BatChat With Matt & Will: A Batman Ranking Podcast

We're getting near 200 episodes of this show, and many of those episodes have been experiences where we discover fun, fascinating comics. And then there is this week. Patreon backer and friend (?) of the show John Wickham made his pick for his return, and he decided to pick three stories related to the Joker and Joker related characters that could make it to the bottom of the Big Board. He he succeeded. The New 52 Harley, Joker's Daughter and her nonsense underground kingdom and Three Jokers all appear, all are terrible, and one takes it's spot in the opposite of rarified air at the very bottom of the Big Board. Try to guess which one. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Harley Lives! (Detective Comics V.2 #23.2)

Down Under (Catwoman V.4 #22-24 & 26, Batman: The Dark Knight v.2 #23.4)

Batman: The Three Jokers #1-3

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

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

We're back to our three runs we're following in order. In No Man's Land, we meet a new character who will be an important part of the Bat Family moving forward. In the Morrison run, we get some side stories in the run up to The Return of Bruce Wayne. And in Injustice, Renee Montoya hits Superman with the Washington Monument.

Mark of Cain (Batman V.1 #567, Detective Comics V.1 #734)

Time and Batman (Batman V.1 #700-703)

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Four V.1 (Injustice: Gods Among Us- Year Four #1-7)

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

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight was a title like no other at the time, with its rotating creative teams of big name creators. As the series progressed, some of the creative teams featured less well known creators, but the series always tried to do something different, even if some themes came up over and over. Patreon backer and friend of the show Josh Weil stumbled across a trade featuring three LotDK stories of Batman fighting monsters called, well, Batman: Monsters, and those are the stories we cover this episode.

Werewolf (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 71-73)

Infected (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 83-84)

Clay (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 89-90)

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

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Y'know, sometimes you get an episode request, and you wind up with stories better than you could have expected. Patreon backer and friend of the show Matt McThorn specifically wanted to talk about the Batman annual with the origin of Clownhunter and art by James Stokoe. So we decided, what better theme than more annuals. And not to spoil too much, but we wound up with not one, but two new stories in the top 100 of the Big Board. And one very weird story quite a bit lower, but that's still a great showing for the night.

There is Hope in Crime Alley (Batman V.3 Annual # 5)

Everyday. (Batman V.3 Annual # 4)

Slade's Demon (Batman V.1 Annual # 12)

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

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

Patreon backer Sam Hopper wanted to give us a nice, fun week, and we appreciate that. He requested three stories that inspired episodes of Batman '66. There are surprisingly few episodes of that show that were adaptations, but definitely enough or an episode. But these are really short stories, so we wanted to add a little something. So on top of ranking the comics on the Big Board, we are talking about the episodes, and adding them to the Little Board. And we made a special public post over on patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill, so you can check out all the media we have ranked there before we start getting even weirder with what we'll be adding to it this summer.

The Riddler (Detective Comics V.1 # 140)

Joker's Utility Belt (Batman V.1 # 73)

The Mad Hatter of Gotham City (Detective Comics V.1 # 230)

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

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

We're back with two of our favorite ladies this week: Patreon backer (and Will's wife) Abigale Heartbalm and Stephanie Brown. Abigale wanted to read three stories featuring Stephanie, and we wanted to go with something similar as the first time we did a Stephanie episode where we touch on different eras of the character, but we kinda wanted to avoid all those depressing stories where she's Robin. So this time, for her second appearance, it's all second stories: her second appearance, her second arc as Batgirl and the second arc of James Tynion IV's run on Detective Comics.

Clueless (Robin V.2 # 3-5)

Batgirl Rising: Core Requirements (Batgirl V.3 # 4-7)

The Victim Syndicate (Detective Comics V.3 # 943-947)

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

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

People love Batman. People love Apes. So when you combine them, you're bound yo get some fun comics, right? Well, sometimes. Patreon backer Dan Grote asked us to read some Batman and apes stories, and we read a delightful Golden/Silver Age story, a 90s story that had it's fun moments and a story that is proof that the New 52 could suck the joy out of pretty much anything. And we discuss how few Batman/Detective Chimp stories there are, which is a travesty.

The Bat-Ape (Batman V.1 #114)

JLApe (Legends of the DC Universe #19, JLA Annual #3, Batman V.1 Annual #23, Aquaman V.5 Annual #5, Wonder Woman V.2 Annual #8, Flash V.2 Annual #12, Superman V.2 Annual #11, Green Lantern V.3 Annual #8, Martian Manhunter V.2 Annual #2)

Time to Monkey Shine (Batman V.2 #23.1)

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

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 whole episode came about when Matt was looking for something else entirely, and he stumbled across an issue of Batman: Gotham Adventures, the animated series tie-in, written by Ed Brubaker. As he didn't remember that at all, he decided he had to read it, and since he has minimal time to read for pleasure, the best solution was to work it into an episode. Thus we have three stories about people telling stories about Batman and Bruce Wayne. Is it a stretch for a theme? Yes. Are the comics all very good? Also yes.

The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne (The Brave and the Bold V.1 # 197)

World Without Batman (Batman: Gotham Adventures # 33)

Daydreams & Believers (Gotham Central # 11)

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

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

We're back to the bookshelf Will keeps of random Batman trades he has picked up over the years (a shelf that for Matt is something he just calls his house). We start off as ever with a volume of Batman '66, follow that up with Batman meets The Da Vinci Code meets Last Crusade and wrap up with a mini-series that led into Final Crisis that is actually nowhere near as bad as much of those were.

Batman '66 V.3 (Batman '66 # 11-16)

Batman: The Chalice OGN

Gotham Underground # 1-9

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

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

There are very few characters in comics that I, Matt, truly dislike. One of them is, sadly, a character with significant ties to the Bat family: Deathstroke the Terminator. A villain turned anti-hero who I don't feel like ever should have been, I decided it was time to bit the bullet and cover three stories featuring Deathstroke. We have his first meeting with Batman, a Chuck Dixon story of dueling assassins and a story where Batman and Deathstroke both feature, but don't actually meet.

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of sexual assault and exploitation

City of Assassins (Deathstroke the Terminator #6-9)

The Death Lottery (Detective Comics V.1 #708-710)

Identity Crisis #1-7

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

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