Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.
Critics and readers alike agree that 2025 was a great year for comic books, and an especially great one for Batman in that regard. The year's top-sellers show all the proof one needs of The Dark Knight's dominance.
The majority of the Top Nine most successful comic book issues in 2025, as reported by Bleeding Cool, involve Batman in some capacity. In fact, the name of Bruce Wayne's alter ego is featured in the top three bestsellers.
The most popular comic book issue of the previous year is Deadpool/Batman #1, which was released by Marvel Comics in September. The Zeb Wells-penned one-shot's DC Comics-published sequel, Batman/Deadpool #1, from writer Grant Morrison, comes in third. It actually makes a lot of sense that the top-seller of 2025 would end up being an unlikely pairing between Batman and another hugely popular character.
In between The Dark Knight's adventures with the Merc with a Mouth in second place is the first issue of writer Matt Fraction's acclaimed new Batman series. Featuring eye-popping art by Jorge Jiménez, Batman #1 takes the Caped Crusader into a somewhat brighter and more uplifting direction, without sacrificing the character's definitive attributes or complex storytelling.
Another current comic book series led by Gotham City's protector that proved to be an astonishing hit in 2025 is Absolute Batman, as part of the esteemed Scott Snyder's Absolute Universe, which DC launched in 2024. The series' fifteenth and fifth issues, the latter of which unleashes a monstrous new take on The Joker, also appear on the bestsellers list, in seventh and ninth place, respectively.
Sitting above them both at Number Six, however, is the long-awaited sequel to one of the most essential Batman comic book arcs in recent memory. With Batman #158, published in March 2025, writer Jeph Loeb, along with artists Scott Williams and Jim Lee, returns to continue the story he started in 2002 with the acclaimed Hush.
Batman also has a brief role in the list's fifth-place title, DC K.O. #1, which also comes from Scott Snyder and features art by Javier Fernandez. The premiere issue of the crossover event sees many of the comic book publisher's most notable heroes engage in a cosmic, deadly, gladiatorial tournament set up to determine who among them is most worthy of defeating Darkseid.
Another DC Title Makes Up One Of 2025's Remaining Top Comic Books
Image via DC ComicsWith Batman being the most popular character of the comic book medium from the previous year, it is also more than safe to say that DC Comics really killed it in 2025. However, The Dark Knight is not the only superhero that kept the publisher in the Top Nine.
Coming in at Number Eight, between the two bestselling Absolute Batman issues, is another title from this popular universe, Absolute Flash #1. A lone, 15-year-old Wally West serves as the subject of this new take on the speedster from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Nick Robles, which launched in March 2025.
Of course, DC did not dominate the entirety of Bleeding Cool's bestseller list. The only non-DC release in the ranks outside of Marvel's Deadpool/Batman #1 is Invincible Universe Battle Beast #1, which comes from Image Comics.
Ranked at the Number Four spot, this spin-off from Robert Kirkman's popular series that inspired the hit animated Amazon Prime Video series, Invincible, follows the eponymous, lion-esque warrior with an insatiable desire for violence on a quest to find a mighty fighter who could best him and finally claim his life. The series, which was first released in May 2025, features artwork by Ryan Ottley and Annalisa Leoni and takes place between the nineteenth and fifty-fifth issues of Kirkman's original Invincible series.
All of the comics found on Bleeding Cool's Bestseller List are now available for purchase.
Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane
First Film Batman: The Movie
English (US) · 