If you could choose one Batman story to introduce someone to Batman comics...

I think that I would pick The Long Halloween. It has a nice story with diverse characters that more or less give a glimpse of the world of Batman.

 

I'm thinking a much smaller scale story like a single issue or a 4-issue story, a new reader won't want to read a huge multi-part 12 issue story, they need to read a Batman story that has all the elements Batman is known for such as action, suspense, mystery in a quick nutshell.

I can only think of the Batman Ten Nights Of The Beast which has all of that.

 

batman odyssey

 

The Killing Joke or Year One.

 

The obvious choice.

 

Whichever one this one is

 

Hush, it's very accessible and it works well because it covers a lot of Bat-history. Death of Jason, crippling of Barbara, Harold and it features most of his famous Rogues while creating a whole new one. Superman makes and appearance as well and it reads like a blockbuster.

 

You want to introduce them to Batman not shy them away from it. t:

 

nah they'll probly just buy batgirl or something

 

The Dark Knight Strikes Again

 

No Year One for anyone else?

 

It depends, do you want to introduce them into the world of Batman or the character. Some Batman books are better at the world of Batman and some are better at the character.

 

They would have a tough time trying to make sense of Frank Miller's sketchy art.

 

The Long Halloween probably. You probably should read it with more Batman knowledge but I think it is a defining arc of what the franchise can be.

 

I think Year One is more of a Gordon story than a Batman one, not sure if you could use it as an introduction to the character.

 

Oh! OK then, perhaps some of the Batman Adventures comics would work too. They are some of the best Batman comics I have read.

 

Morrison's run. It brings to the table the grim and gritty as well as all the silver age stuffs.

 

probably the killing joke

 

I would say Batman Year One and/or the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
Those books by Miller were what set Batman up with the dark grittiness and origin he has now.
And they are good stories with good art. They are very Batman.
Also, while not a comic, the Batman animated series, and the later Batman and Robin animated series, and the Batman/Superman adventures, Batman Beyond, and the JLU animated series, all by Bruce Timm, were a great version of Batman. Similar in the grittiness of Miller's Batman but kid friendly.

 

To be fair, I've never read Killing Joke or Man Who Laughs, but if the goal is to introduce someone to the character of Batman I wouldn't choose a story that (I assume) is focused on one of his villains.