The movie is largely inspired by three different graphic novel series - Knightfall (which provides the origin story of Bane), The Dark Knight Returns (self-explanatory, but focuses on an aged Batman's return after a decade long absence), and then this one, No Man's Land (abbreviated NML). I was so impressed with the story and all the influences and ideas that went into it that I knew I had to check them out. That all changed with the release of The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Alien), but again I was never serious about the comics. I might've skimmed through a couple as a kid (I vaguely remember Batman vs. I've been a Batman fan for over 20 years, but I've never gotten into the comics.
I suppose this is where it all started for me.