THE OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 84 – THE BAT/CAT HOLIDAY SPECIAL

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Episode 84 – The Bat/Cat Holiday Special

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the podcast that shines a light on Batman stories hardly anyone talks about!

This time out your hosts, Andy and Mike, look at a pair of Batman stories that are set at and around Christmas! After a discussion about what this episode was originally going to cover, they get into Batman/Catwoman Special #1. Written by Tom King with art by the late John Paul Leon, this story details where Selina Kyle was on various Christmas days throughout her life. Then, after the Power Records Christmas Carol Caper (which, no fooling, contains Batman singing a jaunty tune as he and Robin walk down the street, they talk about Batman #247. This story, written by Denny O’Neil with art by Irv Novick and Dick Giordano, stretches across Christmas and New Year’s and is…a lot.

Below are the covers to the books discussed during this episode.

Andy and Mike want your feedback on this episode so they can read it on an upcoming show!  You even have options in how you leave your feedback.  The most direct way is to leave a comment right here on the site.  You can also send all questions, concerns, fears and trepidations to overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com.  Then there’ the Facebook page, where you can also leave a Batman related question for Andy and Mike to answer at the beginning of the show.  If you talk about this show on the social medias please include a #overlookeddk so the guys know where to find it.

Next Time: No clue. Andy and Mike will be back in the new year with more Batman talk!

IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN SERIES 2 – EPISODE 5 – THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY TAPES PART 2

Episode 5 – The Definitive History Tapes Part 2 – A Conversation with Bob Greenberger

This time out I finish up my two part series talking to the authors of Superman: The Definitive History by having a great chat with Bob Greenberger. Bob is no stranger to working on a book about Superman as he was one of the co-authors of The Essential Superman Encyclopedia and I talk to him about that, The Definitive History, his time working on Comics Scene for Starlog, how he came to work for DC Comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Who’s Who, and so much more. We also touch on the history of comic book fandom and Bob tells us what it was like collecting comics in the sixties and seventies.

Again, here are some images from Superman: The Definitive History.

Once again, I’d like to thank Bob for sitting down with me to record this. It was a lot of fun.

To order Superman: The Definitive History by Ed Gross and Bob Greenberger click on this link.

To order The Essential Superman Encyclopedia by Bob Greenberger and Martin Pasko click on this link.

To check out the other books Bob has written or been a part of click on this link.

To check out Crazy 8 Press click on this link.

Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman Series 2 can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify and AudibleThe Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network is on Patreon. It’s mostly a tip jar as I have no time at the moment to produce exlcusive content, but if you like the content I do produce please consider contributing a dollar a month.

The closing theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next Time: A mostly off the cuff episode about my feelings on the recently released Superman trailer and my thoughts, thus far, on the movie in general.

IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN SERIES 2 – EPISODE 4 – THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY TAPES PART 1

Episode 4 – The Definitive History Tapes Part 1: Ed Gross Returns

It All Comes Back to Superman Series Two is back with another interview! Actually it’s the first of two interviews talking to the authors of Insight Editions book Superman: The Definitive History. This time out I once again sit down with Ed Gross, who is no stranger to books about Superman or books about pop culture in general. Ed and I have a great conversation that starts with us talking about the finale of Superman and Lois before getting into how this book (which you will need a spotter to read) came about. We chat about the differences in writing this book compared to Ed’s last Superman book Voices From Krypton, how to balance the comic book side of Superman’s history with all of the other places he has shown up over the decades, where we are in terms of Superman’s place in pop culture, and so much more.

Below are sample images from the book…which is so pretty as well as being well written.

To order Superman: The Definitive History by Ed Gross and Bob Greenberger click on this link.

To order Voices From Krypton (which I am quoted in towards the end) click on this link.

To see all of Ed’s books on pop culture click on this link.

Many thanks to Ed for sitting down and speaking with me.

Next Time: The Definitive History Tapes continue with my talk with Bob Greenberger.

REVIEW – ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1

Absolute Superman #1
Last Dust of Krypton Part 1: Down in the Dirt

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Rafa Sandoval

(Spoiler Warning…this review discusses events from this issue. If you haven’t read the issue yet and don’t want to know anything about it, you might want to come back after you have read the issue.)

Full disclosure…I wasn’t looking forward to this book.

And that’s all on me and not on the current administration at DC Comics. I have enjoyed the Superman titles quite a bit over the last few years. As selfish as it sounds, they were finally getting back to the Superman I wanted to read about. So, when the whole All-In initiative/Absolute line was announced, and the first images came over the interwebs with the tag line “Without the fortress…without the family…without a home…what’s left is the Absolute Man of Steel!” I wasn’t filled with excitement.

