then be continued in volume order (volume 3 is Batman: Death of the Family, another of the greatest Batman vs Joker encounters (different, and much better than A Death in the Family, because comics and comic naming can be confusing), but really, all of Snyder's New 52 Batman run is great.)

In 2016, a new event called "Rebirth" rebooted the universe again, and provided a new jumping on point if you wanted to get caught up to the Batman comics that are currently being written. Once again, volume order is simple enough to follow, starting with Tom King's I am Gotham, then I am Suicide, I am Bane, and so on.

This makes up the easiest starting points for new fans to the "canon" Batman stories, though there are also some really great non-canon or "Elseworld" stories that I will recommend, as some fans also really enjoy these, and if you don't start with them, you can always keep them in the back of your mind for later.

Many fans seem to enjoy the Batman: Earth One stories (by Geoff Johns, of which there are 2 volumes) based off a more realistic Gotham, inspired by Nolan's movies. Volume 2 is much better than volume 1, though depends on having read volume 1.

An Original Graphic Novel called "Joker" (by Brian Azzarello) tells a great Joker solo story, which came out at a similar time to Ledger's Joker in TDK, and acted as a response to the more romanticised perception fans had of Joker at the time, acting as a deconstruction of him, though in comic form.

Also, while toeing the line between canon and non-canon, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (by Grant Morrison, whose whole work on Batman is great, but the rest spans a lot of stories in Batman's late post-crisis era) is also an extraordinary Batman story, also heavily featuring the Joker, though is often off putting to new fans due to its extremely different take on visuals and panel layout, though is an excellent story, and I would recommend keeping in the back of your mind for later, as it is so excellent.

So, this became a really long reply, but I hope it is really helpful for you. Tell me if you found something you enjoy! Also, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and I will be happy to answer for you! If there is a particular story you feel might interest you, you can ask me more about it. Happy reading, and I hope you have found something you enjoy!

Miller's year one

For Ra's Al Guhl, you gotta start with "Tales of the Demon" a paperback that reprints many of his early stories including his first appearance. All of the stories are written by Denny O'Neil and many of them are illustrated by all time great Batman artist Neal Adams.

For the Robins, and specially Tim Drake, read "A Death in the Family" and "Lonely Place of Dying" two distinct stories which fit together and are very important to each other. Confusing thing is there are different paperbacks- some reprint one story, some reprint both. If you find book titled "A Death in the Family" and Marv Wolfman is credited on the cover, you're good- "Lonely Place of Dying" is also included.

Neither of these should be expensive. Shop around on ebay. Don't pay $3,000 or whatever on amazon used (though you can frequently find excellent deals there as well).

Cassandra Cain first appeared in the GREAT story "No Man's Land." It's long and has been reprinted several times. I have the story in 5 TPBs. Especially with your EXCELLENT attitude, you do not have to read any of the lead in stuff, there is plenty to enjoy reading No Man's Land on its own.

For Court of Owls, read Batman vol 1- Court of owls and vol 2- City of Owls. Duke Thomas first appeared in ZERO YEAR, a newer Batman origin story. It was originally reprinted in two TPBs- Batman vol 4 Secret City and vol 5 Dark City. If you live in the US, don't spend a penny on these before you check your local library- most major systems have all of these "new 52" paperbacks. You might want to read Year One before Zero Year since it's kind of the essential Batman origin story, but you definitely don't have to. And yes, Year One is typically available through the library as wel.

I'll reiterate that you have a GREAT attitude, just read stories that you're interested and don't worry too much about continuity. And know that it's IMPOSSIBLE to read everything in a correct "order." Welcome to the >!BAT!<club

I wrote this a few years ago:

https://wheretostartreading.com/articles/batman

It’s mostly about starting at the beginning BUT just scroll down to the grey heading labeled “Into the Deep End”!

if you’re looking for new earth, i would say the three runs i hear the most about are year one, the long halloween, and hush

You're definitely the first person to have ever asked this before.

If you want a modernized run on Batman, Scott Snyder's news 52 run is right up there. If you're looking for an impactful, and surreal run, I would suggest Grant Morrison's run.

For Tim Drake, I would recommend that right after reading Batman: A Lonely Place for Dying, might I suggest reading his stint in his solo Red Robin miniseries right after Final Crisis.

I always recommend to Batman beginners, that they should start in the following order, if they really want to dive in on the Batman lore from beginning to end.

