OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 76 – JLMAY 2023: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1

Episode 76 – JLMay 2023: Brave and the Bold #1

Welcome to the seventy-sixth 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.

This time out Andy and Mike are participating in the yearly podcasting crossover JLMay! Not only are they participating in it they are ones getting the party started. The subject this year is the 2007 Brave and the Bold series, which, shockingly, wasn’t a Batman team-up book. If this book had come out a year or so later it probably would have been. This iteration of Brave and the Bold served as more of a DC Universe book by mixing and matching heroes and villains to tell a larger story. At least that’s what the book did for the first twelve issues.

In this first issue Batman and Green Lantern team-up after each of them discovered a dead body which, shockinly, was the same man. The guys talk about Mark Waid’s ability to write a good Batman mystery story and add little flourishes of character that make the story come to life. They also discuss the awesome George Perez artwork as well as how this series fit into the overall DC Universe of the time. After that, they go back thirty years and look at Brave and the Bold #134, which also featured a team-up between Batman and Green Lantern and deals with GL defecting to the communists and Batman having to deal with that, which is odd because apparently comic books only recently started getting political.

(Stares at camera)

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

Below are links to the other shows participating in this year’s JLMay!

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 Audible and Spotify.

Next Time: It’s Mike’s turn to pick a random Batman book to talk about and his choice was Batman #336!

THE SUPERMAN AND LOIS TAPES SEASON 3 EPISODE 4 – TOO CLOSE TO HOME OR EXCUSE ME, SIR, WOULD YOU CARE TO STEP OUTSIDE?

Season 3 Episode 4 – Too Close to Home or Excuse Me, Sir, Would You Care To Step Outside?

This time out The BAM Crew (Bethany, Alison, and Michael) talk about the fourth episode of Superman and Lois Season 3. Too Close To Home had a lot going for it. Kyle going back and forth between Lana and Sarah after the incident from the previous episode. John Henry Irons not only meeting the alternate Earth version of his sister but having a tense confrontation with Mannheim. Jordan being mad about Sam manipulating him into possibly getting a hair cut.

But the bulk of the episode is spent discussing the scene at the diner, which Mike watched over and over again like he was examing the Zapruder film and will live rent free in his head forever. The Crew examines the scene from every angle from Clark’s motivations to Kyle being a good Dad and friend to Lana’s reaction to the reaction of the guy eating right in front of where Clark is standing at the end of the altercation.

Michael is writing the reviews for Superman and Lois over on The Superman Homepage.  Check out his review for Too Close to Home by clicking here.

Finally, go and check out Alison’s podcasting efforts over on The GeekCast Radio Network!  She co-hosted So You Wanna Be A Hawkeye series and you can find the first epiosde of that by clicking here.

The Superman and Lois Tapes can be found on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show can be reached by email at thesupermanandloistapes@gmail.com.  You can also leave comments here or over at the Facebook page for the show, which you can get to by clicking this link.

The main theme for the show is “Heroes” by the awesome Mike Schmidt.  You can find his work over at Speed Force Music.

Next Time: The Crew will be back to talk about the fifth episode of Superman and Lois Season Three titled Head On!

OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 75 – FACE THE FACE PART 2

Episode 75 – Face the Face Part 2

Welcome to the seventy-fifth 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.

This time out Andy and Mike are finishing up their look at the One Year Later storyline Face the Face. The guys talk about how this story seemingly sets up a more polite/less of a jerk Batman, how the Tim Drake sub-plot played out, the underwhelming resolution, and how the identity of the ultimate killer was just kind of weird. After that they talk about the Post Infinite Crisis DC Universe in general and zero in on Dan DiDio’s influence on the company during his tenure as executive editor and co-publisher.

Below are the covers to the comics 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.

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 Audible and Spotify.

Next Time: Andy and Mike take part in this year’s JLMAY and talk about the first issue of the 2007 Brave and the Bold series!

FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPISODE 266 – FINAL NIGHT WEEK 4: EMERALD DAWN

Episode 266 – Final Night Week 4: Emerald Dawn

Welcome to the two hundredth and sixty-sixth 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.

Final Night concludes!

And the Sun Eater causes the sun to go nova, and everyone dies. End of show.

Just kidding!

The road to the end of Final Night begins with Mike and Jeff looking at Superman: The Man of Steel #62, which not only focuses on Superman helping the brave workers at the Metropolis power station get said station back on line after the roof collapses but also shows Professor Hamilton viewing the holograms of Jor-El trying to save the population of Krypton during the planet’s final days. There’s also a sub-plot of Perry and his family heading to the Daily Planet and putting out the next edition despite the power being out and the world potentially coming to an end. Then the boys look at Flash #119, Hitman #8, and Legion of Super-Heroes #86, because those issues seem to take place before the final issue of the main series.

