The Black Casebook

It's time to ring the bell again. The Black Casebook returns with a suitably epic analysis of perhaps the single most influential story in Batman's history. The Dark Knight Returns is many things: a snapshot of '80s New York; a meditation on a society in crisis; a revolutionary moment in the history of American comics; and an endlessly compelling pulp romance. Frank Miller and his collaborators called down the lightning to make this book; four decades later, we're still interpreting the thunder.

Please consider helping out friend of the show Chris as his family recovers from the earthquakes in Venezuela, or supporting Palestinians through the Sameer Project, Doctors Without Borders, or the organization of your choice.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find bonus episodes on Mike Mignola's Hellboy and Jack Kirby's New Gods.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro music: "You Go" by Collective Action Comics.

"But, at night to Mohammed, he confessed his doubts: It will not be as we dream, when those of us who survive finally get there. Corrupt politicians have already ensconced themselves. They are waiting for us—waiting for us not as brothers but as our masters. They will use us." 

– As told to John Berger, "Two Recumbent Male Figures Wrestling on a Sidewalk"

"For a moment, he actually feels he can’t go on, can’t function anymore, living two lives with enough stress for ten but less than enough sleep for one."

– Doug Moench, BATMAN #484

The United States is a broken empire. It just doesn't know it yet. 

The 1990s marked the full bloom of the international counterrevolution, whose mission to destroy the gains of the 20th century had just seen its first major victory in the destruction of the USSR. With no systemic power to oppose it, capitalism molted the old skin of social democracy, unveiling its truest form to hollow fanfare and a dead-eyed audience.

Bereft of an external enemy worth organizing against, unsatisfied with the empty calories of the video game war, confronted with the grim realities of vaunted liberal democratic values, Americans tried to make sense of life at the end of history. Whose triumph was this? 

Even superhero fans found themselves yearning for—but never quite finding—meaning in heroes whose integral, inflated violence now seemed both superfluous and insufficient to the moment. Despite having "won" the Cold War, maybe what American audiences needed to see was one more domino fall.

***

⁠⁠⁠⁠The Black Casebook:

Email

Twitter

Bluesky

Instagram

Patreon

---------

Collective Action Comics:

Email

Instagram

Twitter

Bluesky

Patreon

---------

Our episode art was by the great Kly, whom you can (and should) support on Patreon.

With three years of The Black Casebook in the books, it only seemed right that we celebrate by turning the floor over to you, my beloved listeners, for our annual mailbag episode. This one has it all: giant robots, a salute to Morrowind, how to rescue Tim Drake, Berserk Korner, and all the esoteric bullshit you can handle. And much more!

Please consider supporting Palestinians through a gift to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Palestinian Children's Relief Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠ANERA⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠Doctors Without Borders⁠⁠⁠⁠, or the charity of your choice.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Here's a teaser for something Nat from Collective Action Comics and I have been cooking up together. This summer, we'll be releasing a bonus episode for our patrons about Knightfall, the most notorious defeat of the Caped Crusader's career. I'll be writing and performing the script, while Nat produces and adds music and ambience.

It's gonna be good. See you in a month or two.

Where were you when the lights went out? Like a specter from the past, The Black Casebook returns to discuss Strange Apparitions, the seminal Bronze Age story that set the stage for the modern Batman to come. Released amid the 1977 New York blackout and the crumbling postwar consensus, Strange Apparitions is a story about what happens when the lights go out—and an entire city, cast into darkness, is forced to dream of what comes next.

Please consider supporting Palestinians through a gift to the ⁠⁠⁠Palestinian Children's Relief Fund⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠ANERA⁠⁠⁠, Doctors Without Borders⁠⁠⁠, or the charity of your choice.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠⁠⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro music by ZHRØ.

Let's hear it for the boys. The Black Casebook returns with a deep dive into The Black Mirror, an Oedipal tale of fathers and sons that pits Dick Grayson, now in the role of Batman, against James Gordon Jr., reimagined here as a twisted psychopath. While Dick tangles with new threats popping up across Gotham, James sets an insidious plan into motion that could permanently infect the city with his brand of sadism.

Please consider supporting Palestinians through a gift to the ⁠⁠Palestinian Children's Relief Fund⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ANERA⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Doctors Without Borders⁠⁠, or the charity of your choice.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro music by MichiJung.

Size matters. In humble appreciation for Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta's shockingly good debut installment of Absolute Batman, we're reopening The Black Casebook for a bonus deep dive into what makes this issue work so well. True, it's a comic that dares to ask, "What if big? What if big boy?" But it's also DC's boldest attempt to resurrect that old Frank Miller magic in a decade.

Please consider supporting Palestinians through a gift to the ⁠⁠Palestinian Children's Relief Fund⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ANERA⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Doctors Without Borders⁠⁠, or the charity of your choice.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, (allegedly) on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The city never sleeps. The Black Casebook returns with a MEGA-sized exploration of Dark Knight, Dark City, Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer's underrated classic about the secret history of Bruce Wayne's hometown. Lost in the shuffle of Batman's golden age, Dark Knight, Dark City revolutionized the relationship between Batman and Gotham in the course of a thrilling three-part showdown with the Riddler.

⁠⁠⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us ⁠on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro ambient noise by NickR2020.

As of today, Year Two of The Black Casebook is officially in the books. Thank you to everybody for your support and your questions! I hope you enjoy this long, occasionally coherent victory lap of a Q&A, and I hope you're as excited as I am for what the next year has in store for the show.

⁠We have a Patreon⁠⁠⁠!

You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠ and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have.

⁠⁠⁠Music by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠.

The trial of the century. The Black Casebook returns with a deep dive into one of the most controversial eras in Batman’s recent history: the Tom King run. The former CIA officer envisioned a Gotham without hope, protected by a man without joy; and by “Cold Days,” that man is well and truly broken. "Cold Days" sums up three years of Tom King into three issues, a confession of all the reasons why his Batman run was doomed from the start.

Please consider supporting Palestinians through a gift to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, ANERA, Doctors Without Borders, or the charity of your choice.

⁠You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. You can also support us on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro ambient noise by Sami Hiltunen.