u/Cold-Error7771

I know that although there is an “official” canon continuity, all writers take what they want and it’s more fluid than set in stone and anyone can have their own head canon. Having said that, this is more about as best a seamless reading experience as possible.

I’ve seen some people say that Batman and Robin Year One is current continuity and has removed Dark Victory from canon and also contradicts it. But I’ve also read from people on here that it is a direct sequel to DV….however I’ve read that Robin Year One was more of a sequel to TLH/DV but also contradicted them. So, is it possible to read Year One, TLH, DV, and then B&R Year One, B&R Year One Dynamic Duos, Dark Patterns, The Killing Joke, Death in the Family, Batman and Son, Court of Owls and the current Matt Fraction run….or is that just a really messed up timeline.

I’m currently getting back into comics, I used to be a Marvel guy but this time I’m focusing on DC. I’m currently subscribed to Matt Fraction’s Batman and I’m a little confused about where things are.

The Batman content I have consumed are all the live action movies, the Arkham games and I have read The Killing Joke. I have on order The Black Mirror and The Long Halloween.

To me, “Batman” is Bruce, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Dick Grayson as Robin (I am aware of Nightwing) and Barbara Gordon as Oracle (was Batgirl).

Now in this new run, Alfred is dead, Barbara is no longer in a wheelchair, Bruce has a son called Damian who is Robin now, Batgirl is someone called Stephanie and Poison Ivy is Mayor of Gotham, Gordon is a beat cop and Vandal Savage is the police commissioner living in Wayne Manor..…

I’m on issue 10 and have copies of 11 and 12 good to go, I am loving it so far and not knowing what has happened has not at all impeded my ability to enjoy it. But I’d be curious to know of any particular comic runs or TPB’s (DC compact or normal) that could explain the current status quo.

Are there any just grounded Batman detective stories, where it’s not so much your typical comic book villain but where Batman does some real, solid detective work that actually keeps the reader guessing?

I’ve heard that the current Matt Fraction run is essentially one shot stories each week with an on-going storyline, not 4-5 issue arcs, I guess a bit like how The X Files show was. It that right? I’ve got some back issues on order but I will have issue 12 before any of them, will that be an ok place to start and then catch up when my back issues arrive?