Part 1

- Dark Knight #0 (New 52)
- Detective Comics #0 (New 52)
- Batman: Year One
- Batman: Shaman
- Batman: Monster Man
- Batman: Mad Monk
- Batman: Prey
- Batman: Gothic
- Batman: Man Who Laughs
- Batman: Four of a Kind
- Batman Dark Knight: Snow
- Batman: Year Two
- Batman: Long Halloween
- Batman: Venom
- Batman: Ego
- Batman: Night Cries
- Batman: Terror
- Batman: Dark Victory
- Catwoman: In Rome
- Robin: Year One
- Robin: Gauntlet
- Batman: Fortunate Son
- Batman: Tales of the Demon
- Batgirl: Year One
- Batman: Strange Apparitions
- Nightwing: Year One
- Batman: The Wrath
- Batgirl Special One-Shot
- Batman: Killing Joke
- Batman: Second Chances
- Batman: The Cult
- Batman: Ten Nights of the Beast
- Batman: Death in the Family
- Batman: Blind Justice
- The Many Deaths of Batman
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Batman: A Lonely Place to Die
- Batman: The Last Arkham
- Batman: Sword of Azrael
- Batman presents: Bane
- Batman: Knightfall
- Batman: Prodigal
- Batman: Troika
- Nightwing: Alfred's Return

Year One >> Man Who Laughs >> The Long Halloween

You can side step and read an elseworlds story like Gotham by Gaslight, too.

Start with Year One and then just go read whatever looks cool. Hell you don’t even have to start with Year One. Stay away from reading orders

I recently did the same, OP! I recommend:

Year One

Man Who Laughs

The Long Halloween

Dark Victory

The Gauntlet

Ego

Batman: Year Two isn’t as widely recognized but it was good.

https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Mike-Bruning-Richard-editor/dp/0930289498

The Killing Joke is widely recognized as top tier.

Batman: Venom is also great imo.

Batman: Court of Owls is more recent and was excellent.

https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Court-Owls-Compact-Comics/dp/1779527276/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36X5HDIDBC56&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ogxJ0cemC3bSU1g_DNRpxpHMUX031duNw1HBQj-SVMnhVYIGXiA58eA_SV7OwA7AdU6cfAuZUuNaJS_SIe4Raor7XJ-AStvAhpBndV7JxgBpXpkNgwydH3DgWiVXw-cgn95GgmgrWOCVd1RW3uznxYD1ORs_yZlT6cg-hr-EA0Xid9EoqgvfmgcyrnblqOiv3lTUUdSlkSjj85AHtEwYe5ziVvpGrMsrjHWeZZsT-Uw.ZkNlejw6A2qdluCmeH5RJCKliUEEQVXyueBNIRGHNow&dib_tag=se&keywords=Court+of+owls&qid=1738900137&s=books&sprefix=court+of+owls%2Cstripbooks%2C155&sr=1-1

Don't worry too much about continuity/read order, but yes this is a fine place to start. Make sure your edition of A Death in the Family credits Marv Wolfman on the cover- that means it also includes Lonely Place of Dying which is very important. I would add Robin: Year One after Dark Victory because it's one of the best Batman stories ever.

Pick up the two volumes of Batman in the Seventies. Gives you a good background in the Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams work. The stories were a lot different back then. Not yet the darkness of the eighties, but way more mature than the Adam West driven issues of the 60’s.

Court of Owls is a good one to read.

the killing joke comes before death in the family i believe

This such a difficult question, and a genuine challenge for someone trying to get into comics. 

It took me sometime to get to grips with this, but what worked for me was taking a main run from the actual ongoing series and working through that. I found it more satisfying than picking out the big iconic books. 

So what being said, I’d actually recommend reading the New 52 run of Batman. So that would be

• Court Of Owls
• City Of Owls 
• Death Of The Family
• Year Zero - Secret City
• Year Zero - Dark City

You could, if you chose to, pair that up with the Detective Comics that ran along side. 

It throws you in a little bit in the middle (most of Batman’s recurring cast is well-established by this point), but you’ll probably fine with the knowledge gathered with the Nolan trilogy, with the exception of Dick Grayson, the first Robin. You might need to catch up a little on him. He’s featured in heavily.

But you can start there, and then look back to stories that interest you based on that jumping off point. Later in that same run (same writer, same artist) there will also be a flashback to an origin story, called Zero Year. Note: it’s deliberately written to be a different take on the origin story compared to the most famous one, Year One, so if it’s a bit extra, that’s probably why. Still, it’s a neat and colorful take on Batman’s origin story.

I personally think Snyder's run works better if you read Zero Year first, then the rest as published. Its really the best part of his run and it does a better job of establishing the characters and situation in Gotham prior to Bruce becoming Batman. 

That said, Court of Owls is a good start also and its available cheap in the compact comics line.

Court of Owls is a great place to start imo. Such a good story too. DCs subscription app has it free to read in the webcomic format (similar to Webtoon vertical reading). The app isn’t available everywhere though.

Court of Owls DC Go! Edition https://www.dcuniverseinfinite.com/comics/series/--/8bbe02fd-fde9-467c-838f-7dd357d957db/

Court of Owls followed by City of Owls is the best modern day starting point.

Court of Owls is a perfectly fine place to start, Snyder did a good job on Bruce. You can keep following that story up until "Epilogue" which is, iirc, the last volume of that series.