How To Read All The Batman Comics Adapted By The DC High Volume Audio Drama Series

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DC High Volume: Batman has been adapting classic Batman comic book stories into high-quality audio dramas for almost a year. With a full cast and sound effects, the award-winning show takes the action, mystery, and drama off the page and into your ears. The results have been great, with readers new and old able to experience these stories in a new way.

Does DC High Volume: Batman have you curious about the comics? You’ve come to the right place! This guide investigates the comics adapted so far, providing context and details on how to read them. Soon you’ll be able to get into classic comic book stories and see how they’ve inspired DC High Volume: Batman.

How true to the comics is DC High Volume: Batman?

Most of the time, when we see Batman outside of comics, the stories do not adapt directly from a comic book story. They’re usually original tales that cherry-pick elements and amalgamate them. However, DC High Volume: Batman is different.

DC High Volume: Batman is very accurate to the comics. Each episode follows story beats as they happen in the comics, with dialogue almost word-for-word. As a result, you can read the comics along with the audio dramas for a new way to experience these stories.

While the adaptations are true to the comics, there are occasional minor tweaks. These changes are primarily due to the transition of a visual medium to an audio one, where accommodations need to be made to make sense. There are also sporadic changes to the dialogue, which are slightly different to what originated in the comics.

Overall, DC High Volume: Batman strives to be as accurate as possible while making minute changes to accommodate the audio medium.

When are these comics set?

The comics adapted for DC High Volume: Batman so far have been set during the early days of Batman’s (or his allies’) crime-fighting days. These include origin stories and other tales that are set chronologically soon after.

Not every comic book story from this period has been covered yet. However, you can treat the stories that have been adapted as a loose reading order, and any subsequent stories may fill in the gaps or continue the timeline forward.

Comics adapted so far

The following stories have been covered by DC High Volume: Batman thus far. Find out more about them and how you can read them.

Year One

Written by Frank Miller. Art by David Mazzucchelli.
Published in: Batman #404-407
Collected in: ‘Batman: Year One’ and ‘DC Finest: Batman – Year One and Two’

Year One is the most prominent (and best) modern telling of Batman’s origin story. Over four issues, the story details Batman’s first year of crime-fighting as he takes on the Carmine Falcone crime organisation’s stranglehold on Gotham City.

Batman isn’t the only focal character. A newcomer to Gotham, Jim Gordon (not yet police commissioner), takes on police corruption and slowly forms an alliance with the Dark Knight. Additionally, readers see how Selina Kyle becomes Catwoman, crossing paths with Batman periodically.

Originally published in 1987, Year One came at a fertile time for DC Comics. The publisher had just rebooted continuity in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This allowed classic characters to be reinvented through a modern context, shaking off decades of excess baggage. Year One also comes at the beginning of a golden period of Batman comics, which contained plenty of classic stories and hidden gems under the editorial eye of Dennis O’Neil.

Year One isn’t the only classic story that Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli have collaborated on. A year earlier, the pair did Daredevil: Born Again – one of the best Daredevil stories of all time.

Buy Year One on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

The Long Halloween

Written by Jeph Loeb. Art by Tim Sale.
Published in: Batman: The Long Halloween #1-13
Collected in: ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ or ‘DC Compact Comics: Batman: The Long Halloween’ or ‘Batman: The Long Halloween: The Deluxe Edition’ or ‘Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween

Set during Batman’s early days, The Long Halloween see Batman, Captain Jim Gordon (not yet commissioner), and Harvey Dent (not yet Two-Face try to stop a serial killer known as “Holiday”. Holiday has been taking out members of organised crime, hitting them throughout the year on holidays, starting with Halloween.

While members of his rogue’s gallery appear throughout, The Long Halloween leans into Batman the detective more than Batman the superhero. Here, the story focuses on the mystery, unpeeling the various layers of it, and the twists and turns that come from it.

The Long Halloween had multiple sequels, including Dark Victory (see below), Catwoman: When In Rome, and The Last Halloween.

Buy The Long Halloween on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

Dark Victory

Written by Jeph Loeb. Art by Tim Sale.
Published in: Batman: Dark Victory #0-13
Collected in: ‘Batman: Dark Victory’ or ‘Batman: Dark Victory: Deluxe Edition’

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale return for a follow-up to The Long Halloween. In this tale, a new killer with a similar style to Holiday has appeared and is targeting police officers. However, this mystery won’t be an easy one to solve as Batman has to also deal with the rise of masked criminals – such as Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and the Joker – and a territory war between Two-Face and what remains of the Falcone crime family.

Dark Victory also features Robin (Dick Grayson) heavily throughout. Here, the comic highlights his origin, growth as a crime-fighter, and adoption by Bruce Wayne.

