How far back should I go to be reasonably caught up with the current story lines?
Hmmn. I’d say about two years ago…
I might go a little further back. Maybe a year, year and a half before the “Bruce Wayne–Murderer” storyline. Say, Detective 745 or so. It’s (roughly) where Greg Rucka took over Detective and started trying to fix the character (successfully, IMO)
Get the “No Man’s Land” graphic novels. Cheaper than buying up back issues.
After all, Gotham City was nearly leveled by an earthquake. That seems reasonably important
Screw all that. While the Batman books of the last two or three years were fantastic (IMO better than the current runs), you don’t need to know much about them. I’d pick up (or just browse) the “Hush” pt. 1 collection currently available (in hardback only, IIRC) and then pick up the back issues from there.
–Cliffy
Batman: Year One, by Miller and Mazzuchelli.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Batman: A Death In The Family
All available in graphic novel format. Pretty much the essential reading for the character.
The OP said he wants to be able to understand the current storyline.
Well the current storyline in Batman is almost over so you should wait untill October when a new storyline starts. The storyline in Detective Comics though just started so that should be easy to jump into. The last Batman title I would recommend is Gotham Central even though Batman doesn’t play a central role to the plot. It’s a really good title though and focuses on how the police force react to the craziness that is Gotham City. The current storyline “Half a Life” is currently almost done but the back issues aren’t hard to find and it’s worth the trouble as it is the best Bat-book on the stands, IMO (but I know that will probably change when Azzarello comes on board in October).
More TPB recommendations that haven’t been mentioned:
Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave Mckean
Batman: Black and White Vol.1 by various creators