BatChat With Matt & Will: A Batman Ranking Podcast

Hey look at that! They said it couldn't be done, but we have actually gotten up to 100 stories on the big board! To celebrate, Matt & Will just... picked stuff they wanted to talk about. So this week we finish the Vampire Batman trilogy, we go back to the world of The Long Halloween to see what Catwoman was up to off-panel for most of Dark Victory, and in a bit of synergy, we read an all-ages graphic novel from creator Jeffrey Brown, the guest on this week's episode of Matt's other show, WMQ&A.

Batman: Crimson Mist OGN

Catwoman: When in Rome # 1-6

Batman & Robin & Howard OGN

Note: with the passing of both Neal Adams and George Perez in the past two weeks, it's important to remember that many comics creators exist in a world where they have no safety net. If you want to help, you can check out The Hero Initiative, a charity that helps creators in their time of need, here: https://www.heroinitiative.org/

Batman's most significant female nemesis. His true love on many Earths. The best thief in Gotham. A star of screens, both small and big, with numerous famous actors having portrayed her. An icon. All of these describe one character: Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman. This week, we're looking at three stories starring Catwoman

Your Face is Your Fortune (Batman V.1 # 15)

Her Sister's Keeper (Catwoman V.1 # 1-4)

Anodyne (Catwoman V.3 # 1-4)

Check out our current ranking list at https://www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Note: There's a long tangent in the middle of the episode about the Hollywood blacklist and a notable director who named names before the House Unamerican Activities Committee, and during this entire five minutes, neither Matt or Will actually say his name. That is Elia Kazan. Sorry for the lack of context in the episode.

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

As The Batman is now streaming on HBO Max, Matt and Will thought it was time to look at one of the stories that served as a prime inspiration for this year's blockbuster Bat movie- Batman: Earth One. And to go with it? Two other stories of Batman's origins and early years.

Batman: Earth One Vol. 1 OGN

The Untold Legend of the Batman # 1-3

My Beginning... And My Probable End... (Detective Comics V.1 # 574)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

This week was supposed to mark the real and true and totally final death of Batman in Justice League #75's "Death of the Justice League," issue, but the vagaries of comic scheduling in a pandemic have forced that issue back a week. But still, that would not have been the first time Batman died, and this week, we're looking at three other deaths of Batman: some literal, some metaphorical.

To Kill a Legend(Detective Comics V.1 # 500)

The Untold Legend of the Batman # 1-3

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Batman V.1 # 686, Detective Comics V.1 # 853)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Among Batman's many foes are serial killers, madmen and monsters. But few are the type of villain who seeks to dominate or control the world. The one who is, possibly the foe that Batman respects and fears the most, is Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head. Seemingly immortal, Ra's wants to return the world to a pristine sphere, under his control, and only after wiping out much of humanity. This week, as Ra's faces his final death in the "Shadow War" even in the current line, we look at three stories of the birth and Death of Ra's al Ghul.

The Demon's Quest (Batman V.1 # 232, 235, 240, 242-244)

Batman: Birth of the Demon OGN

Death and the Maidens (Batman: Death and the Maidens # 1-9, Detective Comics V.1 # 783 [backup])

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Another week, another Jason Todd tier Patreon backer choosing violence. This time, Will's fiancee, Abigale Heartbalm, chooses Batman: The Widening Gyre, Kevin Smith's incomplete Batman masterpiece (?). So, this week's theme? Hollywood folks writing Batman. We get that story, the beginning of one of the most ambitious Batman stories ever, and a recent anthology with a story written by an actor with some major Bat cred.

Batman: The Widening Gyre # 1-6

No Law and a New Order (Batman: No Man's Land #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #83, Batman #563, Detective Comics #730)

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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When you back the podcast at the Jason Todd tier of $10 a month, you get to select a story for Matt & Will to read. As much as they don't want to read it. And this week? We get our first Jason Todd tier request. Previous guest of the show, co-host of the other show Matt does each week, WMQ&A, and writer/editor/podcaster triple thread Dan Grote decided that the guys have to read Batman: White Knight, a story Will has... strong feelings about, and boy after rereading it Matt does too. To go with this particular story, we have selected two other stories where the Joker is restored to sanity, if ever so briefly.

Batman: White Knight # 1-8

Going Sane (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 65-68)

Luthor- You're Driving Me Sane (The Joker V.1 # 7)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Starting out as one of the main writers on Batman: The Animated Series, the platonic ideal of Batman, Paul Dini has gone on to write Batman in nearly every medium: TV, movies, video games, and, of course, comics. And since we're a podcast that focuses on Batman comics, well, we're going to look at some Dini comics, and we have three very different ones here: an animated series universe story, one set in the main DCU, and a bit of autobiography.

Going Straight/Laughter After Midnight (Batman Adventures V.1 Annual # 1)

Trust (Detective Comics V.1 # 833-834)

Dark Night: A True Batman Story OGN

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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They're darkness and light. One is the champion of the city of tomorrow, one is the hero a corrupt and fallen city needs. They have been rivals, allies and sometimes friends. They are Batman and Superman. This week, a new volume of World's Finest, the classic Batman/Superman team-up book, launches so Matt and Will are joined by noted Superman expert and writer at Women Write About Comics and ComicsXF, Cori McCreery to discuss three versions of early Batman and Superman meetings.

The Mightiest Team in the World (Superman V.1 # 76)

One Night in Gotham City (Man of Steel V.1 # 3)

Stop Me If You've Heard This One... (Superman/Batman V.1 Annual # 1)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Did you know, if you back us on Patreon, you can come on the show? Yes indeed, if you are a Dick Grayson tier backer you can. And our first Grayson backer is here with us today! Josh Weil, podcaster at X is for Podcast, stops by to talk about a couple stories he picked, and one Matt added in to round out the episode, that all feature scenes or full stories of Bruce Wayne training to be Batman.

Blood Secrets (Detective Comics V.1 Annual #2)

Grounded Part 8 (Superman V.1 #710)

Shaman (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill