For a brief, shining moment just before the New 52 rewrote the DC Universe, Batman was everywhere. You might say to me, "Hey, podcast guy, Batman is everywhere now. And he has been since at least 1989, probably since 1966." But I'm talking in universe here. Grant Morrison had created Batman Incorporated, where Batman travelled the world, making an international team of heroes. And while it came back after, the continuity mess of the New 52 definitely interfered. But this week, friend of the show and Patreon Backer Josh Weil is here to talk about that glorious 8 issue and one shot run, along with one of the stories that inspired it, and one that followed up on it.

The Club of Heroes (World's Finest Comics # 89)

Leviathan Strikes (Batman Incorporated V.1 # 1-8, Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes One-Shot)

No More Teachers (Batman Annual 2022, Batman Incorporated V.3 # 1-5)

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While in comics circles the most well known alternate future for Batman is The Dark Knight Returns, in the public consciousness, that title has to be held by Batman Beyond. Three seasons of young Terry McGinnis and crotchety old Bruce Wayne in the DCAU, plus appearances on Justice League Unlimited, left a mark for this particular iteration of Batman. This week, with Terry returning to comics in Batman/Static: Beyond, we do our first episode focused on stories featuring Terry McGinnis; two are animated series tie-ins, and one is an arc from the series that followed that continuity in a more traditional DC style.

Commissioner of Fear (Batman Beyond V.2 # 13)

Terry's Mom Dates a Splicer (Batman Beyond V.2 # 24)

10,000 Clowns (Batman Beyond Unlimited # 1-13)

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Friend of the show and Patreon backer Matt McThorn is back this week, and he wanted to return to one of is earlier themes, with three more stories featuring Thomas Blake, the Bat rogue known as Catman. We get a 90s story featuring Catman and Ratcatcher from before Catman turned super cool under the pen of Gail Simone. Then we see Blake meet Huntress and try to come off as suave in a Birds of Prey vs. the Secret Six story. And we wrap up with Catman and Bane in Gotham during Battle for the Cowl, trying really hard to honor the memory of Batman. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

The Secret of the Universe (Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 43-44, Catwoman V.2 # 26)

Whitewater (Birds of Prey V.1 # 104-108)

A Debt of Significant Blood (Secret Six V.3 # 9)

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Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Welcome to your annual, spooky Halloween week BatChat. We've done weeks with vampires, with Man-Bats, with Demons. This year, we're dipping into stories featuring Matt's favorite classic monster: the werewolf. Batman fights the beast under a full moon over the city, and maybe even turns into one...

Moon of the Wolf (Batman V.1 # 255)

Werewolf Moon (Detective Comics V.1 # 505)

Batman: Full Moon # 1-4

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For you out there, it has only been one week since our last episode. But we took a week off recording so we could really pack in the comics. This week, we're covering the entire, 26 issue run of Batman & Robin Eternal, the weekly series that ran at the end of the New 52 era. It sees the return of some Bat characters lost in the rest of that era, has a lot of flashbacks and gives us a lot to talk about. Plus? Two one shots starring Cassandra Cain.

Batman & Robin Eternal # 1-26

Help Me Not To Die (Batgirl V.1 # 2)

Thicker Than Water (Batgirl V.1 # 37)

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Jim Gordon made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27. You know, the same comic that Batman made his first appearance. So, you can imagine the number of stories that Gordon has been featured in. But especially since Frank Miller made "Batman: Year One" as much about Gordon as it is about Batman, that number has exploded, and the history of that character, and his connection to Batman, has been fertile ground for various creators. This week we're looking at three stories about the life and times of Jim Gordon. These are some gritty and dark tales, and they come with some specific trigger warnings, so if you need to skip over some of this, we understand, but these are some fine comics.

Batman: Night Cries OGN [Trigger Warning: Childhood physical and sexual abuse]

Batman: Gordon of Gotham # 1-4 [Trigger Warning: Political violence]

Batman: Turning Points # 1-5

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We're back following the three runs we've been reading in order for a while now. No Man's Land reaches its midpoint as the Bat family comes home to Gotham and the identity of the new Batgirl is revealed. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne face their ultimate challenge as they are trapped between Dr. Hurt and the Joker in the final arc of Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin. And Injustice lurches to the conclusion of Year Four as the Justice League and the Resistance find themselves at war not just with each other, but with the Greek Gods.

Assembly (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120)

Batman and Robin Must Die! (Batman and Robin V.1 #13-16, Batman: The Return)

Injustice Year 4 V.2 (Injustice: Gods Among Us- Year Four #8-12, Annual #1)

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Gotham Academy returns to comic shops this week with a new prequel series, so we're reading three stories about teens in Gotham. Tim Drake faces a major challenge with his first confrontation with the man who killed the previous Robin, the Joker. Duke Thomas is recruited into the We Are Robin movement in a Gotham with a very different Batman. And the mystery of Gotham Academy deepens.

Robin II: The Joker's Wild # 1-4

We Are Robin (We Are Robin # 1-6)

Calamity (Gotham Academy # 8-12)

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Time moves ever forward. I can't believe that Batman Begins is 20 years old this year. As I question my mortality and life choices, this week we read three stories from the Batman Begins trade, including the movie adaptation, a retelling of Batman's origin by Denny O'Neil and a one off by Greg Rucka.

Batman Begins: The Official Movie Adaptation

The Man Who Falls (Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super Heroes TPB)

Air Time (Detective Comics V.1 #757)

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This week, Deadpool/Batman will be released, the first Marvel/DC crossover in well over a decade. And as anyone who knows how comics work, the biggest characters are the ones who get crossed over, and no one at DC is bigger than Batman. So to tie in, we're reading three Batman/Marvel team-ups. These are some fun books, and we have a good time. Plus, Will finally gets us to reverse the way the show works, and it confuses us both. Glad that's over...

Batman Vs. The Incredible Hulk: The Monster and the Madman (DC Specials Series # 27)

Batman/Captain America

New Age Dawning (Batman/Spider-Man)

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