Then the rubber meets the road in Final Night #4, where Superman makes the decision to fly the ship that’s going to take the thingy to stop the Sun Eater. He doesn’t get the chance when Ferro Lad kind of, sort of steals the ship but even his attempts at self-sacrifice fall through when Hal Jordan decides that he is going to be the one to save the day. Finally, the boys chat about the final three crossover issues, which come in the form of Robin #35, Takion #6, and Spectre #47.

Below are the covers and select pages from the books that Mike and Jeff covered in addition to the covers of the crossover issues that were discussed.

Shows Promoted in This Episode

The From Crisis to Crisis theme is by Lucian Desar. “Hero Down” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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: Mike and Jeff catch up on all of the features that they set aside to do this four-week event. You might want to clear some time for this one. It’s a long one.

IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN EPISODE 23 – VOICE FROM KRYPTON – AN INTERVIEW WITH ED GROSS

Episode 23 – Voice From Krypton – An Interview with Ed Gross

This time out I am not doing what I said I was going to do last time and for that I apologize. However, I wanted to have something out for Superman Day (Greek Orthodox) since it is his 85th birthday.

(I talk about this during the episode, but I thought about doing something big for the 85th birthday, but in both 2013 and 2018 I had big plans and bad things happened in my personal life, so I thought I would just kick something out at the very last moment as to not tempt fate.)

Anyway, for this episode I reached out to writer Ed Gross, who has written or co-written a number of pop culture related books as well as being an entertainment writer for the past forty years. This June, Ed has a new book coming out all about Superman titled Voices From Krypton: The Unofficial, Unauthorized Oral History of Superman. Ed conducted hundreds of interviews with actors, writers, directors, and fans (including me) and has put together a 700 plus page oral history of the Man of Steel also features a foreword by Brandon Routh and an afterword by Mark Waid. Ed and I talk about his history as a Superman fan, why he wanted to write this book, why he likes doing oral histories, and so much more.

You pre-order Voice From Krypton by clicking on this link and after that click on this link to be taken to Ed’s author page on Amazon to check out his other books.

Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify and Audible. The 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 opening and closing theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next Time: More than likely it will be an installment in this year’s JLMAY. Then…I promise…I will do the two-part Top 10 thing.

OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 74 – FACE THE FACE PART 1

Episode 74 – Face the Face Part 1

Welcome to the seventy-fourth 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 a shocking twist of fate, Andy and Mike are continuing to look at Batman stories that could be described as “overlooked”. This time out they talk about the first four chapters of the Face the Face storyline, specifically in Batman issues 651 and 652 and Detective Comics issues 817 and 818. The guys discuss the era these books were published during, explain what the heck One Year Later was, do some light complaining about the direction DC took around 2004, and wonder what James Robinson had against Batman villains created after Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Before all of that, the guys give an update on a previous conversation and talk about the more recent events in the ongoing saga of the movie side of DC Comics, which will either date the episode horribly or serve as a cute time capsule for future listeners.

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

Shows Promoted During This Episode

Batman Family Reunion – Hosted by Paul and Shawn
The Bat-Pod – Hosted by Bill and J David Weter (But you can call him Dave)

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 Audible and Spotify.

Next Time: Andy and Mike finish their two-part look at the One Year Later storyline Face the Face!

FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPIOSDE 265 – FINAL NIGHT WEEK 3: SHALLOW GRAVES

Episode 265 – Final Night Week 3: Shallow Graves

Welcome to the two hundredth and sixty-fifth 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.

Final Night continues!

This time out Mike and Jeff continue their coverage of Final Night by looking at the main books and crossovers that came out during Week Three! First up is Action Comics #727, which sees Superman doing a bit of a retro thing by jumping instead of flying. He’s not doing it to be cool or old school, though. Nope. His powers continue to fade away as the sun continues to be consumed by the Sun Eater. Bad guys use the chaos to steal several Special Crimes Unit battle suits, which Superman has to deal with as an unnamed man has to make his way through a snow covered Metropolis and learns about the good and bad of humanity. Mike also gives a quick history lesson in the middle of the notes where he probably gets something wrong.

Then, in Final Night #3, things go from bad to apocalyptic. Ted Knight, the Golden Age Starman, does some figuring and realizes that the diameter of the sun is off. It turns out that Sun Eater’s feeding cycle involves causing the star it is eating to go nova, which is great for the Sun Eater, because it propels it to the next star, but is kind of bad for all life in the system the sun provides light for. Finally, the boys look at the other crossover issues which include Final Night Parallax Emerald Night #1, Superboy #33, Aquaman #26, and Detective Comics #703!

