Batman by Tom King Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give an outline of Tom King’s time writing Batman for DC Comics. It attempts to find the best way to showcase the narrative that stretches through this author’s time with the character. It may not encompass every one of the character’s appearances but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth – Universe

New 52

In this era, Batman was primarily written by Scott Synder (see our “Batman by Scott Synder” Reading Order here) while Tom King primarily cowrote Dick Grayson’s (Reading Order) adventures. However, Batman’s few appearances alongside Dick Grayson give an indication about the type of writing that would follow Batman once Tom King took over the role in the Rebirth era.

Notes

1. These issues are mostly about Dick Grayson (Reading Order) and only feature Batman for a moment or two. In addition, Grayson #5 only features a story about Batman rather than a physical appearance but it is included because of the way it brings back a old story that was previously thought to have been retconned.

Rebirth

Batman's main Rebirth storyline continues from the conclusion of his main New 52 storyline (which can be seen in the New 52 section of ComicBookWire's "Batman by Scott Synder Reading Order"). There are no major continuity shifts for Batman between these eras.

Tom King's work on Batman, throughout this era, is far more prominent than in the previous era. It mostly plays out through the Batman series, of which Tom King wrote the vast majority. His work on the comic creates a large narrative that develops themes and ideas at the beginning and continues to build on those themes and ideas as the series progresses. These concepts often center around the longevity of Batman, happiness, and Batman's relationship with Catwoman.

Batman issues are from the Vol. 3 series
Nightwing issues are from the Vol. 4 series
Detective Comics issues are from the Vol. 1 series
The Flash issues are from the Vol. 5 series
DC Nation issues are from the Vol. 2 series

1. Though not every issue from this event was written by Tom King, these issues all help tell one cohesive story.
2. The inclusion of Looney Toons characters in this story indicates it probably falls outside the typical DC continuity. However, Tom King's work on this issue fits well into the rest of the narrative from this comic.

Universe

For Tom King's work on Batman, the Universe era picks up immediately where the previous era left off. This entire era heavily references the aftermath of the Wedding (Reading Order) and more generally references all of the main Rebirth storylines. We strongly recommend reading what took place in the Rebirth era before moving on to this one.

The main narrative here, once again, primarily plays out through the Batman series. This comic continues the same examination of Batman that was present before and picks up many of the same themes and concepts. All of this then comes to a head in the "City of Bane" story arc, which serves as a climax to King's work on Batman.

Note: The upcoming Batman and Catwoman series, by Tom King, will continue the narrative here and, after it is released, this reading order will be updated accordingly.

Notes

1. The entire Heroes in Crisis (Reading Order) event, written by Tom King, continues several elements from King's work on the Batman series. It revisits Poison Ivy (Reading Order) after the "Everybody Loves Ivy" story arc, revisits Booster Gold (Reading Order) after "The Gift" story arc, and generally features Batman.
2. "The Price" crossover is not written by Tom King and is instead written by Joshua Williamson. However, this crossover is somewhat of a spiritual sequel to the Batman/The Flash: The Button (Reading Order) crossover and helps to somewhat set up future plotlines involving Gotham Girl.
3. Only the "True Strength" story from this issue is directly relevant to this reading order's main storyline. The rest of the issues simply depict independent Batman adventures and could be considered "Extra" in this reading order.
4. Though not written by Tom King, this annual chapter helps build up Batman and Alfred's father-son relationship in a way that is thematically relevant to Tom King's main Batman series.
5. Though not written by Tom King, the Bane story from this issue is moderately related to what is taking place in the main Batman series. However, the rest of these issues simply depict more independent Batman adventures.
6. The "Batman's Greatest Case" story from this issue, written by Tom King, is short but is relevant to themes developed throughout Tom King's run on Batman.

All DC Comics Reading Orders