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 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 overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. 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.

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 overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. 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 overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. 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 overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. 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 overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. 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.

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 start an irregular series looking at the various Year One series that members of the extended Bat Family have received over the years. They start with Batgirl: Year One, a nine issue series that ran from December of 2002 to August of 2003. Written by Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon with art from Marcos Martin and Álvaro López, this series told the Post-Crisis/Post Zero Hour version of how Barbara Gordon became Batgirl, which Andy and Mike were quite fond of. They talk about the writing, the art, the retcons, and their problem with how James Gordon was portrayed at various points during the series. This is after a quick conversation about the Icons Unearthed: Batman docuseries that the guys recently watched thanks to a listener recomendation. 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'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 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 celebrate the 85th birthday of Robin...or rather a bunch of Robins!

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the podcast that shines a light on Batman stories hardly anyone talks about! Which is actually the case this time out. One of the more...dare we say it...overlooked parts of Batman Forever is the novelization. Novelizations, as Andy and Mike bang on about during the episode, have largely gone away but at one point they were part and parcel to a blockbuster movie marketing. Sometimes you'd get extra scenes that were cut out of the film because the author was working from an earlier draft. Sometimes you get a reworking of the film because the people behind the scenes played with things during the editing process. Sometimes you got wholly originally scenes because the author made the whole thing a proper novel rather than simply doing the movie but in prose form. In the case of Batman Forever, you got all of that and more. The novelization of Batman Forever was written by the late Peter David. Andy and Mike don't talk about the recent passing of Peter because at the time of recording he was still with us. What they do talk about is how he took the script for Batman Forever and gave us a version of the story that rode the line between being an adaptation and something that stands on its own. The guys talk about the bits that were original to the book (such as the introductory chapters) and the differences between what was on the screen and what was on the page. They also talk about comic book films in general and Mike gives a wholly incomplete run down of some of the other merchandise that was released to tie into Batman Forever. 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: Nothing is set in stone, but plans are in motion.