“Oh man,” I thought. “This doesn’t bode well. Just as things were turning around in the comics and we were getting great versions of Superman on television and hopefully in the new movie it looks like once again DC is going to trot out the sad bastard version of the character.”

To be fair, I had good reason to think this. The Zack Snyder version of the character and living through The New 52 has left me gun shy about these things. In an effort to make the character more relatable both Snyder and DC Comics gave us versions of the character that either stripped away everything that made the character who he was or made him sullen and downbeat. It wasn’t a Superman that I recognized despite the fact that he was wearing outfits that were familiar. The Rebirth initiative did a lot to bring me back around, and as I wrote a few paragraphs ago I’ve gotten plenty of great Superman content over the past few years, but I still don’t completely trust DC.

And then I saw Mark Waid, a man that knows his Superman, saying good things about Absolute Superman.

And then I saw people whose opinions I trust saying good things about it.

And then I read the issue.

And I really liked it.

For one thing, it was a full first issue. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything to happen on Krypton because the marketing for the book made me think that once again DC was going to strip away everything from the character and it made a weird kind of sense in my head that if they’re going for the whole, “no Fortress, no family, no home” angle that “no Krypton” would follow.

Instead, we’re given an amazing version of Superman’s home world. Instead of being the cold, desolate version that Byrne gave us or the gleaming sci-fi version from the Silver and Bronze Age or the crystalline version from the Christopher Reeve films that some creators can’t seem to let go of we get a new version that has echoes of the past (especially in the form of the guilds) but in a new, fresh way. Conflict because of an uneven class structure is not a new idea, but applying it here and, on top of that, making both Jor-El and Lara part of the lower class, changes the legend without breaking it.

Aaron does a fantastic job of making me like Jor-El and Lara as people. Instead of being scientists they’re laborers, which makes them feel closer to Jonathan and Martha Kent. This shouldn’t work and yet it does. They’re also good people. Lara is shown helping a farmer fix his equipment and Jor-El is shown pushing back against his bosses. We learn through the narration that they were both destined to be in a higher caste but their stubborn streaks and willingness to voice truth to power cost them.

What better parents for a character that started out as the champion of the weak and the oppressed?

Then we cut to the present and we find a Superman that, despite not being at full power, stands up against a corporation that doesn’t care about putting their workers in harm’s way in the name of profit. It is a timeless idea that also feels very real in the here and now. And it’s at this point that it hits me why I am enjoying this new take on Superman so much.

It’s because it’s an actual new take.

It’s not taking the trappings we’re used to and changing them to suit the storytelling needs of the people working on Superman. It’s changing everything about the character while retaining the spirit of the original version.

In 1938 there was no Fortress. No Ma and Pa Kent serving as the ultimate inspiration for Clark to become Superman. No giant cast of supporting characters and villains. There was a Lois Lane, but she wasn’t the Lois we would eventually get to know. It was just a guy in a funky costume using his powers to help people and Jason Aaron has gone all the way back to the beginning and rebuilt the character from the ground up while using the original foundation.

It’s not “my” Superman. But it isn’t trying to be anything close to “my” Superman.

And that’s what I loved about it.

I can enjoy this new version with absolutely no baggage and, hey what do you know, there’s also a version I am liking flying around the pages of Action Comics and Superman. Unlike Man of Steel (the film) and The New 52 (which was nearly 15 years ago but apparently still stings) it’s not the only option. It’s an option.

And, so far, it’s a good one.

This was a great first issue full of action and character. The art by Rafa Sandoval was lush and amazing. I wasn’t sure I would like this new take on Superman and his world, but Sandoval’s art certainly added to getting me onboard.  There are questions left to be answered, and I look forward to seeing the final days of this Krypton and meeting this new Lois Lane as well as finding out who the character behind the computer monitors is.

I’m glad I was proven wrong. And I’m glad I got over myself and read this.

I can’t wait for the next issue.

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX EPISODE 278 – KYLE RAYNER AT THIRTY WITH RON MARZ

Episode 278 – Kyle Rayner at Thirty (With Ron Marz)

Welcome back to Views From The Longbox…now on a brand new feed, so be sure to update your subscriptions…if you were subscribing…which would be nice…but no pressure.

Anyway, this time out I am very proud to present an interview with writer Ron Marz to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Kyle Rayner version of Green Lantern. Ron tells us how he got the writing gig, how much of a time crunch he was under for the first few issues, when he found out about Hal being the big bad of Zero Hour, how he viewed the relationship between Kyle and Hal, as well as the dynamic Kyle had with the Wally West Flash and what it was like working on the DC vs. Marvel event.

