In the 1990s, Batman comic books were coming off the heels of massively successful stories like The Killing Joke and "A Death in the Family," which changed the way comic books were made. The Dark Knight's world became even darker and DC Comics produced stories intended for more mature readers.
Main continuity books like Batman and Detective Comics were reaching their fifth and sixth centennial issues. The '90s also saw the release of books like The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. Some of the best writers and artists were working on Batman comics in the '90s, publishing some of the best Batman stories ever told, which featured some of the most beautiful Batman comic covers of all time.
10 Batman: The Long Halloween #4 By Tim Sale
Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale created a comic book masterpiece in Batman: The Long Halloween, which has also been adapted as an animated film. During the 13-part limited series, a serial killer by the name of Holiday murdered their victims on a different holiday.
Batman has never looked so good in shadows. Sale's use of light and darkness, silhouettes, and tiny details created a very stylized Batman book. Sale was especially creative with the covers. Each cover combined elements of Batman's rogues with holiday themes. Issue #4, titled "New Year's Eve," depicted Batman and Joker toasting with champagne glasses.
9 Batman Annual #15 By Scott Hampton
The 15th annual issue of Batman, titled "The Last Batman Story," takes comic book readers to the future. Waverider touches Batman and uses his powers of foresight to view a possible future. In this future, Batman has apparently broken his no-kill-code and murdered all his villains. Thankfully, it's revealed the Joker was behind the murders.
The issue offers a fascinating look at a much darker version of Batman. The dark story is only accentuated by the chilling cover art by Scott Hampton. A faceless, silhouetted Batman with his arms chained together stands inside one of Arkham Asylum's deteriorating holding cells.
8 Batman #465 By Norm Breyfogle & Adrienne Roy
After Jason Todd was murdered by the Joker during "A Death in the Family," Batman grew more violent and came close to crossing the line. Tim Drake, a kid who discovered Batman was Bruce Wayne, tried to convince Dick Grayson to become Robin again. When Dick refused, Tim donned the Robin costume himself.
After many months of training, Tim was asked to join Batman on a nightly patrol. This night would be considered Tim's first official night as the third Robin. The cover to Batman #465, featuring Batman and Robin illuminated in spotlight, was an homage to the famous Batman #9 comic from 1941.
7 Batman: Birth Of The Demon By Norm Breyfogle
Written by legendary Batman writer Dennis O'Neil and illustrated by Norm Breyfogle, Batman: Birth of the Demon was a one-shot issue that released in 1993. In this extra-sized issue, Ra's al Ghul was once again at death's door, relying on the assistance of his daughter, Talia.
Batman and Ra's have battled many times in the comics. Ra's, who's an expert martial artist and brilliant tactician, has won on several occasions, and thanks to the healing powers of the Lazarus Pit, can be a tough villain to defeat. Breyfogle's art is simply stunning. Every page features incredibly detailed characters and environments accentuated with vibrant colors, and the cover is no different.
6 Legends Of The Dark Knight #42 & #43 By P. Craig Russell
Artist P. Craig Russell provided the cover art and interiors for a two-part story titled "Hot House." Both covers are visually stunning and very stylized. Part one's cover features Batman sporting real bat wings while being suspended over a collection of bleeding plants, and the cover for part two features a demonic Poison Ivy surrounded by a swarm of bats.
Russell's designs for these issues are very abstract and almost psychedelic. In Legends of The Dark Knight #42, Batman pursues Poison Ivy after he suspects her of poisoning civilians throughout Gotham City. Ivy's various pheromones cause hallucinations that showcase Russell's colorfully stylized art.
5 Batman: Dark Victory #1 By Tim Sale
Tim Sale has provided several amazing covers for many Batman comics, but the cover art he created for the Batman: Dark Victory miniseries may be his best work. Sale is master of shadows. He can create an entire scene with just the slightest bit of detail and lighting.
Each of the 14 Dark Victory covers features a different character. The characters are barely seen, mostly enveloped by darkness, and each is highlighted with a different color. While the red Batman seen on Dark Victory #1 is visually striking, every cover in the miniseries is fantastic. Picking up after the events of Long Halloween, Loeb and Sale craft an amazing sequel that's arguably as entertaining as the original.
4 Batman Adventures Holiday Special By Bruce Timm
Batman: The Animated Series featured an amazing voice cast. The character designs were beautiful and the storytelling was masterful. The world of BTAS continued in the pages of the Batman Adventures comic series. Bruce Timm, producer and character designer for BTAS, illustrated the cover image and interior art for the Batman Adventures Holiday Special.
The short stories featured in the special were ultimately adapted as an episode titled, "Holiday Knights" in The New Batman Adventures. Timm's art style is clean, concise, and perfectly suited for animation. The BTAS creative team revolutionized Mr. Freeze, and Timm made him even more menacing on this cover.
3 Batman #500 By Joe Quesada & Kevin Nowlan
Batman #500 was an extra-sized centennial issue that continued the "Knightfall" storyline. Azrael began to upgrade the Batman suit, adding armored gauntlets, while Robin and Nightwing discussed the possibility of Dick donning the cape and cowl. After Bane broke his back, Bruce continued his recovery and began his quest to reclaim the title of Batman.
There were multiple covers for this issue. The fanciest one was illustrated by Joe Quesada and Kevin Nowlan. At first glance, the cover depicted Azrael in the gray and blue Batman costume, but his figure could be flipped over, revealing the armored Azrael underneath while Bane battled Tim Drake on a nearby roof.
2 Detective Comics #626 By Michael Golden
Detective Comics #626, titled "Return to the Electrocutioner" featured the Electrocutioner who armed himself with a pair of enhanced, shocking gauntlets, forcing Batman to don a rubber, insulated version of the Batsuit. While the story was written by Marv Wolfman and the interior art was illustrated by Jim Aparo, the cover art was created by Michael Golden.
The issue was fairly average. The Electrocutioner wasn't an overly exciting villain, and he didn't pose much of a threat to Batman. This issue stood out solely because of the cover. Golden crafted an incredibly detailed city backdrop that's more artistically pleasing than Batman himself. The buildings are intricately drawn, making it a great contender for a large movie poster.
1 Batman #453 By Mike Mignola
In the early 1990s, legendary artists Mike Mignola provided covers for the main Batman series during the "Dark Knight, Dark City" arc. DC chose the perfect cover artist to promote this storyline as the covers captured the look and feel of the story perfectly. Issue #453 specifically sees Batman fight a horde of zombies in a gothic cemetery.
Mignola is a masterclass artist who can create creepy, unsettling imagery with so few lines. Mignola created the character Hellboy, which featured all sorts of strange, supernatural designs in its series. Mignola created a haunting, yet mesmerizing cover for Batman #453, which wasn't surprising considering his work on other Batman titles like Gotham by Gaslight and The Doom That Came to Gotham.