To read the best Damian Wayne comics in the most rewarding order, start with Batman and Robin (2009-2011), where Grant Morrison makes him the Robin to a Batman named Dick Grayson. Then go back to Batman and Son (2006) for his birth in continuity, and follow him through Batman Incorporated and the Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason series. His first appearance is Batman #655 (September 2006).
Damian Wayne holds a place apart among the Robins: he is a child trained by the League of Assassins, arrogant, brilliant, and whose loyalty to Batman is learned over the course of the issues rather than decreed. That tension has given several writers richer material than a simple apprentice would, and it explains why the character left the supporting role to carry his own series.
As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected panels or dialogue.
His first appearance
You have to distinguish two births. The first is an unnamed child, born of the union of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul in the bound one-shot Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Jerry Bingham. That story is not part of continuity: later writers took up its ideas, not its events. The second is the Damian Wayne we follow here, introduced in Batman #655, cover-dated September 2006, by Grant Morrison on script and Andy Kubert on art, in the Batman and Son arc.
The detail matters to a collector: in this issue the boy is only glimpsed, and it is #656, the direct sequel to the arc, that gives him a real place in the story. The entry issue remains #655, the one the market names as Damian's first appearance.
1: Batman and Robin, Grant Morrison and several artists (2009-2011)
After Bruce Wayne's disappearance, Dick Grayson wears the Batman costume and Damian is his Robin. The series runs twenty-six issues in 2009-2011; Grant Morrison writes the first sixteen. Frank Quitely draws the first arc, Batman Reborn (#1-3), Philip Tan the next, Revenge of the Red Hood (#4-6), then Cameron Stewart, Blackest Knight (#7-9), Andy Clarke, Batman vs. Robin (#10-12), and Frazer Irving, Batman and Robin Must Die! (#13-15). Issue 16 goes back to Cameron Stewart and Frazer Irving. Paul Cornell, Peter J. Tomasi and then Judd Winick take over afterward.
What this series gives the character is an inverted balance of power: the mentor is jovial and acrobatic, the student is grave and brittle. Damian learns here to work as part of a team without ever ceasing to challenge authority.
It is aimed at anyone who wants to understand why the character left a mark on a generation of readers. No prerequisites: just remember that Bruce Wayne is gone and Dick Grayson wears the cape. The first three issues drawn by Frank Quitely make a very clean entry point, with a one-volume path through Morrison's sixteen issues, which the hardcover editions split into several volumes.
2: Batman and Son, Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert (2006)
Published in Batman #655-658 from September to December 2006, this arc is the one where they meet. The Joker poisons Commissioner Gordon; during a Man-Bat attack at a gala in London, Talia reveals to Bruce the existence of his son. Batman and Damian then head to Gibraltar to confront Talia, before mother and son disappear in an explosion. The arc is not a self-contained story: it is extended by a prose story, The Clown at Midnight (#663), then by The Three Ghosts of Batman (#664-666), where a future Damian as Batman appears in #666, titled "Batman in Bethlehem."
It gives Damian his identity card: Talia's son, raised for combat, an enforcer trained to kill, and yet in search of a father. It is the reference read for understanding Damian's relationships with Bruce, Talia and the League of Assassins.
Who to recommend it to: readers who prefer to respect chronology, and those who enjoy the opening of Grant Morrison's run on Batman. A trade paperback has existed since 2007 that collects #655-658 and #663-666; an expanded edition in 2014 adds other issues. The animated film Son of Batman draws on it, while making Deathstroke the main antagonist.
3: Batman Incorporated, Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham (2012-2013)
After the sixteenth issue of Batman and Robin, Grant Morrison continues his story in Batman Incorporated. The second series, published from May 2012 to July 2013, runs thirteen issues, a #0 and a special one-shot. Chris Burnham draws #8, with a few pages by Jason Masters. Leviathan, the organization led by Talia al Ghul, invades Gotham with indoctrinated children.
It is in #8, cover-dated April 2013 but on sale at the end of February, that Damian is killed by the Heretic. The press announced it before the issue's release. Bruce Wayne then wages his war against Leviathan until the confrontation with Talia.
This series suits the reader who has already read Batman and Son and Batman and Robin: the impact of Damian's death rests on those two steps. It reads by arcs, Demon Star (#0-6) then Gotham's Most Wanted (#7-13). Do not approach it first: Damian's death loses its weight if you do not know the boy.
4: Batman and Robin, Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (2011-2015)
This second Batman and Robin series (Peter J. Tomasi on script, Patrick Gleason on art) runs from September 2011 to March 2015, with forty-five issues counting the #0, issues 23.1 to 23.4, the annuals and the one-shots. Bruce Wayne is back under the mask and Damian remains his Robin. The series continues after Damian's death, which occurred in Batman Incorporated.
It gives Damian a regular setting: a father-son duo followed over time, in the city of Gotham, whereas Grant Morrison's series played on the contrast between two styles of hero.
This is the series to read when you want a Batman and a Robin together, in short arcs that read on their own. It is aimed at those who want to follow Damian over the long haul, with a constant artist in the person of Patrick Gleason. The first trade paperback is enough to judge the tone before continuing.
