All throughout November, guest writers will be weighing in on fandom, specifically guest writers who identify strongly with characters, teams, or franchises online. Each piece will feature a personal look at why a writer gravitates to a character, what keeps their interest, and — most importantly — a set of reading recommendations for folks looking to better understand that character.

My name is Alex Batts, and I write regularly write for this site, including The Wicked + The Divine Re-Read Project, which I hope you have or will check out (both the comic and my articles). And while I often say WicDiv is my favorite comic of all-time, Batman really owns my comics heart. I run a Batman fan-account on Twitter (@BatmanFiles) that I’m incredibly proud of and think I’ve operated rather successfully. But what originally spurred this love for Batman?

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader is Alex Batts’ favorite Batman story. — **Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader** is Alex Batts’ favorite Batman story.

People ask me when I became a Batman fan or what made me like Batman and, honestly, I can’t say. I simply don’t remember not being a huge Batman fan. I attribute my first exposure to Batman to my father. He was a giant Batman fan and some of my earliest memories are watching Batman: The Animated Series, the Batman ’66 series, and the Batman ’89 movie with him. Suffice it to say, I genuinely can’t imagine my life without Batman. Batman is such an inseparable part of my personality — he’s always been there and always will be.

So, why do I love Batman so much? First off, he’s just damn cool. What kid doesn’t think Batman is awesome? He looks rad, has a badass car, and all the coolest gadgets — plus he fights bad guys. Then as you get older you start to understand the complexities of the character. For as epic as Batman can be, he’s still just a guy. Sure, an insanely rich and impossibly well-trained guy, but he doesn’t shoot laser beams out of his eyes.

Batman represents the peak of human achievement. He’s the ultimate representation of determination, devotion, and will. He’s also inherently the dream of a child. To think he could learn everything there is to learn in the hopes of winning an endless war. He hopes against hope, perseveres against the impossible, and faces down insurmountable odds without blinking. He’s also the ultimate chameleon. Batman as a character has certain intrinsic values but he can, and has, worked in any genre. From comedy to horror, outer space to noir — he fits in any tale you want to tell with him.

All this and so much more make him my favorite character of all-time. He’s endlessly complex, has one of the richest mythologies and cast of characters built around him, and is endlessly entertaining. I could go on for ages about all the things that make Batman great, but I’ll spare you that dissertation. Instead, I’ll drop a couple of recommendations. My go-to favorite Batman story ever is “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” by Neil Gaiman. It’s a perfect distillation of who Batman is as a character and it’s only two issues. Some of my other favorites include the entire run by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, specifically Zero Year, which is my favorite arc of theirs. Tom King’s whole run is golden (I even have an article listing some of my favorite issues from it). Year One and The Long Halloween are highly praised for a reason, and Batman: Venom is a hidden gem. The Demon Trilogy is a personal favorite due to Ra’s and Talia’s prominence.

If you want to get into Batman comics there’s a seemingly endless list of comics to choose from and in my experience, the good vastly outnumbers the bad. At the end of the day I just really love Batman. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for him and his impact on my life cannot be overstated. For me, every day is Batman day.

Batman Reading Recommendations

More Batman Reading Recommendations from Alex Batts.

Alex Batts is from Texas. A lifelong comic book enthusiast and movie lover, if he’s not talking about comics, he’s probably not talking. You can find him on Twitter by following @BatmanFiles

Check out the full Fandom Files Reading List!

Check our our past reading lists: The Quarantine Reading List and The Extra Eisners Reading List!