Textual Reference: The Essential Batman Literature Supplemental (Bibliography Part 1 of 3)

 

As a character born on the page, Batman has his own wealth of texts based on numerous aspects of his creation and existence, not only as Gotham City’s heroic crusader but as a comic book property, a film icon, a psychological curiosity, a spiritual barometer and a pop culture phenomenon.

Here now is a highlight of my 10 favorite in-depth texts about the Batman character spanning across several topics of discussion followed by a subsequent alphabetical list documenting 40 additional texts categorized from topic to topic:

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1: “The Batman Files” (Matthew Manning)

 

 

2: “Batman: The Complete History” (Les Daniels)

 

3: “Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul” (Mark D. White and Robert Arp)

 

4: “The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir” (Michael E. Uslan)

 

5: “Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight” (Travis Langley)

 

6: “Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon” (Will Brooker)

 

7: “The Essential Batman Encyclopedia” (Robert Greenberger)

 

8: “Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight” (Scott Beatty)

 

9: “Batman & Me” (Bob Kane and Tom Andrae)

 

10: “Wisdom from the Batcave: How to Live a Super, Heroic Life” (Cary A. Friedman)

 

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Autobiographies:

 

11: “Back to the Batcave” (Adam West and Jeff Rovin)

 

12: “Boy Wonder: My Life In Tights” (Burt Ward and Stanley Ralph Ross)

 

 

Film (Official):

13: “BATMAN: The Official Book of the Movie” (John Marriott)

 

14: “Batman Returns: The Official Movie Book” (Michael Singer)

 

15: “Batman Forever: The Official Movie Book” (Michael Singer)

 

16: “Batman & Robin: The Making of the Movie” (Michael Singer)

 

17: “Batman Begins: The Visual Guide” (Scott Beatty)

 

18: “The Art of Batman Begins: Shadows of the Dark Knight” (Mark Cotta Vaz)

 

19: “The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy” (Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy)

 

20: “The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Complete Screenplays” (David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan)

 

Film (Behind the Scenes):

21: “Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on Film, Radio and Television From 10¢ Comic Book To Global Icon” (Bruce Scivally)

 

22: “The Batman Filmography (Second Edition)” (Mark S. Reinhart)

 

23: “Holy Franchise, Batman: Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen” (Gary Collinson)

 

 

Live Action Television:

24: “Gotham City 14 Miles: 14 Essays on Why the 1960s Batman TV Series Matters” (Jim Beard et. al)

 

25: “The Official “BATMAN” Batbook: The Revised Bat Edition” (Joel Eisner)

 

Animation:

26: “Batman Animated” (Paul Dini and Chip Kidd)

 

27: “Batman: The Animated Series Guide” (Scott Beatty)

 

28: “Batman Beyond: The Animated Series Guide” (Scott Beatty)

 

In-Canon Texts:

29: “Batarangs and Grapnels: The Science Behind Batman’s Utility Belt” (Agnieszka Biskup and Heidi A. Burns)

 

30: “Batman: The World of the Dark Knight” (Daniel Wallace)

 

31: “Batmobile: The Complete History” (Mark Cotta Vaz)

 

32: “The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual” (Scott Beatty)

 

 

33: “The Batman Vault: A Museum-In-A-Book featuring Rare Collectibles from the Batcave” (Robert Greenberger and Matthew Manning)

 

34: “The Dark Knight Manual: Tools, Weapons, Vehicles and Documents from the Batcave” (Brandon T. Snider)

 

35: “The Joker” (Daniel Wallace)

 

Collector’s Texts:

36: “Batman Collected” (Chip Kidd)

 

37: “Batman: The Unauthorized Collector’s Guide” (Alan J. Porter)

 

38: “The Unofficial Reference to Collecting Everything Batman - Volume I” (Scott Elder)

 

 

Cultural Texts:

39: “Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan” (Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear and Saul Ferris)

 

40: “Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Super Hero” (E. Paul Zehr)

 

41: “Fan Phenomena: Batman” (Liam Burke)

 

42: “Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-First Century Batman” (Will Brooker)

 

43: “The Unofficial Batman Trivia Challenge” (Alan Kistler)

 

Psychological Texts:

 

44: “What’s the Matter with Batman?: An Unauthorized Clinical Look Under the Mask of the Caped Crusader” (Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D)

 

Spiritual Texts:

45: “God on the Streets of Gotham: What the Big Screen Batman can Teach us about God and Ourselves” (Paul Asay)

 

46: “Soul of the Dark Knight: Batman as Mythic Figure in Comics and Film” (Alex. M. Wainer)

 

 

Educational Texts:

47: “Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight” (Ralph Cosentino)

 

48: “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman” (Marc Tyler Nobleman and Ty Templeton)

 

49: “The Batman Masterpiece Edition: The Caped Crusader’s Golden Age” (Les Daniels)

 

Miscellaneous Visual Texts:

50: “Batman Cover to Cover: The Greatest Comic Book Covers of The Dark Knight” (Various)