Below are the covers and select pages from the books that Mike and Jeff covered in addition to the covers of the crossover issues that were discussed.

Shows Promoted in This Episode

The From Crisis to Crisis theme is by Lucian Desar. “Final Count” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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: Mike and Jeff conclude their coverage of Final Night.

THE SUPERMAN AND LOIS TAPES SEASON 3 EPISODE 3 – IN COLD BLOOD OR KIDS MAKE BAD DECISIONS ON THE REGULAR

Season 3 Episode 3 – In Cold Blood or Kids Make Bad Decisions on the Regular

The BAM Crew (Bethany, Alison, and Michael) are back with their coverage of Superman and Lois Season 3 Episode 3. In Cold Blood follows on the heels of the previous episode where Lois revealed her cancer diagnosis and now the rest of the supporting cast learns that too. The Crew discusses Lois’ definition of the word “priority”, how the kids made some dubious decisions, Candice’s dad and the sketch vibe he gives off, Superman saves, Alison being right about the opening sequence, Mike wondering how deep of a sleeper Lois is, and much, much more!

Also, Bethany reveals who had The Most Punchable Face and Alison lets everyone know who was The Most Aestheticaly Pleasing people in the episode. Then, Michael delivers a Professor Bailey’s Superman 101 lesson plan on Skyhook!

Who is Skyhook? You’ll have to listen to find out!

(Note: This episode had some technical problems that make the sound dip in and out. The Crew, especially Michael as he is the editor, apologizes for this.)

Michael is writing the reviews for Superman and Lois over on The Superman Homepage.  Check out his review for In Cold Blood by clicking here.

Finally, go and check out Alison’s podcasting efforts over on The GeekCast Radio Network!  She co-hosted So You Wanna Be A Hawkeye series and you can find the first epiosde of that by clicking here.

The Superman and Lois Tapes can be found on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show can be reached by email at thesupermanandloistapes@gmail.com.  You can also leave comments here or over at the Facebook page for the show, which you can get to by clicking this link.

The main theme for the show is “Heroes” by the awesome Mike Schmidt.  You can find his work over at Speed Force Music.

Next Time: The Crew will be back to talk about the third episode of Superman and Lois Season Three titled Too Close to Home!

OVERLOOKED DARK KNIGHT EPISODE 73 – DON NEWTON IS AWESOME

Episode 73 – Don Newton is Awesome

Welcome to the seventy-third 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.

This time out Andy and Mike continue to actually stick to their mandate and talk about an issue of Batman that is definitely overlooked. Batman #362 not only features a fun Riddler story that retells his origins and ties up a sub-plot that has been bubbling along in the books for quite some time involving Commissioner Gordon, but it also features the artwork of Don Newton. Andy loves Don Newton as a Batman artist and chose this one as an example of why that is. They also go through some of the feedback that they have received over the past few months!

Below are the cover and select pages from this issue.

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 Audible and Spotify.

Next Time: Andy and Mike begin a two-part look at the One Year Later storyline Face the Face!

FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS EPISODE 264 – FINAL NIGHT WEEK 2: CHAOS

Episode 264 – Final Night Week 2: Chaos

Welcome to the two hundredth and sixty-fourth 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.

Final Night continues!

This time out Mike and Jeff continue their coverage of Final Night by looking at the main books and crossovers that came out during Week Two! First up is Adventures of Superman #540, which introduces the Post Zero Hour version of Ferro! We find out his tragic backstory, which involves his famous mother not wanting to admit that she had kids because Andrew and his brother had facial deformities, which makes her a fantastic human being in that “not at all” kind of way. We also get more of Lori Lemaris, who becomes a theater critic for the Daily Planet, and Perry shows up at the Planet despite looking half past dead.

Then, in Final Night #2, things go from bad to really bad as the heat from the sun dissipates and humanity starts freaking the freak out. Lex Luthor arrives to help and is just a giant jerk to just about everyone. But that’s Lex for you. And since Final Night is a disaster film type story you do need the one scientist that is egotistical and just rubs everyone else the wrong way. The rest of the issue is the heroes running around and dealing with the natural consequences of the sun going, though sometimes it’s dealing with things like Vandal Savage wanting to steal the Mona Lisa.

Like last time, the boys look at the other Final Night crossover issues, which include Supergirl #3, Batman #536, and Green Arrow #114!

Below are the covers and select pages from the books that Mike and Jeff covered in addition to the covers of the crossover issues that were discussed.

Shows Promoted in This Episode

The From Crisis to Crisis theme is by Lucian Desar. “Final Count” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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: Mike and Jeff continue their coverage of Final Night.