"Batman? Batman, you say?!" - Riddler, Batman Forever
Right, let's see what I can strum up. *cracks knuckles*
-The Dark Knight Returns is definitely good, but I'd argue a bit dated. Definitely Frank Miller's second best work (below Year One). It's basically what kicked off the idea of Batman being darker and edgier.
-Long Halloween is definitely a must-read. Most people I know have loved it. Really, anything Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale do together is gold. I should also recommend their other Batman stories, Haunted Knight (a Halloween-themed mini-series with Scarecrow and two one-shots) and Long Halloween's sequel, Dark Victory. It's not quite as good as LH, but it's still very good.
-Gotham Central. You liked Year One? Gotham Central. It's like a cop show you'd see on TV, only starring the cops from Gotham. Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, who never do bad stuff.
-Venom might be an odd choice, but I really like it. You know the venom stuff that Bane takes to make himself super strong? Venom is a pre-Bane story where Batman actually takes the stuff and becomes addicted to it. And speaking of Bane...
-Knightfall is certainly dated now and feels a little too 90s at times, but it's still very compelling. That's something I say about the Death & Return of Superman, which came out around the same time. Bane makes for a great foil for Batman by not only being as smart as him, but being just as capable in a fight as him. A few years ago, DC put out three massive trade paperbacks that collect in each volume Knightfall, Knightquest (with new Batman), and the finale, KnightsEnd. The only thing it's missing is the story of how Bruce's back miraculously healed. But believe me, you're not missing anything there as even the writer of that story has condemned it.
-Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One, both written by long-time Bat writer Chuck Dixon, are two really fun self-contained mini-series that really hold up to time. Though there are a few cutsey references to things going on in Nightwing at the time, which Dixon was also the writer of. DC recently re-collected these two into one volume.
-While I'm at it, I'll just throw in a recommendation for Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel's run on Nightwing. It's a lot of fun with some incredibly well paced and fantastically drawn action sequences.
-The only reason I recommend All Star Batman & Robin is to see just how far Frank Miller has fallen in comparison to his amazing work in the 80s. It's entertaining purely in a train wreck kind of way, but make no mistake, it is incredibly entertaining. While reading it, you won't be sure if Miller has gone nuts or is taking a piss out of fans for demanding he write the character again. The same could be said for Dark Knight Strikes Again, which is even worse and I wouldn't recommend it at all.
-I haven't read it myself, but heard a great deal of positive things about Paul Pope's Batman: Year 100.
-Also second Celt's recommendation of Mad Love.
So, how's that?
