A lot of sites are probably putting together several lists right about now in honor of this Friday’s release of The Dark Knight Rises that would name most of these as “must-reads if you’re wanting to get into Batman comics,” or something to that effect. But how I’d like to phrase this entry is in more of an academic sense. These books that I’m about to suggest to you are being referred to as “Read these first” because a lot of the more “higher learning” readings require a sophisticated palette that must be developed by learning the different takes on the character of Batman prior to jumping shoulders’ deep into the complex and clever stories of these more advanced works.

Now, that’s not to say that any of the comics listed are bad. Sure I may not like some of them as much as others, but based on my research and personal experiences, the comics listed here in Batman 101 are some of the books that have gotten most hardcore Batman fans to start loving the character in the same way I do. Keep in mind that this is a list of comic books, so you’ll look elsewhere to see things like Batman ’66 and Batman: The Animated Series. So, if you’re ready, let’s get started with something I like to call Batman 101: A Beginner’s Guide To The Dark Knight.

Each and every week “Sheikie Baby!” MK2Fac3 and “Rowdy Roddy” Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of March 14, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Wednesday is THE DAY for new comics, and as per usual, Henchman21 and MK2Fac3 are here to tell you about all the books that they’re looking forward to. It’s another mirror image week where Henchie McHencherson and SK6Factory3 switch things up while one picks three singles and one collection, while the other does the opposite. I don’t know how much you know about how mirrors work, but that’s the way it goes, dollface. We’ve got a lot of books like Saucer Country, Queen Crab, Avengers Assemble, Saga, The World of Flashpoint featuring Batman, Womathology again, and so much more! Honey child, it’s a big week! Anyway, I don’t even know why I’m writing this, so I’ll see you back in a minute when we get to the meat of The GoD List!

The first trailer has been released for the upcoming animated feature Batman: Year One, and boy is it beautiful.

Watch the trailer here below.

This release comes in an established line of straight-to-DVD animated features from DC Animation, spearheaded by legendary creator Bruce Timm. Batman: Year One adapts the comic book story of the same name from the incredible artist David Mazzucchelli and writer Frank Miller during a time when he was writing the best comic books of his life.