BatChat With Matt & Will: A Batman Ranking Podcast

Did you know, if you back us on Patreon, you can come on the show? Yes indeed, if you are a Dick Grayson tier backer you can. And our first Grayson backer is here with us today! Josh Weil, podcaster at X is for Podcast, stops by to talk about a couple stories he picked, and one Matt added in to round out the episode, that all feature scenes or full stories of Bruce Wayne training to be Batman. Blo...

We've talked about them before on multiple episodes, but few writers cast a longer shadow over the canon of Batman than Grant Morrison. Big ideas, dark stories and characters that are polarizing are central to Morrison's opus on Batman. This week, Matt & Will read three Batman stories by Morrison, one from before their long run on Batman, one from it's beginning, and one from it's middle, as Matt...

Look, anyone with any knowledge of comics history knows that comics creators in mainstream American comics are, well, pretty darn white. And Batman is no exception; there are no truly long runs by creators of color on any of the flagship Batman titles. But there are some good stories by Black writers on Batman, and so, as this is February and Black History Month, Matt & Will wanted to look at some...

We've already had one episode dedicated entirely to the origin of Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Now it's time to move on to stories featuring the early days of three of the next Robins (no, we're not taking part in Stephanie Brown erasure; she'll just get a focus in a Batgirls episode, we promise). See the origin of Jason Todd (and not the knock off Dick Grayson one), Tim Drake take up the mantle...

We're less than a week from Valentine's Day, and what says love more than a guy in a Bat costume pursuing a woman in cat themed leather or a beautiful assassin? Or a disastrously dysfunctional relationship between two clowns? Talking about those things with thee ones we love, of course. That's why this week, Matt and Will are joined by Will's better half, Abigale Heartbalm to discuss three stories...

Wow, we've made it to 20 episodes! To celebrate, Matt and Will are looking at three stories from three volumes of one of their self-confessed favorite series, the legendary (see what I did there) anthology, Legends of the Dark Knight. Will they gush about the original volume? Will they complain about DC not giving the most recent volume a shot? You better believe it. Mask (Batman: Legends of the D...

It only took us 19 episodes to swing back to ground we've already tread; it's not like there are 80 years of completely unrelated Batman stories to talk about. But this is our podcast, and we'll do what we like (unless you back us on Patreon, and then we'll do what you want). Anyway, this week, Matt & Will are reading three stories that are direct sequels to stories that they have read on earlier...

Continuity is a cruel mistress. DC's ever rebooting universe has meant most characters have at least two completely distinct histories. And amongst the Batfamily, no character's two histories are more different than the Huntress. Introduced as the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2, Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped out the alternate Earths and instead made her the daughter of mobsters w...

If there's one thing you need to know about Batman, it's that Batman works alone. Except for Robin And Alfred And Jim Gordon And the rest of the Bat family And the Justice League OK, it's pretty obvious that Batman is not the lone avenger of the night after all. And since, this week, Matt and Will are talking about stories where Batman is a part of the Justice League, they figured it was time to a...

It is a mad house. It is the home to terror, both supernatural and all too irrational. Arkham Asylum is one of the most recognizable locales in Gotham City, if not the entire DC Universe. This week, as "Shadows of the Bat," the tale of the new Arkham Tower, begins in Detective Comics, Matt & Will take a look at three stories set around Arkham Asylum and its inmates Arkham Asylum: A Serious House o...

2021 is winding down, and as we look forward to 2022, we're dipping back into the well of alternate reality Batmans (the proper plural), to look at three new takes on the character for the new year: one is a 60s more swinging but far more real (and bleaker) than the one from the classic TV show, one in the American Civil War and one who made a very different choice the night of his parents' murder...

It's the week of Christmas, and even the Dark Knight has taken time out to celebrate the holidays. This week, Matt & Will are looking at three Christmas stories in Gotham. Happy holidays to one and all, and we hope your Christmas doesn't involve the Joker. Trust us in this one. Death Casts the Deciding Vote/The Silent Night of Batman (Batman V.1 # 219) Favorite Things (Batman: Legends of the Dark...

