DC Comics has some of the most well-known superheroes in comic history; Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to name a few. Despite this, their history in regards to live action films has dimmed with the advent of Marvel comics assuming control of their franchises. Marvel has managed to corner the market in live action adaptations of their characters starting with the Iron Man films, mostly because they have managed to produce a contained universe in which story lines relate to each other and  we get to know the characters. DC has had mixed success, in part because most of their characters have appeared in standalone films with no cohesion amongst them.

Batman vs. Superman marks the beginning of a concerted effort by DC to cultivate their brand. So far it is working: the film  has managed to gross enough money to date to become the fourth biggest global opening of a film in history (Variety). While this is just the beginning of the DC film juggernaut (check out this list for upcoming movies) one area in which they have always excelled has been their animated features. Most are based on previous graphic novel collections and the Library owns some of the most recent. Check out the list below for the feature films and their print counterparts.      

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
When a spaceship splashes down in Gotham Harbor, Batman and Superman encounter a mysterious Kryptonian with powers as great as Superman's. When Darkseid gets wind of this, he has the Kryptonian abducted and brought under his control on Apokolips. It's up to Batman and Superman to retrieve the Kryptonian, forcing them to infiltrate Darkseid's hostile world where super-powerful threats lurk around every corner.

Batman: Year One
Comics legend Frank Miller's classic retelling of Batman's early days, depicting a young Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham City and his first endeavors at fighting injustice as Batman.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
The Flash gets a chance to go back in time and right a violent, decades-past crime against his mother. However, the ripples of his good intentions prove disastrous, as a fractured, alternate reality now exists in place of the familiar one. Superman is nowhere to be found, and Batman is a grittier, more violent Dark Knight. Together, with Cyborg, they race to restore the continuity of Flash's original timeline, while this new one is ravaged by war between the armies of Wonder Woman and Aquaman.

Justice League: War
Going back to a time when superheroes were new to our world, we learn how the Justice League came together during an alien attack of Earth.

Son of Batman
The leader of the League of Shadows, Ra's al Ghul, and his daughter Talia, oversee an army of assassins with plans for world domination. A planned uprising within the ranks threatens the balance of power and sends Talia and her young son, Damian, fleeing to Gotham City. Talia seeks the protection of Batman, Damian's secret father. Batman must wage war against Deathstroke and the League, all while teaching the headstrong boy that one can't fight crime by becoming a criminal.

Batman: Assault on Arkham
When the government teams up a group of supervillains with the code name Suicide Squad and forces them to break into Arkham Asylum to bring back top secret information the Riddler has stolen, Batman soon becomes involved. But things go from bad to worse when one of the Squad (Harley Quinn) frees the Joker, who has the means to not only blow up the asylum, but most of Gotham City as well.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
Aquaman is forced to choose sides between the Justice League and Atlantis, when Atlantean warriors begin a war to conquer the surface world, starting with the coastal cities of Gotham and Metropolis.

Batman vs Robin
When Batman finds himself under attack by his own son, Damian (Robin), he at first suspects the hand of Ra's Al Ghul behind the treachery, but then comes to see that the boy may be controlled by a mysterious and murderous society known as the Court of Owls.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters
In an alternative history, Zod is Superman's father, Batman is a vampiric Man-Bat, and Wonder Woman is the child of Ares, God of War. When these dark heroes form an alliance, the question everyone asks is: will they save the world, or rule it?

Graphic Novel Editions

• Superman/Batman. Vol 1 and Superman/Batman. Vol 2 (Superman/Batman Apocalypse )
• Batman: Year One
• Flashpoint (The Flashpoint Paradox)
• Justice League. Vol 1, Origin ( Justice League: War)
• Batman and Robin. Vol 1, Born to Kill (Son of Batman)
• Justice League. Vol 3, Throne of Atlantis
• Batman and Robin Series (Batman vs Robin)
• Justice League: Gods and Monsters

Want more? Check out this blog post on required reading for Batman vs Superman.