Every bookstore in the country has a shelf filled with nothing but graphic novels about everyone’s favorite dark knight. Even this editor has admitted numerous times that she is a huge fan of Batman, especially those comics written by prolific graphic novel authors such as Frank Miller. But there are certainly a few books that stand out in the history of the Batman series as being the best of the best.

1. The Killing Joke by Alan Moore – Creative, remarkable, genre creating and certainly brilliant are words to describe NAME’s one-shot graphic novel, The Killing Joke. Not only does it give the world a real taste of what the Joker is really made of, but it sets up Batman to really consider murder in future novels, sets up James Gordon to discover the secret identity of his daughter as Batgirl, and forces Barbara Gordon to hang up her Batgirl mantle and pick up her current entity of Oracle. Originally just an alternate universe story, this graphic novel has become canon, something that very few have been able to do.

2. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller – Gotham City is in pain without Batman. Superman is the government’s errand boy. Wonder Woman has returned to Themoscera never to return to the world of men in disgust. Frank Miller’s look at a gritty, post-Batman Gotham City came to light and returned the Batman franchise to what it was supposed to be: the story of a dark, melancholy hero that loves his city and its people too much for his own good. We also get the very first female Robin, and get to see what happened to some beloved super heroes when they were no longer considered all that super.

3. The Dark Knight Strikes Back by Frank Miller – Frank Miller’s continuation of his previous Batman graphic novel, this story continues to turn around the fates of those tossed by the wayside when Superman had beaten up all the bad guys, because the bad guys were now in control. We are also given a glimpse into what being Batman’s sidekick can do to a person’s psyche, as well as a touch of heartless wonder at the deaths of our beloved childhood idols.

4. Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison – Beloved and radiant enough to have an award-nominated video game created in it’s likeness, Morrison’s Arkham Asylum sends Batman into the world of the people he has put so frequently into the namesake mental hospital’s padded and mutedly painted walls to free hostages. We get a look at the Joker in what could arguably be called his natural habitat, surrounded by those only criminal and insane enough to be ensconced with other similar lunatics. Batman also has to wonder whether he actually belongs there, or not.

5. Batman and Dracula: Red Rain by Doug Moench – Okay, I do not have much to say about this one, but come on. It’s Batman versus Dracula. The original, blood-sucking, maiden-seducing Dracula. How much cooler could it possibly get?

Of course, there are many other books out there. Hush, Knightfall, and others all deserve to be on this list as well, but these are the five that have stood out in this editor’s mind, and in the community that has a serious and deep love of Batman.