Sometimes it's hard to judge a story. Sometimes you might need to... flip a coin. Yes, that is a labored wordplay to get to something to tie into this week's subject, Batman's (possibly) second greatest foe, former district attorney Harvey Dent, best known as Two-Face. Fortunately, these stories didn't require any coin tosses for their ranking. Half an Evil (Batman V.1 # 234) Faces (Batman: Legend...

With DC continuity a mess of Crises, reboots, Rebirths and New 52s, some stories get rewritten and some stories get retold. Batman's first year has been rewritten numerous times. But his first meeting with Dick Grayson, the first Robin? That one gets retold, and each time it's tinkered with just a little. This week, Matt and Will look at three versions of that very first meeting, comparing and con...

As Fear State wraps up in the current comics, Matt and Will go back and look at three stories starring the Master of Fear, the Scarecrow. It's an eclectic mix, one quirky, one a bit off the mark, and one with a story that talks about, "an uncontrollable butt frenzy," which would have made the title of this episode but it was deemed a bit too much. Fear for $ale (Detective Comics V.1 # 571) Scarecr...

It's Thanksgiving week here in the States, so Matt & Will are dipping back into all ages stories for three Batman books you can talk about around the dinner table with one and all. Hear about the story that would have introduced a major Bat villain to the classic TV series, the cutest Batfamily in comics, and what makes a good comic vs. a good Batman comic. Batman '66: The Lost Episode Batman: Li'...

Will takes the reins this week, with a little ill advised help from Matt's knowledge of 90s Batman stories. Will picked three stories that he figured would have art he'd love and, well, two out of three ain't bad. Six Fingers (Legends of the Dark Knight V.1 # 85-88 [Digital]) Chasing Clay (Batman V.1 #550) Batman: Black and White V.1 # 1-4

This episode: Batman loses! I know, I know, it's blasphemy. But Batman's not perfect, and sometimes, a story doesn't go his way. This week, we're looking at three very different takes on Batman not coming out ahead at the end (or in one case the beginning) of a story. Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia Superheavy (Batman V.2 # 41-50) Cold Days (Batman V.3 # 51-53)

He's Batman's greatest nemesis. He is as mutable as his foe, appearing sometimes as a whacky criminal clown, sometimes as a terrifying homicidal maniac, and sometimes as an urban terrorist. He is the Joker. And this week, Matt and Will look at three single issue Joker stories in their first villain spotlight episode. The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman V.1 # 251) A Clash of Symbols (Detective Com...

It's Halloween week, so it's time to dig into three of Batman's encounters with the supernatural: One great, one good, and one oh so very bad. Try to figure out which before you listen; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Batman/Dracula: Red Rain The Secret of the Waiting Graves (Detective Comics V.1 # 395) Superman and Batman Vs. Vampires and Werewolves (Superman and Batman Vs. Vampires and W...

Dan Grote, Matt's co-host on his other show WMQ&A, stops by to talk about four stories (one of these comics is a twofer) of an all-ages Batman teaming up with other heroes. Batman: The Brave and the Bold # 20 Batman Adventures Annual (V.1) # 2 Batman: Gotham Adventures # 6

There are many ways to describe Batman. Superhero. Martial Artist. Scientist. Adventurer. But for your hosts, Matt & Will, one beats all the rest: Detective. This week, we look at three stories that have a theme of Batman as the Dark Knight Detective. Blades (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 32-34) The Doomsday Book (Detective Comics V.1 # 572) Beautiful People (Detective Comics V.1 # 821)

If Batman is anything, it's malleable. There are plenty of alternate Batmans (that's the plural and I'm sticking to it) out there, and this week, Matt & Will are looking at three of them. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Batman: Holy Terror Superman: Speeding Bullets

We're back with episode 2, the final episode! Nah, just kidding. But we are focusing on three last Batman stories this episode. The Dark Knight Returns (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns # 1-4) Some of These Days (Batman Annual V.3 # 2) The Last Batman Story --? (Batman V.1 # 300)

The inaugural episode of our new podcast, BatChat with Matt & Will, a podcast where we take every Batman story ever, read them, and rank them on a big list from best to worst. This week, we look at three different first Batman stories. Batman: Year One (Batman V.1 # 404-407) Zero Year (Batman V.2 # 21-27, 29-33) The Case of the Chemical Syndicate (Detective Comics V.1 # 27)