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5: Robin: Son of Batman, Patrick Gleason and Ray Fawkes (2015-2016)
Thirteen issues in all. After Batman: Endgame, Bruce Wayne has disappeared, and Damian, still Robin, travels to build himself on his own and repair what his past with the Assassins left behind. There he meets Ra's and Talia al Ghul, Deathstroke and Maya Ducard, Nobody's daughter. The series was collected in two trade paperbacks, Year of Blood (the preview issue and #1-6) and Dawn of the Demons (#7-13).
It gives Damian the status of a solo adventurer, without Batman. Patrick Gleason is behind the series; Ray Fawkes handles the writing of some of the issues and several artists take turns, including Ramón Bachs and Scott McDaniel. The whole therefore lacks the consistency of the Tomasi and Gleason series.
Recommend it to readers who want to follow Damian into his travels and accept a more scattered construction. Read it after the Tomasi and Gleason series: the "all alone" effect works better that way.
6: Super Sons, Peter J. Tomasi, Jorge Jimenez (2017-2018)
From February 2017 to May 2018, Super Sons runs sixteen issues plus an annual. Damian, thirteen, is paired there with Jon Kent, Superman's son, ten at the start; the two quarrel and discover they are friends. Peter J. Tomasi writes the series; Jorge Jimenez draws its opening, and other artists, including Carlo Barberi and Ryan Benjamin, step in afterward.
The series gives the character what Robin tradition calls his sidekick role: Damian becomes the elder here, and so the protector, in an adventure lighter than those of his dramatic series. Adventures of the Super Sons, twelve issues published from August 2018 to July 2019, extends the story with Peter J. Tomasi, Carlo Barberi and Art Thibert.
It is aimed at readers who prefer humor and camaraderie, and at families looking for an accessible DC read. No prerequisites, but a few references to the Wayne and Kent families are better enjoyed with the earlier series in mind.
7: Robin, Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov (2021-2022)
Launched in April 2021, this seventeen-issue series running to August 2022 puts Damian at the center of a deadly tournament: the Lazarus Tournament, on Lazarus Island, with Rose Wilson and Connor Hawke. Joshua Williamson writes; Gleb Melnikov draws the opening, other artists follow him, including Max Dunbar, who shares issue 7 with him, and Roger Cruz toward the end. Two short stories published in Batman and Detective Comics in March 2021 serve as a prologue.
It gives Damian a series of his own, without Batman in the foreground, and arc writing geared toward combat. It is the most recent on the list, and the easiest to get through in one evening of reading the collection.
It suits today's readers who want a contemporary entry point without going through the 2000s. Comic martial arts fans will find what they want here; those seeking Morrison's psychological finesse should head to the top of the list instead.
Where to start based on your profile
If you are discovering Robin through Damian, start with Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin: it is the clearest way in. If you like chronologies, Batman and Son first, then Morrison's series. If you want the drama, follow with Batman Incorporated after reading the other two.
The reader looking for fast action will go to Joshua Williamson's Robin. The reader looking for lightness will go to Super Sons. The reader who prefers father-son relationships will stop at the Tomasi and Gleason series.
To place Damian in the lineage, two pages help: the Robin reading guide, organized wearer by wearer, and the history of Robin in comics, which follows the series through the decades. If you want the Batman context, the Batman hub gathers the series surrounding these arcs.
The key issues to know
For a collector, the hierarchy is clear. Batman #655 (September 2006) marks the first appearance; its out-of-continuity predecessor, Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), is a different object, sought after for its place in Batman history. Batman and Robin #1 (August 2009) launches the series in which Damian is Robin to Dick Grayson's Batman. Teen Titans #88 (December 2010) sees him join the team. Batman Incorporated #8 (2013) is the turning point of his death; Robin #1 (2021) marks his return as a headliner.
The method for appraising these issues: first check whether the copy is a first printing, by verifying the printing notice displayed on the copy; then compare completed sales of the same issue, at the same condition level, over several months. An issue marked by a media event like #8 sees spikes; a smoothed median is more reliable than a single sale. To place this collection within the lineage, see the key Robin issues.
Frequently asked questions
In Batman #655, cover-dated September 2006, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Andy Kubert, the first issue of the Batman and Son arc. The boy is only glimpsed there; #656, the direct follow-up, gives him a real place in the story. An unnamed child of Bruce and Talia already existed in Son of the Demon in 1987, but that story is out of continuity.
With Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, published from 2009 to 2011. It reads with no prerequisites, starting with Frank Quitely's arc in issues 1 to 3. If you prefer chronology, read Batman and Son (2006) first, the arc where Talia reveals her son's existence to Bruce.
In Batman Incorporated #8, cover-dated April 2013 and on sale at the end of February 2013, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Chris Burnham. Damian is killed by the Heretic, in the Leviathan arc. Bruce Wayne then confronts the organization, and then Talia, in the following issues.
No. The 1987 album by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham served as inspiration, but the child there has no name and the story is not part of continuity. Read it as a curiosity companion, once you have gone through Batman and Son.
Yes, several. Robin: Son of Batman runs thirteen issues in 2015-2016, Super Sons sixteen issues plus an annual in 2017-2018, and Joshua Williamson's Robin series seventeen issues from April 2021 to August 2022. He is also Batman's partner in the two Batman and Robin series of 2009 and 2011.
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