The Overlooked Dark Knight: The New Adventures

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to…overlook. It's right there in the name. This time out Andy and Mike dive into Detective Comics #1027, the celebration of Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27. Andy felt that this issue had mostly left the Bat conversation and was therefore ripe for discussion on this show. After a short conversation about anniversary issues in general, the guys go rapid fire through each of the stories. From a tale going through Batman's bad guys to the Bat family getting together to solve the murder of GCPD police officer to Bruce Wayne playing a game of golf to the vigilante that guarded Gotham before Batman to a story about the Wayne family to how a young GCPD officer navigates the corruption inherent in the system, this special, oversized, variant cover fueled issue has a wide variety of stories, most of which are a lot of fun. One is just an advertisement for another series, but that was DC during the era this book was published. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike talk about the stories in Detective Comics #1000!

This time out Andy and Mike talk about the main story from Detective Comics #359, which is the first appearance of the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl. Now, some of you might be thinking that the Barbara Gordon Batgirl is quite popular, so how is her first appearance in comics in any way, form, or fashion "overlooked"? Mike actually makes the argument for why this version of her origin can be considered overlooked before the guys dig into "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" Andy and Mike talk about the "New Look" era in general, Carmine Infantino's art, the general sexism and misogyny of the era and how that is reflected in the story, and more. Then they look at the unaired Batgirl pilot that was produced between the second and third season of the 1966 Batman series. Pilot might actually be the wrong term to use. This was a seven and a half minute presentation reel used by the producers to show the studio and the network what a Batgirl would look like. The guys have a lot of fun talking about the reel, which is shockingly good and less misogynistic than the comic book introduction. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike talk about the stories in Detective Comics #1027!

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to…overlook. It's right there in the name. This time out Andy and Mike tackle Batman: The 3 Jokers, which despite being a sequel to four previous Batman stories that are considered by many to be classics has not stayed in the Bat conversation. Written by Geoff Johns with art by Jason Fabok, this Black Label series is the payoff for a plot point brought up during Johns' Justice League run where Batman learned that there were actually three people calling themself the Joker. It is also, as previously mentioned, a sequel of sorts to A Death in the Family, The Killing Joke, Under The Red Hood, and, to a certain extent, The Origin of Batman from Batman #47. Topics covered during the course of this episode include Jason Fabok's amazing art, how the nine panel grid format really helped the story, Jason Todd as a character, Barbara Gordon as a character, how Batman is the ultimate Gen X Dad in this story, the Joker and what he represents to Batman, how Jason comes off as an incel, and more. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike talk about the first appearance of Barbara Gordon in the comics and on the television!

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to…overlook. It's right there in the name. Originally, this episode was going to be Andy and Mike's discussion about Batman: The Three Jokers. But for reasons explained in the show, and somewhat later in these notes, they went in a different direction. Back in December of 2001, DC Comics released the first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Written and drawn by Frank Miller with color by Lynn Varley, this three issue series is the sequel to 1986's The Dark Knight Returns. To say this was a big deal in the comic book world is an understatement. There were no stops on the hype train and hopes were high for the follow up to one of the most important Batman stories ever. And then it came out. And reactions were...mixed. To mark the upcoming 25th anniversary (because it definitely can't be called a celebration) and to serve as a low key follow up to Andy and his some Micheal talking about the original series over on Hey Kids Comics (which you can find by clicking on this link) Andy and Mike look at The Dark Knight Strikes Again. They talk about the lead up to the series, how the story defies conventional commentary, what Frank Miller might have been saying, ask if this was supposed to be taken seriously in any, way, shape or form, compare it to another Frank Miller Batman story that has become controversial, how the story relates (or maybe doesn't relate) to 9/11, how the idea that Frank Miller's Batman became the template for decades to come isn't exactly true, and more. Mike also previews the Batman related panels he'll be part of at this year's DragonCon! Also, after the main show, stick around for the tangents that Mike cut out of the main show. Because this is something that Andy and Mike are trying. To read the article that Mike mentions during this portion of the show click here. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike take a look at Batman: Three Jokers. For reals this time.

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to…overlook. It's right there in the name. This time out Andy and Mike get together to do something similar to something they did separately. Some time back Mike had the idea to cover all of the various issue ones of Superman over on It All Comes Back to Superman and he told Andy he should do the same on Hey Kids Comics with Spider-Man. Well, they've both done that now, so they thought it might be fun to do the same with Batman. And that's where this episodes comes into play. The guys look at Batman #1 from 1940, Batman #1 from 2011, Detective Comics #1 from 2011, Batman Rebirth #1 from 2016, Batman #1 from 2016 and Batman #1 from 2025. They talk about how much fun the Golden Age stories, how Batman didn't change all that much during The New 52, what hot garbage Detective Comics #1 was, Rebirth, how Batman is a super-hero despite what most people say, and how great the newest volume of Batman is. Mike evens gets all weepy at one point over a stuffed dinosaur. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike take a look at Batman: Three Jokers.

