Month: March 2020

OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 38 – LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: GRIMM

Episode 38 – Legends of the Dark Knight: Grimm

Welcome to the thirty-eighth episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight. The is a non-index index show where the hosts, Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey, look at Batman comics that rarely, if ever, get talked about.  In one episode they will talk about Bat books from the late seventies and early eighties.  In another episode they will talk about the animated Adventures titles that DC published in the nineties.  Sometimes they talk about whatever strikes their fancy.

Andy and Mike are celebrating Batman’s 80th Birthday for the next year.  It’s going to be fun.  They are doing this by covering stories outside of their normal mandate.

Not that they have a mandate.  But they do.  It’s complicated.

This time out Andy and Mike are looking at another story arc from the sometimes awesome, sometimes problematic Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight series.  Grimm (a five part arc that stretched over Legends of the Dark Knight issues 149-153) was written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Trevor Von Eden and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Praise Be His Name) and is wonderfully wacky story that takes place in the first year of Dick Grayson’s career as Robin.  The guys look at all five issues and discuss the villains, DeMatteis’ writing style, the art, and much, much more.  They may have talked longer, but Andy had to drive his wife to work.

Because he’s a good husband.

Below are the covers and select pages from the comics discussed in 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.

If you want to subscribe to the show here’s the RSS Feed and the Apple Podcast link.  If you use iTunes please leave us a review.  Not only will we read that on the air like the other feedback but it really helps the show out.  The show is also available on the Google Play Store and Spotify.

Next Time: A special episode where Andy and Mike choose the stories they would have put in a Best of Batman in Detective Comics collection.

OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 37: BLADES

Episode 37: Blades

Welcome to the thirty-seventh episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight. The is a non-index index show where the hosts, Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey, look at Batman comics that rarely, if ever, get talked about.  In one episode they will talk about Bat books from the late seventies and early eighties.  In another episode they will talk about the animated Adventures titles that DC published in the nineties.  Sometimes they talk about whatever strikes their fancy.

Andy and Mike are celebrating Batman’s 80th Birthday for the next year.  It’s going to be fun.  They are doing this by covering stories outside of their normal mandate.

Not that they have a mandate.  But they do.  It’s complicated.

This time out Andy and Mike talk about the three part story line Blades, which originally appeared in issues 32-34 of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight.  They start the episode with a lengthy, but fun conversation about the history and the significance of Legends of the Dark Knight as a series.  What was good, what was bad, and why the series was special.  Then they get into the James Robinson/Tim Sale story Blades, which is a tragically romantic (or is it romantically tragic) new take on the Cavalier as a character.  It features moody art, moody writing, and was a story that Andy and Mike had very few bad things to say about.

There’s also a short tangent about Highlander, where Mike makes the same mistake three times.

Below are the covers and select pages from the stories discussed in 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.

If you want to subscribe to the show here’s the RSS Feed and the Apple Podcast link.  If you use iTunes please leave us a review.  Not only will we read that on the air like the other feedback but it really helps the show out.  The show is also available on the Google Play Store and Spotify.

Next Time: Another Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight story arc.  Andy and Mike take a look at the five part story Grimm.

FCTC EPISODE 231: TRIAL OF SUPERMAN PART 3

Episode 231: Trial of Superman Part 3

Welcome to the two hundredth and thirty-first episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman 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.

Mike and Jeff get back to The Trial of Superman with chapters that feature intrigue, betrayal, and space pirates.

Seriously.  Space pirates.

The action (pun intended) begins in Action Comics #716 as Superman and his fellow escapees find refuge on Haven, but things go bad in a hurry when one of the crew turns on the other.  Lots of fighting follows, but eventually they escape and faced with…a space angel?  All is revealed in Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #51, where the angel turns out to be part of a space pirate ship.  Turns out the captain, Freelance, is trying to collect the bounty on Superman and swashbuckling and sword fighting follow.  Also included, at no extra charge, is a discussion about the weight of comics relative to the era the book was published, Mike selling his books, and a reoccurring injury Mike gets on his side, which hurts quite a bit.  Jeff also throws Mike a curveball and instead of the usual Final Thought, Jeff asked Mike about his then recent adventures at DragonCon.

Below is a gallery containing the covers and select pages from the comics discussed during this episode.

You can subscribe or listen to the show in a variety of ways. First there is the RSS Feed and then there is the Apple Podcasts link.  You can also find the show on Spotify and the Google Play Store.  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: The boys continue their look at The Trial of Superman with Superman #107, Adventures of Superman #530, and Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #3.

