Arkham City: Now With More Villains!

Welcome back Bat-Fanatics! Megan joins Joe for a very special episode dedicated to the first women to make their mark on Batman comics. Our suite of writers starts way back in the Golden Age with Ruth Lyons Kaufman. Then we visit the bronze age with Barbara Kesel before returning to the modern era with Devin Grayson. For artists, we start in the 80s with Mary Mitchell before revisiting New 52's Becky Cloonan. 

Don't fret Bat-Fanatic if your favorite female creative isn't on this list! We tried to keep the list focused on big milestones this time. We're definitely interested in expanding our knowledge of the women who've shaped Batman. Feel free to reach out if you have a particular female bat-creator you want us to cover!

Comics: Batman vol. 1 #16, Batman vol. 1 #401, Gotham Knights vol. 1 #1, Batman: Gotham Nights vol. 1 #1, Batman vol. 2 #12

Welcome to another B-Side Bat-Fanatics! Joe is joined by special guest (and friend of the podcast) Chris to discuss 11 unpopular opinions about Batman. Well, we think they're unpopular. If you agree with most of them, you're probably listening to the right Batman podcast! If you don't agree, send us a strongly worded letter and tell us!

We discuss Batman: The Animated Series, it's sucessor the Batman, Zatanna, Greg Rucka, Batman '66 (of course!), and much more. Plus, we briefly discuss the late, great Kevin Conroy. So buckle in Bat-Fanatics for a show so click-baity you'll be surprised it wasn't downloaded already.

Joe & Kendall return, after an unexpected hiatus, to discuss the single appearances of Bookworm, False Face, and Zelda the Great in Season 1 of Batman ‘66. Plus, they’re joined by Megan! Can the Terrific Trio remember how to record a podcast? Not really. Can Joe successfully edit the episode? No (Sorry Bat-Fanatics, this one is a little rough!). Is the episode chock full of Bat-goodness and fun? Definitely. So listen away, Bat-Fanatics, as we discuss such lurid topics as: would polar repulsion actually break a clocktower? Should Robin be more concerned about Asbestos book covers? Is False Face scary under different contexts? Is Zelda really even a villain? FOR WHOM DOES THE BELL TOLL, BAT-FANATICS?! IT TOLLS FOR THEE!

We’re back, Bat-Fanatics, and rapidly (for us) approaching the culmination of Season 3! This time Joe and Kendall pull a fast one by picking a comic so recent it was only collected in trade a month ago, Batman: The Imposter. Those of you who loved The Batman will find several similarities within this book. He is a Bruce Wayne imagined in the real world. He battles crime with simplistic gadgets, minimal support infrastructure, and near suicidal tendencies. What happens when someone poses as Batman and begins killing criminals? Gorgeously illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino, Mattson Tomlin’s script is clearly influenced by his time working on The Batman’s script. There are definitely some great ideas here. The real question Bat-Fanatics must ask themselves is: which Batman do you prefer, one rooted in realism or one rooted in traditional comic book storytelling? We can’t answer that for you, but we sure give you our opinions!

Plot Pandemonium: Batman: The Imposter #1-3

Something seems off here, Bat-Fanatics, . . . apparently shenanigans are afoot on Earth-11! This time “Joe & Kendall” (really Megan & Chloe) meet-up to discuss Harleen, Stjepan Sejic’s retelling of Harley Quinn’s origin. This book has everything: sexy Harleen, sexy Joker, sexy nightmare sequences, sexy Hugo Strange (. . . I’m sensing a theme . . .). Harleen served as one of the tent poles of DC’s Black Label launch and is (generally) considered one of the best titles in the brand to date. So prepare for a romance story of epic proportions where Harleen >>> Harley, where the Joker has abs upon his abs, and where Batman (and Two-Face?) are almost inconsequential!

Plot Pandemonium: Harleen #1-3

Holy Tom King, Bat-Fanatic. As often as we worship at the altar of Tom King, this particular series has been largely overlooked by Joe & Kendall (mostly Kendall). Joe read the first volume a few years ago, but Kendall had never read any of it! As the title implies, Dick Grayson leaves the life of vigilantism behind to take a role as a (sexy) spy for Spyral. This series is co-written by King & Tim Seeley with art by Mikal Janin. Needless to say, this Dick looks great! Can Dick keep his ethos intact in the life of espionage? Can Helena Bertinelli REALLY be a compelling love interest when Babs is still on the table? Is the Midnighter actually cool? These are some of the topics we delve into as we cover the first part of Grayson! Prep your ID concealing hypnos, track down the latest super-power granting organ, and settle in to learn the secrets of supers across the globe!  

