Here are 71 books that Batman fans have personally recommended if you like
Batman.
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I have long had an interest in government conspiracies and have spent hundreds of hours researching the many experiments our government has foisted upon an unsuspecting populous. When the Church Committee released info on Projects MK Ultra, Bluebird, Artichoke, and others, people were stunned to realize what had been going on. Movies such as The Matrix dealt with mind control and the attempt to create the perfect soldier, and I am convinced such research and experimentation continues today.
This novel has so many reasons to recommend it. It incorporates radical experimentation and horrifying surgeries being done in a bizarre hospital. To make it even more mysterious, there is a hurricane threatening the island which complicates the investigation of US Marshall Teddy Daniels searching for a patient who has disappeared.
I loved the creepy island hospital and the use of weather as a character.
The basis for the blockbuster motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane is a gripping and atmospheric psychological thriller where nothing is quite what it seems. The New York Times calls Shutter Island, “Startlingly original.” The Washington Post raves, “Brilliantly conceived and executed.” A masterwork of suspense and surprise from the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Shutter Island carries the reader into a nightmare world of madness, mind control, and CIA Cold War paranoia andis unlike anything you’ve ever read before.
This is Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman's first case in a series of six books. Months from retirement Kent-based Fran doesn't have a great life - apart from her work. She's menopausal and at the beck and call of her elderly parents, who live in Devon. But instead of lightening…
I have been reading mysteries and trying to solve them before it was revealed since before I can remember. From episodes of Scooby Doo to The Bailey School Kids, I loved any mystery that I could find, and the older I’ve gotten, the more complex and darker I like the mysteries. Eventually, I started writing my own, combining it with my love of horror, detectives, and pretty much every other genre to create the kind of mysteries I was always hunting for. I hope this list helps you find a few new favorites, and maybe you’ll be up reading The Long Halloween all night, just like I was!
The thing I love the most about this book is its incredible pacing. While it's not nearly as complex as the mystery in my previous recommendation, and the final twist is not as shocking as Shutter Island, it is a book that you pick up on a whim and get hooked so fast that you want to read the entire story in one sitting.
It wastes no time setting up its mysteries, and its dual narrative keeps the reader coming back. To me, it reads like a detective story crossed with a “beach read,” a quick and effective story that has everything a mystery fan could want.
The biggest new thriller of the year - pre-order the paperback now
"The best crime novel of the decade" Steve Cavanagh
You'll hear the whispers. And then you'll hear the screams...
Still devastated after the loss of his wife, Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake move to the sleepy village of Featherbank, looking for a fresh start.
But Featherbank has a dark past. Fifteen years ago a twisted serial killer abducted and murdered five young boys. Until he was finally caught, the killer was known as 'The Whisper Man'.
I have been reading mysteries and trying to solve them before it was revealed since before I can remember. From episodes of Scooby Doo to The Bailey School Kids, I loved any mystery that I could find, and the older I’ve gotten, the more complex and darker I like the mysteries. Eventually, I started writing my own, combining it with my love of horror, detectives, and pretty much every other genre to create the kind of mysteries I was always hunting for. I hope this list helps you find a few new favorites, and maybe you’ll be up reading The Long Halloween all night, just like I was!
I have always loved detective noirs, but the genre is becoming increasingly rare, and the new stories that are released are usually not nearly as unique as they once were. This is why reading this book for the first time felt so refreshing. It’s a perfect distillation of everything that makes classic noirs great, with fresh stories, ideas, and breathtaking artwork.
It tells serious stories without taking itself too seriously, all of its mysteries have great payoffs, and the characters are incredible, especially the titular cat, John Blacksad, and my personal favorite, Weekly the Fox. I loved the first story and have since made it my mission to collect the rest of the series!
Detective John Blacksad returns, with a new case that takes him to a 1950s New Orleans filled with hot jazz and cold-blooded murder! Hired to discover the fate of a celebrated pianist, Blacksad finds his most dangerous mystery yet in the midst of drugs, voodoo, the rollicking atmosphere of Mardi Gras, and the dark underbelly that it hides!
* Features an extensive making-of section, with tons of prelim sketches and watercolor studies.
Lou Alcott is turning over a new leaf as a private investigator. Formerly police, she was forced to resign when she attacked a domestic violence perpetrator. She's always vowed to be nothing like her grandfather, Hamish, Melbourne's biggest crime boss, delivering an eye for an eye, but this guy had…
I have been reading mysteries and trying to solve them before it was revealed since before I can remember. From episodes of Scooby Doo to The Bailey School Kids, I loved any mystery that I could find, and the older I’ve gotten, the more complex and darker I like the mysteries. Eventually, I started writing my own, combining it with my love of horror, detectives, and pretty much every other genre to create the kind of mysteries I was always hunting for. I hope this list helps you find a few new favorites, and maybe you’ll be up reading The Long Halloween all night, just like I was!
