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Treated myself to drawing this because I have a tough week ahead (😞) Super adorable fic #superbat by lostinreeverie!

So: you’re new to the DC Comics fandom and are interested in Batman and his family. Maybe you already know a bit about them and are just looking to figure out where to start reading actual comics. Maybe you know nothing. Maybe you know a whole lot about one character but want to start reading more about another one.

Whichever it is, I’m here to help! There’s a wide range of Batman/Batfamily comics (for all ages, moods, and types of people), and I’m happy to meet people where they are and help people dive into comics. On that note, brace yourselves, because this is going to be a long post. Recs start under the cut.

—IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT READING COMICS—

Superhero comics are traditionally written in what’s known as runs; an author gets to have an extended period on an ongoing (or limited) title where they (traditionally) write in 4-8 issue story arcs; think of these arcs as chapters in a potentially never-ending book. These individual issues are colloquially known as floppies. So when I talk about “Tom Taylor’s run” on the Nightwing title, for example, I’m talking about the main author on the Nightwing title from March 2021-September 2024 (Nightwing (2016) #78-118). Every so often, titles end, the principal author on the titles switch up, or they’ll have “guest/interim authors” come in to do single issues or a single story arc.

These story arcs are then collected in hardcovers or ‘trade paperbacks’ (generally referred to as trades, occasionally TPBs); both collect the entire story arc (plus bonus/behind the scenes material, in some cases) in a single paperback/hardback book. Trades are super useful if you want to read an entire story at one time, want to be economical about your comics spending, and/or want to read things in order. Occasionally, if a writer has a particularly long run on a title or a big company event happens, you get published omnibuses that collect an entire event or run (or part of it, if the event is big enough); omnis are very expensive up-front, but ultimately they tend to be good deals and are often curated well. These collections are all generally also released digitally. Frankly, unless you’re into comics collecting, want individual issues for their pretty covers, or are supporting a currently ongoing run, I would default to buying trades/omnibuses where possible. It’s simply cheaper and easier for reading.

List Notes: Each character list is sorted vaguely chronologically according to a combination of IRL publication dates and the character’s personal timeline. Big caveat that these are not all-inclusive reading lists nor are the inclusions inherently indicators of quality; I’m just trying to hit major character highlights. You should also note that many comics contain multiple Batfam members due to the ridiculous number of crossover events and the solid integration of the Batfamily as a whole into each others’ books in the post-90s era. Comic rec tl;drs are given at the end of each character’s list. Most of the links will take you to Amazon/Comixology, but I also talk about various ways to access and read comics at the bottom of this post.

Secondary Note: DC Comics works in three universes: the pre-Crisis universe (everything published from the beginning of DC Comics until the Crisis on Infinite Earths event in 1986), the post-Crisis universe (everything published between 1986 and 2011), and the post-Flashpoint universe (2011-now). 

In 2011, DC completely rebooted their universe following the ‘Flashpoint’ event. This new universe (interchangably called the New 52 universe, post-Flashpoint universe, or Prime Earth) drastically changed many characters’ histories, personalities, and relationships with each other (sometimes for the better, most of the time for the worse). The early years of the post-Flashpoint universe are an absolute incoherent mess continuity-wise; DC’s been trying to sort it all out over the past few years with the Rebirth and Infinite Frontier events (with varying degrees of success), and there are definitely some bright bits and pieces, but it is not my favored universe (though I will certainly recommend it where needed or when it’s good). 

Now: let’s get started, shall we? Lists below the cut (please click here to view the most updated version of this post on desktop via my blog instead of on mobile/the dashboard, for easy readability and formatting purposes):

many of these fics are old or have a lot of attention already, but if you're antsy waiting for The Sun and the Star to come out, here are some solangelo fics to fill your brain with heart emojis!

double-crossed, star-crossed, fingers-crossed by orphan account - 2.2k - During their first kiss, Nico sees Will glowing, but keeps it to himself. Will doesn’t even know he’s doing it until someone else sees them kissing and gets very flustered. Soooo cute

echoes of lies that i told by demigodbeautiies - 29.9k - College AU, Nico agrees to be Will’s fake boyfriend for Naomi’s wedding. He curses himself later when he catches real feelings, assuming Will would never actually see him that way (spoiler alert: he would).