Ron and I also discuss how the death of Alex in the early part of his series has become the poster child for women getting killed to further the story of the male protagonist. I have to admit I didn’t know how Ron was going to react to the question, but his answer was very thoughtful and one of the highlights of the interview for me.

We also touch on the Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special that is coming out the same day that this episode is dropping!

I wanted to once again thank Ron for being so generous with his time and being a really fun interview.

ALSO…CHECK OUT THE IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN SERIES 2 FEED FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH DAN JURGENS WHERE HE TALKS ALL ABOUT THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF ZERO HOUR!

Views is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  You can also like the official Views From The Longbox Page over on Facebook.  You can email the show by clicking this link with all questions, concerns, fears, and trepidations.  Also, if you could leave a review over on Apple Podcasts, that would be keen.

Next Time: No clue. But it will be about comic books. Maybe.

IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN SERIES 2 EPISODE 3 – ZERO HOUR WITH DAN JURGENS

Episode 3 – Zero Hour with Dan Jurgens

Welcome to the third episode of It All Comes Back to Superman Series 2, the very irregular reaffirmation of my Kryptonian faith. This time out I’m hopping into the Time Bubble and heading back to 1994 to look at the DC Comics event Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. And I am not alone. Joining me to talk about the series is none other than the writer/penciller on that series Dan Jurgens!

Dan was nice enough to spend about an hour with me to talk about how Zero Hour came about, what it was like writing and drawing five issues that were coming out weekly while also juggling all of the characters and books that were connected to the event. Dan also tells me why some of the promotional artwork and the artwork created for the distributors that existed at the time isn’t reprinted in the collected editions that have been published in the last few years, why the Justice Society was taken off the table during the story, his favorite parts of the story, and how much he got paid to draw the cover to the zero issue.

After that we discuss the Zero Month issues of the Superman books and where Kenny Braverman came from. Finally, Dan talks a bit about the Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special that is coming out on the day this episode is dropping!

I wanted to thank Dan for spending some time with me and being so forthcoming and open with his answers.

ALSO…BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE PODCASTING 2.0 FEED FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH RON MARZ ABOUT THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KYLE RAYNER GREEN LANTERN!

Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman Series 2 can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify and AudibleThe Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network is on Patreon. It’s mostly a tip jar as I have no time at the moment to produce exlcusive content, but if you like the content I do produce please consider contributing a dollar a month.

The closing theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next Time: If everything works out I’ll have the audio from a panel I am moderating at DragonCon this weekend. It should be fun.

THE OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 83 – STEAMPUNK NOIR

Episode 83 – Steampunk Noir

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the podcast that shines a light on Batman stories hardly anyone talks about!

This time out Andy and Mike take a look at a pair of Batman Elseworlds stories! Elseworlds is back as an imprint and the guys thought it would be fun to look at two of those stories that have flown under the radar. First up is the 2001 Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips special called Batman: Gotham Noir.

Andy and Mike will now allow you, dear reader/listener, a moment to get over the shock that Andy chose an Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips comic book to talk about. It is a surprise and the guys realize you might need some time to process this information.

Are we good?

Batman: Gotham Noir is a period piece with Jim Gordon taking center stage as a hard boiled private investigator hired to protect someone and then having to figure out why his charge was murdered. This is a fairly non-spoilery discussion as Andy wants people to read this one shot, but there’s still a lot to be said about the book.

Then they look at Mike’s pick, which was Batman: Master of the Future. This special was the direct sequel to Batman: Gotham By Gaslight and has that version of Batman fighting against the Master of the Future and this one has it all. Bare knuckled fighting! Swashbuckling action! Political intrigue! Romance! Dirigibles! It was steampunk before steampunk became a thing in popular culture!

Plus…Andy talks about the then recent purchase of the novelization to Batman The Movie from 1966 leading to a short conversation on Batman in prose form.

Below are the covers and select pages from the books discussed during this episode.

Andy and Mike want your feedback on this episode so they can read it on an upcoming show!  You even have options in how you leave your feedback.  The most direct way is to leave a comment right here on the site.  You can also send all questions, concerns, fears and trepidations to overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com.  Then there’ the Facebook page, where you can also leave a Batman related question for Andy and Mike to answer at the beginning of the show.  If you talk about this show on the social medias please include a #overlookeddk so the guys know where to find it.

The opening and closing theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay.

Next Time: Andy and Mike begin a two-part series looking at Batman in prose form!

FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPISODE 270 – THE HONEYMOON

Episode 270 – The Honeymoon

Welcome to the two hundredth and seventieth episode of From Crisis to Crisis – The Married Years: A Superman and Lois Podcast!  This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

The nuptials are out of the way, so it’s time for Mike and Jeff to talk about Lois and Clark’s honeymoon! Things start out normal enough…at least normal for Lois and Clark…with the reception followed by a trip to Hawaii in Adventures of Superman #541. Then a supposed monster starts tearing up the place and Superboy shows up and Lois lies but doesn’t lie about being a member of the Special Crimes Unit. Things really go pear shaped when Clark is shot at the end of the issue and kidnapped, leaving an angry Lois behind to save the day. Then, in Action Comics #728, Clark finds that his kidnapper is none other than Mister Naga, brother to the man Lois caused to be locked up in the wedding album. It seems that Lois has something that Naga wants back. Clark thinks back to a time when he was in a similar situation as Superman, which allows the creative teams to actually have a costumed Superman with powers show up during this storyline. Finally, in Superman: The Man of Steel #63 it’s Lois to the rescue as the honeymoon comes to an action packed and explosive end!

Below are the covers and select pages from the books discussed during this episode.

Podcast promos played during this episode include:

The From Crisis to Crisis theme is by Lucian Desar.

You can subscribe or listen to the show in a variety of ways. You can subscribe through Apple Podcasts as well as listening through AudibleiHeart Radio, and Spotify!  Are you on Facebook? Be sure to “like” the official FCTC page, which you can find by clicking on this link.  You can email the show by clicking this link. All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome.  Also be sure to give us a review over on iTunes and feel free to comment on the show here at the site!

Next Time: Mike and Jeff look at the supplemental books that came out during cover date December 1996.

FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPISODE 269 – THE WEDDING

Episode 269 – The Wedding

Welcome to the two hundredth and sixty-ninth episode of  From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast

Actually…that’s not true anymore.

Welcome to the two hundredth and sixty-ninth episode of From Crisis to Crisis – The Married Years: A Superman and Lois Podcast!

That’s right. Now that Mike and Jeff have reached the actual, factual wedding (and now that the official feed for the show is changing) they felt that a change in title was in order. The show hasn’t really changed. In fact, the numbering is the same, but something had to be done to mark that this momentous occasion has happened. This podcast still has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

This is it, folks!

Finally…Lois and Clark get hitched!

Well, not right away. First Mike and Jeff have to talk about Superman #118, which is the issue right before the wedding. Lois Lane is in on the trail of a drug dealer and meets someone that takes her on a quest that leads her to realize that maybe she still has feelings for Clark. Meanwhile, Superman still doesn’t have any powers and does some tests to see why that is. During the test Superman gets a pep talk from Wonder Woman. Then, in Superman: The Wedding Album #1, the very first Triangle Era Special, Lois and Clark reunite and after a tense conversation the engagement is back on and it’s all about planning the ceremony. It’s an all-star effort on the creative side and the boys cover the bachelor party, the bridal dinner, Lois picking out her dress, the search for a new apartment, the rehearsal dinner, Sam Lane acting like a jerk, and then…FINALLY…the wedding ceremony itself.

Continue reading “FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPISODE 269 – THE WEDDING”

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX EPISODE 277 – DC COSMIC TEAM CARDS or THE 300TH VIEWS

 

Episode 277 – DC Cosmic Teams Cards or The 300th Views

Back on June 13, 2007 the first episode of Views From The Longbox was loosed upon an unsuspecting world.

Now, 17 years later, I’m releasing episode 277, which, if you add up all of the specials and point whatever episodes and the side shows, is the 300th episode of Views.

And I wanted to go big.

So, last year Shag, one of my best friends and long time semi-regular co-host, and I sat down to record a follow up to our episode on the DC Cosmic Cards trading card series by looking at the DC Cosmic Teams Cards. And we had a ball doing it. Not only did we give each other good natured hard times throughout the episode, but we also got to dive into what is essentially a time capsule for DC Comics circa 1992/1993. We talk about L.E.G.I.O.N., the Justice Leagues that existed at the time, Superman’s foes, the New Titans, the Team Titans, the Justice Society of America and so much more. We even cover the holograms. It was a lot of fun.

Below are a list of the various shows that Shag hosts or co-hosts over at The Fire and Water Podcast Network.

Once Upon a Geek
Justice Society Presents
Who’s Who Review
Aquaman and Firestorm: The Fire and Water Podcast
Justice League International: Bwah-Ha-Ha Podcast

Views is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  You can also like the official Views From The Longbox Page over on Facebook.  You can email the show by clicking this link with all questions, concerns, fears, and trepidations.  Also, if you could leave a review over on Apple Podcasts, that would be keen.

Next Time: No clue. But it will be about comic books. Maybe.