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 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.

This time out Andy and Mike continue and finish their look at The Demon Trilogy by talking about The Bride of the Demon and The Birth of the Demon. Though, when you really think about it, it's not a trilogy in the traditional sense. It's kind of like saying that RoboCop 1 through 3 is a trilogy. It's three films (or graphic novels in the case) but it's not one big story by any stretch of the imagination. Not that they compare these two stories to the second and third RoboCop films. At all. Anyway, the guys start with The Bride of the Demon, but much like Andy's assessment of Batman Begins (there is an awful lot of begins before you get to the Batman) there is an awful lot of the Demon before you get to the Bride. They discuss the story's ecological themes and how that was right at home when this graphic novel was published in 1990, the fact that Tim Drake does not feel like Tim Drake in this story, how the story itself doesn't feel like a Batman story from 1990, the weird dynamic between Ra's Al Ghul's bride and Talia, how this doesn't really feel like a follow up to Son of the Demon, the many Neal Adams homages, and more. Then they discuss Birth of the Demon, which they enjoyed more for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was the Denny O'Neil writing. Maybe it's the Norm Breyfogle artwork. Maybe it's because the origin Ra's is engaging and makes you root for him throughout the flashbacks. Maybe it is the part of the conversation where Andy and Mike realize that this story makes the events of Knightfall questionable. Maybe it's the idea of Richard E. Grant playing Ra's Al Ghul in a movie. Maybe it's because it just a great story. You decide. 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: More Elseworlds fun with a take on Jekyl and Hyde and a Howard Chaykin story from 30 years ago that has a really now feeling.

The final episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight...for 2025, at any rate. This time out Andy and Mike finish up their two part look at Batman in the early 2000's by shining the Bat Signal on Greg Rucka. Rucka began writing Batman in the late 90s during No Man's Land and then had a several year run on Detective Comics. The guys talk about how they were introduced to Rucka as a writer and gush about his novelization of No Man's Land, which is Mike's preferred way to experience that story. Instead of looking at three issues of his Detective run (like they did in the Brubaker spotlight) Mike chose two mini-series that spotlight Rucka as a writer. First up is Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood has Batman in it, but he is a minor player in what feels like a backdoor pilot for an ongoing Huntress series. Helena Bertinelli has been framed for murders she didn't commit and that leads down a path that reveals family secrets, explores her origins, and pairs her with The Question. The guys talk about Rucka's obvious love for Vic Sage, his talent for writing women, and Mike gives a quick history lesson on this version of The Huntress. Then the guys discuss Batman: Death and the Maidens, which featured the introduction of Nyssa, the other daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. This nine issue series featured artwork by Klaus Janson and boy were Andy and Mike surprised that they liked the art as much as they did. They also discuss their feelings about the Al Ghuls and go into the Batman end of this story, which features him taking a substance that allows him to "talk" to his mother and father. There's also commentary on how this story was part of a larger movement running through DC at the time and how, as good as this story is, its impact has been dulled by future stories that brought Ra's Al Ghul back. 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 [email protected]. Then there's 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 theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay. Next Time: Andy and Mike kick off the new year with more Ra's Al Ghul fun by looking at Bride of the Demon and Birth of the Demon.

Andy and Mike are back and once again sticking to their mandate of talking about overlooked Batman stories. This time out they present the first part of a two part look at Bat books from the early 2000s that definitely fit that description. Before he revamped Captain America and brought Bucky back from the dead, writer Ed Brubaker worked on Batman. Andy picked out three issues for the guys to talk about and that's exactly what they did because a podcast where the hosts don't say anything would be rather boring. First up is Batman #584, which is a Blair Witch Project inspired tale where two filmmakers come to Gotham to prove that Batman is real because this was still the era where Batman was thought to be an urban legend. Next up is Batman #586, which features the Penguin's flight of fancy as he imagines what it would look be like if he killed the Batman. Finally, there's Batman #598, which is a Christmas story featuring a villain named Klaus who can tell if you've been naughty or nice. There's also the usual number of tangents and Mike trying to make Andy laugh. But you probably knew that already. 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 [email protected]. Then there's 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 theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay. Next Time: The second of two episodes talking about Batman in the early 2000s! Andy and Mike talk about three Batman stories written by Greg Rucka!

The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, turns 85 this year and both Andy and Michael thought that celebrating this would be a capital idea to devote an episode of this show to celebraing his birthday. Since they just did a "Best Of" type episode to celebrate Robin's birthday, the guys decided instead to talk about the 2021 Joker series that was written by James Tynion IV because it's about the Joker. Actually, the series is a Jim Gordon series disguised as a Joker series, which is by no means a bad thing. Andy and Mike talk about all 15 issues and the annuals and break down what they liked about the story and what they didn't. Topics include the wonky continuity of the characters, the film noir nature to the early issues, Bane, how certain characters reminded the guys of Preacher, Oracle, and, of course, the Joker. Next Time: Andy and Mike talk about some more recent Batman stories that also serve as anniversary issues.

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 are presenting some "classic" audio from right before they started this show. Actually, the audio was first recorded in 2015 for the first version of Bailey's Batman Podcast and then Mike did what Mike usually does and sat on that audio for two years when he finally released the episodes on Views From The Longbox. Whatever the case, this is the first of a two part look at the Year One annuals from 1995. Well, those and an annual from 1990. This whole thing was all over the place. Anyway, in this first part the guys look at Batman Annual #14 from 1990, which featured the Post Crisis origin of Harvey Dent...Two-Face! Then they jump to 1995 and talk about Batman Annual #19, which has the origin of Scarecrow. These are deep dives into the thoughts Andy and Mike have about these characters complete with some tangents that are kind of fun. 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 [email protected]. Then there's 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 theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay. Next Time: Andy and Mike present the second part of a classic conversation about the Year One annuals from 1995.