Reddit mentions of Batman Chronicles, Vol. 1

Okay, I think I know what you are talking about. It all the Batman stories in chronological order, right? I don't think people know you mean this

Read them all, they are all important. Basically Detective Comics was around and had (monthly or weekly) mysteries, and Batman had his first appearance, just as many other DC characters did. However he proved to be so popular that they introduces a concurrent book of "Batman". They were written at the point where there aren't big overarching plots, and each issue had its own story that would be wrapped up by the end. But you should really read them both so you can get an idea of how Batman evolved in his early years, I find them extremely entertaining.

I would recommend this then if you want to read more of these stories. http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Chronicles-Vol-Bill-Finger/dp/1401204457

DCs Chronicle Collections for Batman sounds like a good bet for you, think there's 7 or 8 of them. They also have a hardcover Archives editions that are a bit pricier.

Marvels got their line of Masterworks collecting early editions for the X-mens first appearances and continuing. I have an Inhumans collection and couldn't be happier, great quality.

For chronology following those types of collections is pretty easy. If you still want more info wikipedia helps (along with dc/marvel wikia sites), or comicvine or comicbookdb.

I think your best bet on finding anything age appropriate will be anything pre-1960/70. I have a nephew I love to buy comics for, and he's only just turned 5. I buy him the Batman Chronicles (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Chronicles-Vol-Bill-Finger/dp/1401204457) and he kind of enjoys those. Some of the language might be a little out there; I mean I often have to read it to him because he doesn't understand some of the words. Other than that I always pick him up Young Justice which features Robin predominantly, and Batman pops up from here to there. Young Justice is very kid friendly too. If she wants to explore some other stuff DC also makes a pretty good Scooby Doo comic book for kids.

Batman has been published non-stop since 1939, so yes, it is still being published, and there is a lot of it. As to reading most, you have tens of thousands of comics to read (if not more) so it is unlikely that you will be able to read all of the Batman comics. That reading list on the side is comprised of above average graphic novels (which are generally a "run" of comics that tell a self contained story, where as if you buy a single comic on its own it likely will not make sense because it will likely be in the middle of a story arc). So I recommend buying graphic novels because they are a self contained story, meaning that you don't need other comics to understand the plot. All of the ones on the side there are really great, but there are so many other great graphic novels, for instance, you mentioned that you liked the game Arkham Asylum, which was loosely based on the graphic novel of the same name. If you really want to try to read all the Batman stories in order I recommend The Batman Chronicles which is a republication of every Batman comic in order of publication, but you should really read some other graphic novels first because The Batman Chronicles starts with the 1939 comics, and the Batman mythos have changed a lot since then, also, because there are so many comics The Batman Chronicles are expensive, so far 10 volumes have been released and they have only gotten to 1943, so it will be many volumes before they reach some of the best Batman stories. I hope I helped and feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Also, I recommend the graphic novels Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Hush, and The Long Halloween.

Batman Chronicles. It looks like there are 11 volumes. This may be the closest to what you are asking for.

To rank the quality of each series from lowest to greatest would go as follows.

Showcase Presents: Batman - super cheap paper, printed only in black and white.

Batman Chronicles - much better quality paper, printed in color, a lot less pages than Showcase presents

Batman Archives - Most expensive, high quality glossy paper, printed in color, more pages than Batman Chronicles but less than Showcase Presents.

If you are about high quality than get the archives. If you just want to read it in color then go with Chronicles. If you just want to read the story and the quality doesn't matter then get Showcase presents (I got showcase Presents for Green arrow vol 1 for $5 at my local shop and I didn't regret it)

This is the on in the sidebar:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1401204457/?&creativeASIN=1401204457&tag=excos06-20



However I would go for this one:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0930289609/batmantrades-20

I Have wanted this book for a really long time. The reason that I want it is because it is the first appearance of one of my all time favourite characters (Batman) and it would be interesting to see how the character has evolved. It hasn't been on my Amazon wishlist very long only because I just recently decided to create one to remember all the stuff I want.

The best way is to read the Batman Chronicles. They're cheap, and they're meant to publish every single Batman story in chronological order: http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Chronicles-Vol-Bill-Finger/dp/1401204457/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320435216&sr=8-1