5 Best Bruce Wayne Comic Books to Read Before Batman: Caped Crusader Drops

Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere on Prime Video on August 1, with all 11 episodes available to watch from day one. But we already have the critics' reviews, and they're extremely encouraging – the series has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and is being praised for its unique noir vibe and '90s-inspired style.

To get you in the mood and ready for what could be one of the best animated shows about Batman, here's a look back at the best comics about the character.

1. Batman: Year One, 1987

Everyone knows the origin story of Batman – it has been told dozens of times with different interpretations. But this comic's version is the closest to the generally accepted canon, the most logical and rational.

Year One tells how a wealthy orphan named Bruce Wayne gets the idea to dress up as a bat and how his relationship with the only honest cop on the force, James Gordon, develops. Year One is a graphic novel by Frank Miller that heavily influenced the movie Batman Begins.

2. Batman: The Killing Joke, 1988

Batman and the Joker are inextricably linked, like black and white. Anyone interested in the Joker should start with The Killing Joke, as this is where the villain is best revealed. In this brilliant graphic novel, he and Batman must fight not only for Gotham, but also for the sanity of James Gordon.

The Killing Joke also helps us see Batman in a new light. Alan Moore knows how to get inside the heads of his characters like no one else. In his cynical way, he predicts how the endless confrontation between Batman and the Joker will end, describing the Dark Knight as another madman.

3. Batman: The Long Halloween, 1996-1997

This Halloween, Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent join forces to save the city from a mob war and a mysterious killer.

The Long Halloween, like The Dark Knight it inspired, shows the true tragedy of Harvey Dent, his duality that not every writer has been able to capture. Anyone interested in the origin of one of the DC Universe's most charismatic villains should not miss this comic.

4. Batman: Knightfall, 1993-1994

The supervillain Bane decides to break Batman, both physically and psychologically. He opens the doors of Arkham Asylum, and the Caped Crusader, at the limit of his powers, must capture the patients one by one.

This time, the hero finds himself among villains of all stripes at the most inopportune moment. The Mad Hatter, Two-Face, the Firefly, the Scarecrow, the Joker – in this comic we will see many of Batman's enemies.

And for the finale – Bane himself. He will inflict such a trauma on the hero that it seems he will never recover.

5. Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls, 2012

The first Batman story since the DC Universe reboot helps readers figure out what's going on with the Dark Knight right now.

The story reveals that Gotham City has been controlled for centuries by the Court of Owls, a mysterious organization that Batman himself was unaware of until it decided to attack him. The comic offers a new look at Bruce Wayne's entourage: Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Alfred, and more.