FCTC EPISODE 230: LOIS AND CLARK SEASON 3 PART 1

Episode 230: Lois and Clark Season 3 Part 1

Welcome to the two hundredth and thirtieth episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman 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.

This time out Mike and Jeff begin their look at the third season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  For those coming in late, Clark got down on bended knee during the final moments of the season two finale and the episode ended on a freeze frame.  Things pick up from there (sort of) in the opening moments of We Have A Lot to Talk About.  It turns out that Lois has figured out that Clark is Superman and suddenly their relationship status has changed to “complicated”.  Meanwhile Bill Church, head of Intergang, is back with a brand-new outlook on life and a security force that is protecting Metropolis.  He also has a new love, Mindy, who doesn’t like what Bill is doing and teams with his son to take the old man out.  Then, in Ordinary People, Lois finds herself in the crosshairs of Larry Flint/Hugh Hefner wannabe Spencer Spencer, who has taken exception to an article Lois wrote.  Spencer also has a degenerative disease that he is trying to “cure” by transplanting his head on the body of Superman.  These two storylines converge as Lois and Clark take a vacation, arranged by Spencer, and spend some time discussing their relationship.

Content warning; Mike has serious problems with aspects of both Ordinary People and the direction season three takes.

Next Time: The boys continue their look at The Trial of Superman with Action Comics #716 and Superman: The Man of Steel #51.

BAILEY’S BATMAN PODCAST EPISODE 28: BATMAN YEAR ONE PART 2

Episode 28: Batman Year One Part 2

The epic conversation about Batman: Year One concludes in fine style.  Or at least I think it does.  I’m a bit biased because it’s my show and I was part of said conversation.

Anyway, Donovan Morgan Grant, Michael Kaiser, and I talk about the final two chapters of Year One (which took place in Batman issues 406 and 407), which features some awesome scenes and a decent ending.  We also go on quite a few Batman related tangents, including a conversation about which actor was the best animated Batman, we talk about whether or not Gordon should have gotten remarried, there’s some Barbara Gordon talk, and Donovan also reads a letter that was printed in the comics in reaction to the first part of Year One that is pretty salty.  This leads into a larger conversation about how fans react to change, which took up a fair amount of real estate, but it made for some good audio.

Below is a gallery of images and covers from the comics we talked about during this episode.

And here are some other images, including sketches and covers of the collected editions of Batman: Year One.

A huge thank you to Donovan and Michael for doing this.  Donovan can be found on the Questions: We Don’t Have Answers podcast and Michael can be found on the Make Ours Marvel podcast.

Next Time: Probably a DragonCon panel.  I have a few saved up.

FCTC EPISODE 229: NOVEMBER 1995 SUPPLEMENTAL

Episode 229: November 1995 Supplemental

Welcome to the two hundredth and twenty-ninth episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman 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.

Well, Mike and Jeff hope you get comfy before listening to this episode because it’s a long one and has an extended discussion at the beginning before they get into the comics.  Mike thought about trimming all of that out, but decided to leave it in because the show tends to go away for extended periods of time and when that happens Mike and Jeff tend to talk more at the beginning.

It’s a thing.

Anyway, after an extended intro that includes thoughts on the DC Universe App and Mike complaining about the tone of the Titans series, the boys get into the penultimate Supplemental episode, which means they’re talking about the other Superman related/company wide crossover books that came out with a November 1995 cover date.  First up is three part Future Tense storyline that ran through Superboy #21, Legion of Super-Heroes #74, and Legionnaires #31. Mike thought it would be a good idea to do all of that as one segment and even did one synopsis to cover all three issues.

After a break the boys get into Underworld Unleashed territory and cover Steel #21 and Underworld Unleashed #1.  They also look at a Gangbuster story in Showcase ’95 #10 and an Agent Liberty story in Showcase ’95 #11.  Mike is particularly salty about how the Supergirl television series dealt with Agent Liberty during Season Four, so you may want to bring a bottle of water or something.

Below is a gallery of the covers from the comics discussed during this episode.

You can subscribe or listen to the show in a variety of ways. First there is the RSS Feed and then there is the Apple Podcasts link.  You can also find the show on Spotify and the Google Play Store.  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: It’s time for another Lois and Clark episode as Mike and Jeff begin their sporadic look at Season 3.  This episode is about the first two episodes from that season, We Have A Lot To Talk About and Ordinary People.