Buy Dark Victory on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

The Deluxe Edition cover by Darwyn Cooke.

Ego

Written and art by Darywn Cooke.
Published in: Batman: Ego #1 (one-shot)
Collected in: ‘Batman: Ego and Other Stories’ or ‘Batman: Ego and Other Stories: The Deluxe Edition’

Batman has an encounter with a Joker associate that makes him consider retirement. However, the Dark Knight’s mind divides against the decision, with the id of Batman going up against the Bruce Wayne part. The result is a story that delves into a mind seeking revenge in conflict with the rational elements.

Buy Ego on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

The Gauntlet

Written by Bruce Canwell. Art by Lee Weeks.
Published in: Batman Chronicles – The Gauntlet #1 (one-shot)
Collected in: Robin: 80 Years of the Boy Wonder

Dick Grayson has been training as Robin for a long time. However, before he’s allowed to go on patrol with Batman, he must complete one final test. Given a head start, Robin must remain hidden from Batman within Gotham City limits for one night without being caught.

The Gauntlet is a foundational but underappreciated Robin story due to it not being widely collected. Hopefully, it receives its due now that it has featured in DC High Volume: Batman.

Buy The Gauntlet on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

The Deluxe Edition cover by Scott McDaniel.

Nightwing: Year One

Written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty. Art by Scott McDaniel.
Published in: Nightwing (1996 series) #101-106
Collected in: ‘Nightwing: Year One’ or ‘Nightwing: Year One: The Deluxe Edition’ ‘Nightwing: Year One – 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition’

This is the modern retelling of how Dick Grayson, the original Robin and member of the Teen Titans, became Nightwing.

Buy Nightwing: Year One on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

The Killing Joke

Written by Alan Moore. Art by Brian Bolland.
Published in: Batman: The Killing Joke
Collected in: ‘Batman: The Killing Joke Deluxe Edition’ or ‘DC Finest: Batman – The Killing Joke and Other Stories’

This classic one-shot from 1988 is one of the most divisive Batman stories. In it, the Joker paralyses Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, with the intention of driving him insane. Through his heinous acts, he attempts to drive Batman over the edge.

It’s considered one of the greatest Batman stories of all time. The creative team crafted a deeply disturbing tale that highlights the differences between Batman and the Joker. However, it’s also not without its criticisms, mainly the excessive violence against Barbara Gordon.

There are two versions of this comic, which have very different colouring styles. The original palette, coloured by John Higgins, uses a more surreal and feverish wash of warm colours that add to the overall tone. However, artist Brian Bolland has been vocal that he dislikes the colours and has subsequently recoloured The Killing Joke for the deluxe edition. His choices are much more literal, which changes the tone.

Buy The Killing Joke on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

Batman Chronicles #5 cover by Howard Chaykin and Tommy Lee Edwards.

Oracle: Year One

Written by John Ostrander and Kim Yale. Art by Brian Stelfreeze.
Published in: Batman Chronicles #5
Collected in: Batgirl: A Celebration of 50 Years

The events of The Killing Joke could’ve written off Barbara Gordon for good, leaving her to become a background character. Luckily, DC Comics gave the character a new purpose as Oracle, a skilled hacker and technical advisor. Oracle: Year One explores how she transitioned to this new role.

Oracle has become a positive role model for those with disabilities, appearing not only in Bat-centric comics but also a major role in Birds of Prey.

Buy Oracle: Year One on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

Date Knight

Written by Darwyn Cooke. Art by Tim Sale.
Published in: Solo #1
Collected in: ‘Solo Deluxe Edition’ or ‘Batman: Ego and Other Stories’ or ‘Batman: Ego and Other Stories: The Deluxe Edition’

Solo was a short-lived series that showcased a different artist or cartoonists with each issue. Tim Sale was the first cab off the rank, with Solo #1 featuring the Date Knight story, among others.

Buy Date Knight on: eBay | Amazon/Kindle

Will there be more Batman comics adapted by DC High Volume: Batman?

Yes, there will be. However, the podcast is currently on hiatus. On January 21, 2026, an episode announced that the show would take a break so the team could focus on making future episodes.

At the time of writing, there’s no indication of when it will return. However, there will be no shortage of Batman comics to adapt, with plenty of strong candidates remaining unadapted.

Where to find/buy Batman comics

The Batman comics mentioned in this guide (and many more) can be found at your local comic book shop, online retailers, eBay, Amazon/Kindle, Neon Ichiban, and DC Universe Infinite.

Need more Batman comics?

Have you caught up on all the comics covered by DC High Volume and need more Batman? How To Love Comics have covered plenty of Batman stories that may be up your alley. Browse the Batman tag or check out our Bat-Classics column, which covers classic stories.