For my final choice, I wanted to go with a childhood favorite: The Bailey School Kids series. While I will admit it has been a minute since I read the books, growing up in school, it quickly became one of my favorite series because of the fun mysteries that it included.
Sometimes, the stories would even scare me, becoming one of my first introductions to “horror” elements within a book. Eventually, I started learning the patterns of the books (as in how the truth of the “monster” was discovered), which was probably one of the first times I learned how tropes are used within stories.
I would highly recommend this series for kids, and writing about it has made me want to reread some of the books myself!
Mrs. Jeepers may -- or may not -- be a vampire in this funny and spooky series from Graphix Chapters.
Get drawn into reading with Graphix Chapters!
Graphix Chapters are ideal books for beginning and newly independent readers aged 6-8. With approachable page counts, easy-to-follow paneling, and artwork that supports text comprehension, these engaging stories with unforgettable characters help children become lifelong readers.
The third graders at Bailey Elementary are so hard to handle that all of their teachers have quit. But their new teacher, Mrs. Jeepers, is different -- to say the least. She's just moved from Transylvania into…
I’m a writer and teacher from Ama, Louisiana, who has also been a reader of comic books since I first learned how to read. I spent many years as a columnist, reviewer, and podcaster for a now-defunct comic site, while also working on my own novels, humor columns, and even the occasional stage play. My time these days is split between my day job as a high school English teacher, my dream job writing, and my full-time job of being the father of a five-year-old.
In the world of Lafferty’s Playing For Keeps, super-powered types fall into one of three categories. The heroes are powerful, but arrogant jerks. The villains have all the charm and charisma, but are still villains. Then there are people like Keepsie Branson, whose “useless” powers don’t let them fall into either category. After all, what good is the power to prevent something from being stolen from your own possession when it comes to fighting crime – or committing it? Lafferty’s style is slick, funny, and very original. This book isn’t like any other superhero story I know.
The shining metropolis of Seventh City is the birthplace of super powers. The First Wave heroes are jerks, but they have the best gifts: flight, super strength, telepathy, genius, fire. The Third Wavers are stuck with the leftovers: the ability to instantly make someone sober, the power to smell the past, the grace to carry a tray and never drop its contents, the power to produce high-powered excrement blasts, absolute control. over elevators. Bar owner Keepsie Branson is a Third Waver with a power that prevents anything in her possession from being stolen. Keepsie and her friends just aren't powerful…
As a child, I was obsessed with comics, whether it was Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, or the Far Side, I would devour every one I could get my hands on. I discovered the joy of observing two storylines – the one the writing was telling me and one that the pictures were telling me. As I became a teacher, I realized the importance of pictures and stories working together to keep students engaged. The resurgence of graphic novels has now been a focus for me in my pedagogy practices as well as my pathway as an author-illustrator.
This gorgeous early reader/comic series is full of illustrations to assist young readers with their comprehension of storyline.
There are themes of friendship and kindness as well as learning through discovery and mistakes is a wonderful message for young readers that are finding the journey of literacy comprehension a little trying. Also, the puns in the books are awfully good.
Come with Ollie and Bea on a HARE-raising adventure with a HOPPY ending!
Ollie is an owl who wears glasses. And Bea is a bunny with very big feet. They don't know it yet, but they are about to be best friends. Can they help each other to find their OTTER-LY awesome inner superhero?
Join Ollie and Bea in this charming, funny, cute story about the joys of making friends and having fun. The perfect book for young readers who love to laugh.
He will stop at nothing to keep his secrets hidden.
Denise Tyler’s future in New Jersey with fiancé Jeremy Guerdon unravels when she stumbles upon a kill list, with her name on it. A chilling directive, “Leave the family memories of her, nothing else,” exposes a nightmare she never imagined.…
I really enjoy superhero fiction, especially superhero fiction that challenges the usual norms of the superhero genre. I’ve always liked reading comics and moving onto superhero novels has only deepened my love of the genre. The list I’ve created is just the tip of the iceberg for superhero fiction and I highly recommend you check out these books for interesting takes on superheroes and villains.
In The Sidekick Initiative a former sidekick, now middle-aged insurance worker is reluctantly pulled back into the superhero game after the world’s superheroes disappear.