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to…overlook. It's right there in the name. This time out Andy and Mike continue their look at one of Batman's weirder antagonists...Man-Bat! Sort of. To be fair, the guys do spend the first half of the episode talking about Man-Bat #1, which reads more like a Doctor Strange story, thanks in no small part because of the art of Steve Ditko. The problem is that the issue is kind of a mess. Actually it's a big mess. It's such an odd duck of a comic and the guys might get a little snarky at times, but it's all in good, clean, four color fun. The second half of the episode is made up of tangents that somehow Mike and Andy bring back to the issue. This is an odd one. Hopefully in a good way. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Andy and Mike take a look at the various Batman issues ones from over the years.

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the show where Andrew Leyland and Michael Bailey shine a light on Batman stories people tend to...overlook.  It's right there in the name. This time out Andy and Mike look at Detective Comics #400, which, in addition to being the 400th issue of Detective Comics, was also the first appearance of Man-Bat. See, Mike thought it would be a great idea to take a look at Man-Bat because he didn't have much experience with the character and Andy went along with this because that's how this show operates. What follows is a fun conversation looking at a story that is part super-hero story, part Hammer Horror type story, and part Neal Adams showcase. The conversation is not all that serious, but is a lot of fun and includes commentary on how anniversary issues used to not be the celebrations they eventually became, how Mike is completely wrong about Man-Bat being a Marvel type character, the previously mentioned Neal Adams art and how modern printings don't look as good as the originals, and Man-Bat as a character. They also look at the backup story, which despite being billed as the first team-up between Batgirl and Robin does not feature a team-up between Batgirl and Robin. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: The Man-Bat coverage continues with Andy and Mike taking a very unserious look at the first issue of the ongoing Man-Bat series.

The Overlooked Dark Knight presents another Bat-Flashback! Recently Andy and Mike have been looking at the original team-ups between Superman and Spider-Man because there are new team-ups between those heroes. Because of this, Mike thought it might be a good idea to re-release the time the guys talked about Batman meeting and, improbably, fighting the Incredible Hulk. Originally presented as episode 61 of the show (released on January 18, 2022) Andy and Mike talked about "The Monster and the Madman". Written by Len Wein with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano, the story was initially presented in DC Special Series #27 and was released (according to Mike's Amazing World of Comics) on September 24, 1981. The story has Batman and the Hulk joining forces to deal with their most well known and arch foes. In Batman's case this meant The Joker. For Hulk, this meant...the Shaper of Worlds? Yeah, Andy and Mike were confused about that as well. It's one of the things they talk about. They also discuss the art, the fact that the Bruce Banner in the story was played somewhat like his live action television counterpart, wha the term "donkey work" means, what other Hulk villains could have been used and more. The episode is presented just as it was when it was first unleased on the world, so no recent intros and outros will be included. Below are the front and back cover to this treasury sized special.   It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time:  The regular episodes resume with Mike and Andy starting a two-part look at one of the most off-beat Batman villains ever…Man-Bat!  

It is not hyperbole to say that without the 1966 Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward that this podcast wouldn't be a thing. That series is foundational to both Andy and Mike in terms of them being Batman fans. This year, Batman '66, as it has become more commonly known these days, is turning 60 and the guys thought that they should mark the occasion with an episode devoted to the show. Then they thought they could make the celebration a little bigger by re-releasing two of their older episodes that were about the show since they are no longer available on the old feed. And thus was born…Batman '66 at 60! In this third and final part Andy and Mike talk about (as opposed to talking over) one of the three part episodes from the second season of Batman '66. The Zodiac Crimes (original air date January 11, 1967), The Joker's Hard Times (original air date January 12, 1967), and The Penguin Declines (original air date January 18, 1967) were Andy's choices and could very easily have been made into a second Batman film. This one has it all when it comes to Batman '66. A team-up between The Joker and The Penguin? Check. A beautiful sidekick for the villains that definitely wanted to try a little bit of Batman on? Check. Death traps? Double check. Andy and Mike talk about all of that and more as the finish their celebration of the Batman show that made them. It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Mike and Andy start a two-part look at one of the most off-beat Batman villains ever...Man-Bat!

It is not hyperbole to say that without the 1966 Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward that this podcast wouldn't be a thing. That series is foundational to both Andy and Mike in terms of them being Batman fans. This year, Batman '66, as it has become more commonly known these days, is turning 60 and the guys thought that they should mark the occasion with an episode devoted to the show. Then they thought they could make the celebration a little bigger by re-releasing two of their older episodes that were about the show since they are no longer available on the old feed. And thus was born…Batman '66 at 60! In this second part, Andy and Mike do another audio commentary! Originally this was the 50th episode of the show and they wanted to do something big. The Bookworm, played by Roddy McDowell, was one of the villains created for the live action series. He's also one of the most dangerous of the bad guys that Adam West and Burt Ward went up against. Andy and Mike yak over the two episodes, The Bookworm Turns and While Gotham City Burns, and talk about the show, McDowell, how creepy Bookworm is, and more! It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to [email protected]. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet. Next Time: Batman '66 at 60 concludes with a brand new episode where Andy and Mike talk about one of the rare three part episodes, this one featuring The Joker and The Penguin!