Batman: Joker War Reading Order Checklist - How To Love Comics

The Joker is one of Batman’s greatest enemies, featuring in numerous stories. It has been said that while The Clown Prince of Crime will test Batman to his limits but he doesn’t want the Dark Knight to die. In a warped way, Batman gives him purpose.

That seems to have changed in the biggest Batman story of 2020, Joker War. The Joker has now decided that The Dark Knight needs to die and he is going to wage war to do it.

Large-scale Batman stories often bring in other Bat-titles into the mix and can get confusing. Luckily, the Batman: Joker War Reading Order Checklist is here to save the day. It includes the recommended reading order, tie-ins, release dates, and heaps more.

Enjoy!

Do I Need To Read The Tie-Ins To Understand The Joker War?

Nope. The main story will be running throughout Batman but will be expanded upon with tie-ins in other Batman-related comics. These comics focus on what’s going on with other characters, such as Nightwing and Batgirl, in the background. If you want to know what’s going on then check them out. If you’re not that interested then it is okay to skip them.

Background Reading

Batman: Their Dark DesignsWritten by James Tynion IV. Art by Tony S. Daniel, Guillem March, and Jorge Jimenez.

This is the first arc of James Tynion IV’s Batman run and is littered with build up to Joker War. It also includes early appearances of the Joker’s new sidekick, Punchline.

Their Dark Designs runs though Batman #86-94.

Journey To Joker War

Nightwing #70Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Ryan Benjamin.Available March 18th.

Detective Comics #1022Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy.Available June 2nd/3rd.

Nightwing #71Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Ronan Cliquet.Available June 9th/10th.

Detective Comics #1023Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy.Available July 7th/8th.

Nightwing #72Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Ronan Cliquet.Available July 14th/15th.

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Joker War Reading Order

A quick note on the release dates listed below. DC Comics now has three different distributors for getting their comics to comic book stores. Depending on which distributor a store uses will impact the release date for an issue. I have listed both dates for each issue below but you should check-in with your local comic book store to find out which date they will be selling DC Comics.

Batman #95 (Part 1)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez.Available July 21st/22nd.

Batgirl #47 (Tie-in)Written by Cecil Castellucci. Art by Robbi Rodriguez.Available July 21st/22nd.

Detective Comics #1024 (Tie-in)Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy.Available July 21st/22nd.

Batman #96 (Part 2)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez.Available August 4th/5th.

Harley Quinn #75 (Tie-in)Written by Sam Humpheries. Art by Sam Basri, Riley Rossmo, Emanula Lupacchino, Ramon Villalobos, Joe Quinones, Nicola Scott, and Ngozi Ukazu..Available August 4th/5th.

Detective Comics #1025 (Tie-in)Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Kenneth Rocafort.Available August 11th/12th.

Batman #97 (Part 3)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez.Available August 18th/19th.

Nightwing #73 (Tie-in)Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Ronan Cliquet.Available August 18th/19th.

Batgirl #48 (Tie-in)Written by Cecil Castellucci. Art by Robbi Rodriguez.Available August 25th/26th.

Detective Comics #1026 (Tie-in)Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Kenneth Rocafort.Available August 25th/26th.

Red Hood: Outlaw #48 (Tie-in)Written by Scott Lobdell. Art by Brett Booth and Danny Miki.Available August 25th/26th.

Batman #98 (Part 4)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez.Available September 1st.

Nightwing #74 (Tie-in)Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Ryan Benjamin and Richard Friend.Available September 8th.

Batman #99 (Part 5)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez.Available September 15th.

Catwoman #25 (Tie-in)Written by Ram V. Art by Fernando Blanco, John Paul Leon, and Juan Ferreyra.Available September 15th.

Batgirl #49 (Tie-in)Written by Cecil Castellucci. Art by Robbi Rodriguez.Available September 22nd.

Batman: The Joker War Zone (Tie-in)Written by James Tynion IV, John Ridley, and Joshua Williamson. Art by Guillem March, David Lafuente, James Stokoe, and Others.Available September 29th.

Batman #100 (Part 6)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Jorge Jimenez, Guillem March, Carl Pagulayan, and Dani Miki.Available October 6th.

Nightwing #75 (Aftermath)Written by Dan Jurgens. Art by Travis Moore and Ronan Cliquet.Available October 20th.

Note: This aftermath issues hints that we see a conclusion to the ongoing memory loss plot.

Catwoman #26 (Aftermath)Written by Ram V. Art by Fernando Blanco.Available October 20th.

Batgirl #50 (Aftermath)Written by Cecil Castellucci. Art by Emanuela Lupacchino, Marguerite Sauvage, and Aneke.Available October 27th.

Note: This is also the final issue (at least for now) of Batgirl.

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After Joker War

If you want to know what happens after The Joker War, check out out the following issues:

Batman #101Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Guillem March.Available October 20th.

Detective Comics #1028Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Nicola Scott.Available October 13th.

Note: Detective Comics #1028 spins out of the events of The Joker War and bumper Detective Comics #1027.

Punchline #1 (one-shot)Written by James Tynion IV and Sam Johns. Art by Mirka Andolfo.Avabile November 10th.

Note: The Punchline one-shot will follow up on what happens to the character after Joker War.

Collected Editions

For all the trade waiters out there, this is the collection that you will want to track down.

The Joker War SagaCollects: Batman #95-100, Batgirl #47, Detective Comics #1025, Red Hood: Outlaw #48, Nightwing #74, The Joker War Zone #1, plus stories from Harley Quinn #75 and Catwoman #25.

Batman: The Joker WarCollects: Batman #95-100

Batgirl Volume 8: The Joker WarCollects: Batgirl #45-50

Batman: Detective Comics Volume 5: The Joker WarCollects: 1020-1026, a story from Detective Comics #1027, Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P., and Detective Comics Annual #3

Nightwing: The Joker WarCollects: Nightwing #70-77 and Nightwing Annual #3

Have Your Say!

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