The Overlooked Dark Knight: The New Adventures

Andy and Mike are back with more Elseworlds fun with stories that take place in the 1930's and the late 1800's! And boy was it a mixed bag. First up is Batman: Dark Allegiances, written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. This story, the one set in the 1930's, has a self-made Bruce Wayne fighting against corrupt politicians and a racist secret society with a dash of fascism thrown in for good measure. For a story set in the early part of the 20th century and published a little over three decades ago there is a really "now" feeling to it that Andy and Mike make a meal of. They also talk about the two-fisted action, men in suits, women that know their own mind, and the guest appearance from Hitler. There is some contempoary policial talk during this section if you have a problem with such things, but when the sub-text in the story is text in real life it's hard to avoid. Next up is Batman: Two Faces, which has the elevator pitch of "Batman meets The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". Bruce Wayne is a wealthy socialite that has an interest in fighting crime. The death of a friend at the hands of Two-Face pushes Bruce to create a serum that makes him stronger, faster, and better and he becomes the Batman to bring Two-Face down. A new villain named The Joker complicates matters and a final face-off leads to a shocking revelation. Andy and Mike had issues with this one, but they wonder if maybe starting with a strong story made this one look worse by comparison. The wrap things up with a conversation about the difference between Marvel's What If stories and DC's Elseworlds and the contemporary comic fan scene where they manage to not sound like two old men yelling at clouds. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: The guys take a look at two Doug Moench written Batman stories. One from the eighties and one from the nineties.

This time out Andy and Mike continue and finish their look at The Demon Trilogy by talking about The Bride of the Demon and The Birth of the Demon. Though, when you really think about it, it's not a trilogy in the traditional sense. It's kind of like saying that RoboCop 1 through 3 is a trilogy. It's three films (or graphic novels in the case) but it's not one big story by any stretch of the imagination. Not that they compare these two stories to the second and third RoboCop films. At all. Anyway, the guys start with The Bride of the Demon, but much like Andy's assessment of Batman Begins (there is an awful lot of begins before you get to the Batman) there is an awful lot of the Demon before you get to the Bride. They discuss the story's ecological themes and how that was right at home when this graphic novel was published in 1990, the fact that Tim Drake does not feel like Tim Drake in this story, how the story itself doesn't feel like a Batman story from 1990, the weird dynamic between Ra's Al Ghul's bride and Talia, how this doesn't really feel like a follow up to Son of the Demon, the many Neal Adams homages, and more. Then they discuss Birth of the Demon, which they enjoyed more for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was the Denny O'Neil writing. Maybe it's the Norm Breyfogle artwork. Maybe it's because the origin Ra's is engaging and makes you root for him throughout the flashbacks. Maybe it is the part of the conversation where Andy and Mike realize that this story makes the events of Knightfall questionable. Maybe it's the idea of Richard E. Grant playing Ra's Al Ghul in a movie. Maybe it's because it just a great story. You decide. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: More Elseworlds fun with a take on Jekyl and Hyde and a Howard Chaykin story from 30 years ago that has a really now feeling.

As some of you know, this feed is the second one that Andy and Mike used to put out episodes of The Overlooked Dark Knight. The first one has sadly been lost to the ages, but Mike still has the audio files and this feed has plenty of room for the old stuff. Next week, Episode 96 comes out and during that episode Andy and Mike discuss Batman: Bride of the Demon and Batman: Birth of the Demon. They talked about the first part of what DC now calls a trilogy, Batman: Son of the Demon and Mike thought it would be a good idea to repost the episode here. Anyway, after answering a listener question (which is something they used to do on the show and maybe they should get back to that) the guys talk about Batman: Son of the Demon, the 1987 graphic novel that had Batman and Talia not only getting married, but Talia becoming pregnant with Bruce's kid. The guys talk about how they first read this story, the more mature nature of the storytelling, the amazing artwork, and how this story was wiped from continuity almost immediately after it was published. There is also talk about how this story plays into Grant Morrison's introduction of Damien Wayne. Andy and Mike want your feedback on this episode so they can read it on an upcoming show! You even have options in how you leave your feedback. The most direct way is to leave a comment right here on the site. You can also send all questions, concerns, fears and trepidations to [email protected]. Then there's the Facebook page, where you can also leave a Batman related question for Andy and Mike to answer at the beginning of the show. If you talk about this show on the social medias please include a #overlookeddk so the guys know where to find it.

The final episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight...for 2025, at any rate. This time out Andy and Mike finish up their two part look at Batman in the early 2000's by shining the Bat Signal on Greg Rucka. Rucka began writing Batman in the late 90s during No Man's Land and then had a several year run on Detective Comics. The guys talk about how they were introduced to Rucka as a writer and gush about his novelization of No Man's Land, which is Mike's preferred way to experience that story. Instead of looking at three issues of his Detective run (like they did in the Brubaker spotlight) Mike chose two mini-series that spotlight Rucka as a writer. First up is Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood has Batman in it, but he is a minor player in what feels like a backdoor pilot for an ongoing Huntress series. Helena Bertinelli has been framed for murders she didn't commit and that leads down a path that reveals family secrets, explores her origins, and pairs her with The Question. The guys talk about Rucka's obvious love for Vic Sage, his talent for writing women, and Mike gives a quick history lesson on this version of The Huntress. Then the guys discuss Batman: Death and the Maidens, which featured the introduction of Nyssa, the other daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. This nine issue series featured artwork by Klaus Janson and boy were Andy and Mike surprised that they liked the art as much as they did. They also discuss their feelings about the Al Ghuls and go into the Batman end of this story, which features him taking a substance that allows him to "talk" to his mother and father. There's also commentary on how this story was part of a larger movement running through DC at the time and how, as good as this story is, its impact has been dulled by future stories that brought Ra's Al Ghul back. Andy and Mike want your feedback on this episode so they can read it on an upcoming show! You even have options in how you leave your feedback. The most direct way is to leave a comment right here on the site. You can also send all questions, concerns, fears and trepidations to [email protected]. Then there's the Facebook page, where you can also leave a Batman related question for Andy and Mike to answer at the beginning of the show. If you talk about this show on the social medias please include a #overlookeddk so the guys know where to find it. The opening theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay. Next Time: Andy and Mike kick off the new year with more Ra's Al Ghul fun by looking at Bride of the Demon and Birth of the Demon.

Back in 2012, Andy was nice enough to agree to join Mike on his show Bailey's Batman Podcast to do a commentary for Batman Returns. Recently, the episodes of BBP that were available are no longer available for various reasons that all involve money, but Mike thought it might be fun to take the commetnary out of storage and put it here. And thus you get to hear a 13 year old commentary, unedited and just as it was when it was released. Mike hasn't listened to this in quite some time, so he doesn't remember if he or Andy said something that in the decade and change since it came out has become less socially acceptable, but he's pretty sure they didn't. Mike does remember that there was a fascinating discussion on DVD compression in the US compared to the UK and how they sets of the film look very much like sets, but other than that it's a complete mystery. Andy and Mike would like to wish you and yours a very Happy/Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate this time of year. They'd also like to thank you for listening to show and hope you come back next week for the next exciting episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight.