Advertise on podcast: 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!

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! For this first part, enjoy the re-release of Andy and Mike's commentary for the Batman: The Movie! This is actually a two-for-one type thing because this movie is also celebrating its 60th anniversary. The conversation is a mix of talking about the show and the movie in general and talking about what is happening on the screen at the moment. The guys talk about the cast, the fun dynamic between the villains, the action, and how much fun this movie really is. This episode is designed so that it can be listened to while watching the movie or on its own. 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 continues with another "classic" commentary! This time Andy and Mike talk about the Bookworm two parter.

The Road to Episode 100 ends with...EPISODE 100! (It's shocking. We know.) Anyway, Andy and Mike devote this landmark episode, which will no doubt go down in podcasting history as, "A show where two guys in their fifties talk about Batman!", to talking about the three stories from Batman #47 from 1948. First up is a Catwoman story titled, "Fashions in Crime!" Catwoman finds that her fashion is no longer in style after her most recent stay in prison, so she does what any rational person would do...start a fashion magazine! The guys talk about the giant props, the ludicrous plot, and how this one would have made a great episode of the Adam West series. This is followed by "The Chain Gang Crimes!", where Batman goes undercover in chain gang to expose corruption! If that plot sounds like one that would be at home on an episode of a show produced by Stephen J. Cannell or an episode of the nineties animated series, well, Andy and Mike agree with you. Finally, they discuss "The Origin of Batman!" While this story might not exactly be "overlooked" the guys felt like this one would be a great story to celebrate the 100th episode. This one has been reprinted numerous times and even adapted in animated form on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The story of Batman confronting the man that was responsible for the death of his parents is a powerful one and the guys tackle it from all sides. From the story itself to the slight retcon of how Martha died to Bill Finger's writing to how a scene in this story reminded Mike of an episode of Everybody Hates Chris.  Deciding to use "the whole Buffalo" with this comic, the guys also talk about the ads, which were mostly about shoes. The late forties was a weird time. 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: Despite not knowing during the episode, Andy and Mike landed upon celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Batman television series!

The road to episode 100 continues with another Bat Flashback! This particular flashback takes us back all the way to the second episode. Andy and Mike talked about issues 2 and 3 of The Untold Legend of the Batman. Topics include the origins of Robin, the Joker, Batgirl, and Two-Face. We also learn about how this version of Batman became friends with Jim Gordon and how Alfred came to live with Bruce and Dick. There's even some fun stuff about who was building the Batmobile back in the Bronze Age. For grins, Mike included some audio from the book-on-tape version of this story because, shockingly, there was a book-on-tape version of this story. 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 march towards episode 100 concludes with episode 100! Andy and Mike promise an episode that will break the Internet in half! Actually they don't, but it is a fun episode.

The road to Episode 100 continues by going ALL the way back to the very first episode of the show! Presented just as it was when it came out, without any cuts to make the guys look better! Way back in 2017, Andy and Mike started The Overlooked Dark Knight with a mandate of talking about Batman comics that hardly anyone talks about. They promptly side stepped that mandate by starting things with an exploration of Batman's history. The Untold Legend of the Batman was a three-issue mini-series written by Len Wein with art (initially) by John Byrne and then (eventually) Jim Aparo. The point of the series was to take all of various tellings and re-tellings of Batman's origin, as well as the origins of his friends and foes and and present them as one, clean history. Back when you could do such a thing. After telling you why they started the show and discuss the pros and cons of doing an index podcast, the guys talk about the first issue of the series. That's all Mike remembers of the episode, so hopefully neither he nor Andy said anything that has since become problematic. 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.

Episode 100 of The Overlooked Dark Knight three weeks away! To celebrate this milestone, Andy and Mike thought it might be fun to re-present some older audio that is, sadly, no longer available. It seemed like a fun idea that kills two birds with one stone. Older conversations that can't be found anywhere else can find a new home and you get some extra content. It's a win-win. For everyone. For this first Bat Flashback Mike dusted off an episode of Bailey's Batman Podcast that was originally released in October of 2012. This episode was the first time Andy and Mike got together to talk about Batman and they chose a big issue to talk about. Batman #400, which came out in July of 1986, was not only an anniversary issue that had Batman fighting a bunch of his villains with an all-star roster of artists, it was also the final issue before Denny O'Neil took over as editor. The guys go over the book from cover to cover...literally. They talk about the era and the story and how the idea of a villain breaking out all of Batman's foes from Arkham would come back again in the nineties. Andy and Mike would like to apologize, in advance, that this thing was three hours long. They were much chattier back in the old days. 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 march towards episode 100 continues with a replay of the very first episode of The Overlooked Dark Knight!