BatChat With Matt & Will: A Batman Ranking Podcast

We've talked about them before on multiple episodes, but few writers cast a longer shadow over the canon of Batman than Grant Morrison. Big ideas, dark stories and characters that are polarizing are central to Morrison's opus on Batman. This week, Matt & Will read three Batman stories by Morrison, one from before their long run on Batman, one from it's beginning, and one from it's middle, as Matt exposes Will to more Morrison, and while they don't fight, well, let's just say there are some compromises made on the ranking list this week.

Gothic: A Romance (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 6-10)

The Club of Heroes (Batman V.1 # 667-669)

Batman Reborn (Batman & Robin V.1 # 1-3)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Look, anyone with any knowledge of comics history knows that comics creators in mainstream American comics are, well, pretty darn white. And Batman is no exception; there are no truly long runs by creators of color on any of the flagship Batman titles. But there are some good stories by Black writers on Batman, and so, as this is February and Black History Month, Matt & Will wanted to look at some of those stories. And they brought along ComicsXF writer Lex Smith, so there was an opinion that wasn't just a pair of white guys.

Blink (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 156-158)

On the Outside (Detective Comics V.3 # 983-987)

I Am Batman Begins/Fear State (I Am Batman # 0-3)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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We've already had one episode dedicated entirely to the origin of Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Now it's time to move on to stories featuring the early days of three of the next Robins (no, we're not taking part in Stephanie Brown erasure; she'll just get a focus in a Batgirls episode, we promise). See the origin of Jason Todd (and not the knock off Dick Grayson one), Tim Drake take up the mantle of Robin, and Damian Wayne enter Batman's life.

The Post-Crisis Origin of Jason Todd (Batman V.1 # 408-411)

Identity Crisis [No, not THAT one] (Batman V.1 # 455-457)

Batman and Son (Batman V.1 # 655-658)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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We're less than a week from Valentine's Day, and what says love more than a guy in a Bat costume pursuing a woman in cat themed leather or a beautiful assassin? Or a disastrously dysfunctional relationship between two clowns? Talking about those things with thee ones we love, of course. That's why this week, Matt and Will are joined by Will's better half, Abigale Heartbalm to discuss three stories of romance in Gotham. Well, two stories of romance and one that is most assuredly not.

Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Only Takes a Night (Catwoman V.3 #32)

Batman: Son of the Demon OGN

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Wow, we've made it to 20 episodes! To celebrate, Matt and Will are looking at three stories from three volumes of one of their self-confessed favorite series, the legendary (see what I did there) anthology, Legends of the Dark Knight. Will they gush about the original volume? Will they complain about DC not giving the most recent volume a shot? You better believe it.

Mask (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 39-40)

Riddler in the Dark (Legends of the Dark Knight V.1 # 53-55)

Haunted (Legends of the Dark Knight V.2 # 7-8)

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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It only took us 19 episodes to swing back to ground we've already tread; it's not like there are 80 years of completely unrelated Batman stories to talk about. But this is our podcast, and we'll do what we like (unless you back us on Patreon, and then we'll do what you want). Anyway, this week, Matt & Will are reading three stories that are direct sequels to stories that they have read on earlier episodes.

Batman: Bloodstorm OGN

Batman: Master of the Future

Batman: Dark Victory #0-13

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

Continuity is a cruel mistress. DC's ever rebooting universe has meant most characters have at least two completely distinct histories. And amongst the Batfamily, no character's two histories are more different than the Huntress. Introduced as the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2, Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped out the alternate Earths and instead made her the daughter of mobsters who were killed by a rival family. And the New 52, well, we aren't gonna talk about that in this episode so you'll just have to wait for us to get there. Instead, here are three stories featuring Huntress just in time for her to step back into the Batfamily spotlight over in Detective Comics' "Shadows of the Bat" storyline

From Each Ending... A Beginning (DC Super-Stars # 17)

Days of Rage (Huntress V.1 # 17-19)

Cry for Blood (Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood # 1-6)

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

If there's one thing you need to know about Batman, it's that Batman works alone.

Except for Robin

And Alfred

And Jim Gordon

And the rest of the Bat family

And the Justice League

OK, it's pretty obvious that Batman is not the lone avenger of the night after all. And since, this week, Matt and Will are talking about stories where Batman is a part of the Justice League, they figured it was time to add in a guest for this titanic team-up. Enter Armaan Babu, writer over at the pod's internet home of ComicsXF. Enjoy three stories of Batman's adventures with the JLA

New World Order (JLA # 1-4)

Tower of Babel (JLA # 43-46)

Bouncing Baby Boy (JLA # 65)

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

It is a mad house. It is the home to terror, both supernatural and all too irrational. Arkham Asylum is one of the most recognizable locales in Gotham City, if not the entire DC Universe. This week, as "Shadows of the Bat," the tale of the new Arkham Tower, begins in Detective Comics, Matt & Will take a look at three stories set around Arkham Asylum and its inmates

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth OGN

Madmen Across the Water (Showcase '94 # 3-4)

Living Hell (Arkham Asylum: Living Hell # 1-6)

Editor Matt's Note: Last one with the janky sound! We will soon return you to your regularly scheduled listening

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

2021 is winding down, and as we look forward to 2022, we're dipping back into the well of alternate reality Batmans (the proper plural), to look at three new takes on the character for the new year: one is a 60s more swinging but far more real (and bleaker) than the one from the classic TV show, one in the American Civil War and one who made a very different choice the night of his parents' murder.

Happy New Year from Team BatChat! We look forward to much more Batman talk in the coming year.

Thrillkiller (Thrillkiller # 1-3/Thrillkiller '62 # 1)

The Blue, the Grey, and the Bat (Batman: The Blue, the Grey, and the Bat # 1)

A Grim Knight in Gotham (The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight # 1)

Editor Matt's Note: Still some mic issues on my end this week. One more episode after this and things will be back to normal, I swear.

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