Plot Pandemonium: Grayson vol. 1 #1-6 + Annual 1

The Bat-Radar returns! This time Joe & Kendall dedicate an hour to a bevy of topics, including: new jobs, their most interesting reads from Feb 2022, and some killer TV. If that weren't enough, they also do their best to review every Bat-Book they are currently reading. Do they get them all? No. Do they try really hard? Maybe. So sit down and listen to more unscripted nonsense from J&K and they talk comics, television, and video games.

Content: Spider-Man, Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight, classic Cloak & Dagger, One-Star Squadron, Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Superman: Up in the Sky, Human Target, Peacemaker

Bat-Book Roundup: Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Robin, Batman/Catwoman, The Joker, Catwoman: Lonely City, Action Comics

The Devil, Watergate, Molemen, and MORE!!!

Joe & Kendall return for their seasonal coverage of Jack Kirby’s Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! And as usual, they have a blast experiencing these banana pants stories. This time Kamandi must compete in a deadly Kentucky Derby, find the missing Watergate Tapes, learn the secrets that possibly elevated animals to human intellect, meet the molemen, and KO a killer giant worm. Seriously, Bat-Fanatic, what more could you possibly be looking for in your comic entertainment?! So, prepare your giant cricket for battle, do your best impression of a retired linebacker in a blonde wig, crank your emotions up to 11, and get ready for more gorilla violence than you can shake a banana at. THIS…IS…KAMANDI!

Plot Pandemonium: Kamandi Vol. 1 #13 - 18

It’s been a long time Bat-Fanatics, how have you been? Joe and Kendall have switched jobs, fought plagues, enjoyed holidays, and generally taken an unexpected break from podcasting. One month later, they release an episode recorded before CHRISTMAS. Ah well, that’s quality right? We continue to show zero viability for a Patreon. Anyway! This time Joe and Kendall hit you with the “hidden” Batman: Year X story by looking at Marv Wolfman’s Batman: Year Three. Never heard of it? Never read it? Well, they didn’t collect it until 2019! You can read it on DCUI though… Year Three focuses on Robin’s origin and history with notorious gangster Tony Zucco while simultaneously dealing with the fallout of Jason Todd’s death in the present. It’s a book overloaded with potential, that unfortunately fails to deliver. It’s not all bad though! Get ready for helicopter gang slayings, a Batman on the brink that is still more tame than modern Batman, some delightful Dick zingers, and SO MANY opportunities for “PHRASING!”. Plus, at the rate we’re going, who knows when you’ll get another episode!

Plot Pandemonium: Batman Vol. 1 #436 - 439

Happy Holidays, Bat-Fanatics! You know, as we always say on this podcast, there is nothing that prepares you for this festive season more than taking a closer look at another psychopathic member of Batman’s rogues gallery. This holiday season, the Calendar Man has stuffed your proverbial stocking with bits and pieces of Lord Death Man. But don’t fret! He’s gonna be fine! He survived a volcano! That might be getting ahead of ourselves, though… Joe & Kendall put the menace of Bat-Manga under the microscope to find out just how Lord Death Man… lords…over… death? That’s right, Bat-Fanatics. Joe read manga. FOR YOU! And he even liked it. What is the world coming to?

So don your dramatic capes, pull out that skeleton Halloween costume from a few years ago, prepare your best Han Solo in carbonite impression, and get ready to contemplate the harsh realities of insanity and immortality as we cover ALMOST EVERY SINGLE APPEARANCE OF LORD DEATH MAN EVER. That’s right. Almost all of them. Watch out for the volcano.

Infinite Origins: Batman vol. 1 #180, Bat-Manga #1-3

Continuity Crisis: Batman Inc vol. 1 #1-2, Batman Inc: Leviathan Strikes! #1, Batman Inc vol. 2 #13, Talon vol.1 #16-17, Batman Eternal vol. 1 #46, Harley Quinn vol. 3 #48-49, Batman: Gotham Nights #16