 My memories of you by Fl_utterby - 56.1k - Will is cursed by Niobe to lose his memories, including his years-long relationship with Nico. When he shows up at Camp Jupiter, Nico arrives to take him to Camp Half-Blood in a cross-country quest with Reyna. Bittersweet and soft with a happy ending!

 i could be your hero by sundaysabotage - 10.8k - a few years down the line, now that Percy Jackson is off at college, Nico finds himself in an unexpected position of senior authority at Camp Half-Blood. It’s not easy to reconcile with his own self-image. Light on the solangelo, mostly a Nico character study, but very good!!

The Rose of Paphos by Tundras_and_Taigas - 19.3k - The Aphrodite cabin unearths a magic item that indicates whether the holder has romantic feelings for someone, and discover that Will has a big crush on some person he won’t identify. Nico finds out about this and gets in his head about who that person could be. Feelings ensue! Also has a whole chapter for Mitchell/Connor if that’s your thing. Very cute and soft with a nice take on the Aphrodite cabin.

our lips set the sun by @thebhorror - 4.1k - a soft first kiss that Nico has spent 10 months agonizing over. In-character and sweet with a delightful payoff.

lich by @pinkerpick - 2.6k - content warning for death, torture, injury, and suicide! Since Thanatos was chained while Nico was in Tartarus, he dies many times and always comes back still trapped in the pit. Also light on the solangelo and more about Nico, this is some seriously well-done angst. The follow-up fic, penitent, wherein Nico confronts Hades about the events of this fic, is also very very good!

i bleed for your love by flannelfeelings - 7.5k - Nico semi-unintentionally keeps getting himself hurt so he can hang out with Will in the infirmary, because he is too repressed to just ask Will to hang out. Super well written, heartwrenching character voice, and butterflies-inducing romance!

Austin’s Best Barbecue also by flannelfeelings - 3.8k - Will gets hurt protecting Nico from a monster, so Nico shadow travels against doctor’s orders to Austin to get Will some of his favorite comfort food from home. While there, he accidentally meets Will's mother for the first time. Super super cute and funny, this author has great fics!

 Falling for You (Literally) by peanutbutterapple - 4.8k - Nico is acting weird before he visits Hazel at Camp Jupiter. On his return, before Will can ask him about it, Drew Tanaka pranks everyone with a magic hat that makes the wearer feel their romantic feelings very intensely for everyone to see. So adorable and Nico’s reason for his weird behavior is the best thing. 

Opportunity Knocks by nikkiRA - 35.5k - Nico tries to kiss Will, who freaks out and rejects him. Nico decides the same day to run away from Camp Half-Blood, but is intercepted by some meddlesome gods who trap him in a time-loop. He repeats the same day over and over until he can find out what it is he was supposed to fix about this day. I love a good Groundhog Day AU and this one is awesome!!

 constant craving (however hard i want, i never really get) by @thebhorror - 5.5k - another banger character study focusing on Nico’s unmet (and then met) need for affection throughout his character arc. A very believable and heart wrenching deliberation on Nico’s character arc and how his relationship with Will complements it! 

there are so many lives i want to share with you by penandblankpaper (@kiarrahatesboys) - 8.7k (so far) -  still a WIP but a WIP that slaps, this is a post-ToN, pre-TSatS solangelo mini-quest story. Rachel informs Will and Nico that they need to take a journey with no goal before they go to Tartarus or they will die. Lots of soft banter and gentle familiarity with a bullet train of angst incoming! Please read it (for me) please please please

Bonus: Solace by solisaureus (that’s me!) - 73k - A Will character study to complement all these Nico character studies, this work spans the entire narrative across all three series. This is my longest PJO fic and the one I poured the most love into! Though the fic is about Will and his coming of age, there’s plenty of solangelo in here.  

maui food bank: https://mauifoodbank.org/

maui humane society: https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/

center for native hawaiian advancement: https://www.memberplanet.com/campaign/cnhamembers/kakoomaui

hawai'i red cross: https://www.redcross.org/local/hawaii/ways-to-donate.html

ChatGPT is running out of money because they haven't actually figured out how to make money with the plagiarism engine they created.

2023 redraw!! It’s my ocs Amir and Sami!

Below is the 2022 drawing that inspired it!

Aziraphale [about Job being talked to by God]: I don't suppose he's getting any answers.

Every website uses a language called JavaScript; long story short it’s a website language that allows developers to do the crazy shit you see on websites. Now the easiest thing to do is to disable JavaScript to stop them from knowing you have an adblocker:

Oh no! I’m blocked from viewing the website. It would be a terrible shame if I were able to right click and select the “inspect” feature

Click the three dots in the top right and open the “Settings” Menu

And then scrolled down to “Debugger” and checked the “Disable Javascript Option”

And then just refreshed the page