The problem is he not only has a team of washed-up former sidekicks to lead, he’s also got the world’s most powerful supervillains gunning for him and his family.
This was a hilarious story that kept me on the seat of my pants.
Once, they stood next to justice. Now they're standing up for it... When sworn protectors of Earth, the Justice Platoon, are all horribly killed, their former arch-enemies come crawling out of the woodwork. Outnumbered, outgunned, and out of options, the US Government has no choice but to activate the Sidekicks Initiative, dragging the Platoon's middle-aged ex-sidekicks out of retirement. Now these three reluctant, out of shape former child-wonders must work together to stop the rising tide of supervillainy, avenge their former mentors' deaths, and bring the world back from the brink of destruction. Assuming they don't kill each other first.…
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by superheroes. Maybe it’s because as a bit of an outcast myself growing up, I gravitated towards stories of people who were outside society, yet actually more powerful because of it. Perhaps I’m drawn to the idea of people who work outside the system to make the world a better place, regardless of if it’s dangerous to them or if they don’t reap any kind of personal reward. Or maybe I just like to watch beautiful people in colorful costumes beat the crap out of each other. You can always listen to me on the Superhero Cinephiles podcast to hear me talk more about superheroes.
If your superhero tastes run more to the weird and dark, this is definitely in your wheelhouse. Deja’s Shadow Legion could best be described as “superhero noir.” It’s got aspects of the supernatural and horror mixed in with pulp hero archetypes and intriguing interpretations of classic super powers. Plus, it features one of the best villains in any piece of superhero media, bar none.
There has always been something strange about Nocturne, Florida: the City That Lives by Night. It is an entertainment nexus luring tourist from around the world to its night clubs, music venues and other, more adult entertainment venues. But there is a darker side to which these carefree revelers never see; one of dark doings, violence and eldritch evil.
Now a new sinister force threatens Nocturne and only a handful of unique, gifted beings can protect the city’s innocent. Nightbreaker; a radio star turned vigilante, he exist in a strange limbo world. The beautiful Dreamcatcher who…
Hi, my name is CT Phipps, and I am a crazy nerd from Ashland, Ky. I'm married with two dogs and love superheroes. I mean love. I used to wallpaper my bedroom wall with Spider-Man comics in their polybags. I've been a lifelong superhero fan and just love all the melodrama, hilarity, and weird science as well as magic that are the undercurrents of the genre. I've never lost my love of the characters and their stories, so when the MCU first came out, I ended up writing this book as well as its sequels. I’ve also written a bunch of other humorous sci-fi/fantasy books but this is the series closest to my heart.
Superheroes and zombies seem like a terrible combination, but Peter Clines makes a fascinating story of zombies destroying the Earth but for a collection of superhero guarded survivors.
It's a bit like The Walking Dead combined with the Justice League, though the power level of the people involved is closer to Marvel's street level. The first book has some crass jokes that get dropped from the sequels but not enough that I didn't enjoy it. I have to say my favorite characters are Saint George (a Superman analog) and Stealth (a female Batman).
The Mighty Dragon. Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap.
They were superheroes fighting to make Los Angeles a better place.
Then the plague of living death spread. Billions died, civilization fell, and the City of Angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland.
But the ex-humans aren't the only threats the heroes face. Another group is amassing power . . . led by an enemy with the most terrifying ability of all.
Growing up Asian American, the lack of representation I felt was constant and palpable. I think often about what it would have meant and how beneficial it could have been had I been able to see myself in picture books as a child. This is a list of books I wish little me could have read growing up because when I read them now they speak to that same vulnerable space in me that I still carry. They are a balm to my heart and mind, making me feel connected to both myself and others that look like me and share similar experiences.
This is another masterful creation by Gene Luen Yang! After falling in love with American Born Chinese, this recent work of his did not disappoint. This story based on an old radio play is a tale of self-acceptance and standing up to hatred. Yang brilliantly intertwines the narrative of the Lee family and the issues of discrimination and violence they are faced with moving into a new suburban town along with the struggles of a younger, less experienced Superman coming to terms with being himself, an alien among humans.
Harvey Award winner for Best Children or Young Adult Book! The year is 1946. Teenagers Roberta and Tommy Lee just moved with their parents from Chinatown to the centre of Metropolis, home to the famous hero, Superman. Tommy makes friends quickly, while Roberta pines for home. Then one night, the family awakens to find their house surrounded by the Klan of the Fiery Kross! Superman leaps into action, but his exposure to a mysterious green rock has left him weak. Can Roberta and Tommy help him smash the Klan? Inspired by the 1940s Superman radio serial Clan of the Fiery…
