Hey look, it's Valentine's week! And since Grant Morrison once called Batman a, "hairy chested love god," who are we to argue? That means it's time for three tales of the Dark Knight and romance!

Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics V.1 # 471-476)

The Return of Scarface (Batman V.1 # 475-476, Detective Comics V.1 # 642)

Perchance... (JLA # 90)

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Hugo Strange is one of Batman's first recurring nemeses. And when Strange appears, he often brings with him his Monster Men, evil science experiments that Strange uses for his twisted plans. This week, in another thrice told tale, we see three versions of Batman confronting Strange and his creatures.

The Giants of Hugo Strange (Batman V.1 #1)

Batman and the Monster Men (Batman and the Monster Men #1-6)

Night of the Monster Men (Batman V.3 #7-8, Nightwing V.4 #5-6, Detective Comics V.3 #941-942)

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Of the many writers who have written tales of the Dark Knight over the past 15 years, few if any have left their mark as much as Scott Snyder. Creator of the Court of Owls, with an impressive 52 issue run on Batman proper, not counting many other series and mini-series, Snyder explores the fears of modern society, and specifically his own, in his writing. This week, it's time to read three stories written or plotted by Snyder, and see how fear and history tie into the heart of Gotham and Batman

The Court of Owls (Batman V.2 #1-11)

Batman: The Gates of Gotham #1-5

My Own Worst Enemy (All-Star Batman #1-5)

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A sinister laugh over the airwaves. A threat. And death with a rictus grin. Those are aspects that each version of Batman's first encounter with his greatest foe, the Joker, have in common. But as with many tales from the Golden Age of comics, this is a story that he been told and retold numerous times. This week, we look at three versions of that story, where the Dark Knight first crosses swords with the Clown Prince of Crime

The Joker/ The Joker Returns (Batman V.1 # 1)

Images (Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight # 50)

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

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Batman, as I think this show has proven, is a character who exists, and works, in an infinite number of permutations. And of all of those, one of the most famous is that of the campy Batman '66. But does that Batman work with other characters from other franchises, or is his bright world a little too bright and weird for that. It's the question asked and answered in this week's episode, where we look at three crossovers between Batman '66 and characters from other series, TV and comic alike

Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 #1-6

Batman '66 Meets the Man From U.N.C.L.E. #1-6

Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

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So, this is, to quote Will, by far our stupidest episode ever. But it's episode 69, so Will wanted to go wild with it, and Matt really didn't want to find a new co-host, so he agreed to this. It's three Batman stories with panels that have spawned internet memes.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles # 1-6

The Joker's Comedy of Errors (Batman V.1 # 66)

The Clash of Cape and Cowl (World's Finest Comics # 153)

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One of the earliest foes that Batman ever faced was the vampire known as The Monk who, at the end of his first storyline, Batman killed. With a gun. It was the Golden Age. But death has never kept a comic book character down, and with alternate Earths and reboot, The Monk has returned in very different forms multiple times. Patreon backer Tim Rooney asked us to cover the Bronze Age Monk story, and so we tossed in the original Monk story and another Monk appearance to make this vampirific episode.

Batman Vs. the Vampire (Detective Comics V.1 # 31-32)

Nightmare In Crimson (Batman V.1 # 349-351, Detective Comics V.1 # 517)

Batman Vs. The Mad Monk # 1-6

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It's time to say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new one with three new takes on Batman in this year's Elseworlds episode! Now granted, one of these Batmans is pretty familiar and one is an old Batman, but one is certainly very different. And hey, it's tradition, so there we go. Happy new year to one and all, and we look forward to another year of chatting Bat.

Kingdom Come # 1-4

Batman/Dark Joker: The Wild OGN

Batman/Houdini: The Devil's Workshop # 1

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OK, so if you've listened to this podcast, you know that your intrepid hosts love a good tangent. This week, well, the tangents take over for a while. You get your standard moments of Star Trek (what are the actually good episodes of TOS), but you also get ten minutes on the oeuvre of a band it turns out both Matt & Will love and they didn't realize it until recording: The Barenaked Ladies. Oh, and there are three Batman Christmas stories that get discussed too. But we know you're here for the Star Trek and 90s Canadian rock band talk

Batman Adventures Holiday Special # 1

The Search for Santa Claus (Batman V.1 # 33)

Batman: Noel OGN

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Damian Wayne remains a character who is controversial around these parts; Will can't stand him, and Matt, well, he's the kid who beat up Tim Drake, so there remains some beef there. But there are all sorts of stories of Damian, and many of them are stories of Damian in possible futures or alternate worlds, and this week we're diving into three of them. This one goes out to our youngest fan, Alexander; one of these stories is his favorite, so this is an an early Christmas present

Batman in Bethlehem (Batman V.1 # 666)

DCeased: Hope At World's End # 1-15

The Kingdom: Son of the Bat # 1

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