Batman rogues have some seriously strange evolutions. Some, like the Joker, have a path you can easily follow. Others, like Mr. Freeze, have just become completely different over the years. Another like that is Catman, created in the mid-Silver Age as yet another anti-Bat before becoming a joke character, and then evolving into a morally grey anti-villain (I'm coining that right here). Patreon backer Matt McThorn wanted to talk about some Catman stories, so we're reading his first appearance, his first post-Crisis appearance and the mini-series that redefined him for the modern era.

Challenge of the Cat-Man (Detective Comics V.1 # 311)
Cats (Detective Comics V.1 # 612)
Villains United # 1-6

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 161: Catman, Catman, Burning Bright

Our annual all ages Thanksgiving episode is back, with a new volume of Wayne Family Adventures. the sequel to the charming Batman & Robin & Howard and a one off crime story from the animated universe.

Wayne Family Adventures Vol. 2 (Wayne Family Adventures #26-51)
Batman & Robin & Howard: Summer Breakdown OGN
How This World Goes? (Batman: Gotham Adventures #21)

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 162: All Ages Thanksgiving 2024

We're back picking through random volumes of mostly weird stuff from Will's bookshelf that he hasn't read before. We return to the wonder that is the Batman '66 follow up series, a sequel to a classic Batman story that may not be as classic and some more Kevin Smith Batman that is something else.

Trigger Warning: This episode was recorded on November 6th, so the opening bit is a lot of feelings about the US Presidential election. If you want to skip that and get to the comics, just start around the 9:18 mark.

Batman '66 V.2 (Batman '66 # 6-10)
Wrath Child (Batman Confidential # 13-16)
Batman: Cacophony # 1-3

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 163: Cacophony Means Clashing Sounds. It Fits.

Last week was three random books from Will's collection. This week is three stories that Matt has wanted to cover that don't easily fit in with any themes he has come up with yet. We read some more black and white stories, the sequel to a highly ranked sorry by a late, great writer and an annual from some legendary creators.

Batman: Black and White- The Gotham Knights Stories Vol. 2 (Batman: Gotham Knights # 17-49 or Batman: Black and White Vol. 3 TPB)
Don't Blink (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 164-167)
Villains in Love (Batman V.1 Annual # 11)

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 164: A Black & White Episode

Happy holidays, BatChat listeners. It's the week of Christmas and Chanukah this year, so we're celebrating the holiday in the BatChat style. Patreon backer and friend of the show John Wickham is joining us to discuss three of Dc's modern holiday anthologies. Have yourself a merry everyone!

DC Infinite Holiday Special # 1
DC Rebirth Holiday Special # 1
New Year's Evil Vol.2 # 1

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 166: A Happy Holiday Anthology (w/ John Wickham)

It's the New Year's week, and if you've been listening to the podcast, you know what that means: New Year, New Batman. That's right, it's three more Elseworlds. We have Nosferatu (which is strangely more an adaptation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari than Nosferatu), The Nail (which is more a Marvel-style What If? than most Elseworlds) and I, Joker, which does what Sean Gordon Murphy wanted to do, only better.

Batman: Nosferatu
Justice League: The Nail #1-3
Batman: I, Joker

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 167: For Want of a Nail, the Podcast Was Lost

Batman has teamed up with pretty much every hero in the DC Universe because he's, well, Batman. He's also teamed up with many a villain. We've read stories where he worked with Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul and Bane. But Patreon backer Ross Holmes very specifically wanted us to read a story where he teams up with the most unlikely of villains: The Joker. And as it turns out, that has happened more times than one might think...

Death Has the Last Laugh (The Brave and the Bold V.1 # 111)
The Batman Who Laughs V.2 # 1-7
Only Angels Have Wings (The Brave and the Bold V.1 # 191)


Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 168: The World's Vilest Team!

While nearly all of Gotham's vigilantes are affiliated in some way with Batman and his family, there are a few who stand on their own. One of those few is Ragman, one of the few canonically Jewish heroes in the DC Universe. Rory Reagan wears the suit of souls, a collection of patches that are made up of the souls of criminals. And even though he is not affiliated with the Bat family, he has met members of it on more than one occasion. This episode, we're reading three of those adventures.

Snitch (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 51)
Suit of Evil Souls (Batman V.1 # 551-552)
The Unknowns (Batwoman V.2 # 35-40, Annual # 2)

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 169: A Rags to Ragman Story

Over the past 169 episodes, we have covered work from a lot of creators. And I can't think of one that we have unanimously and consistently lauded than the late Darwyn Cooke. A writer artist like few others, Cooke passed away at a tragically young age, leaving a body of work that would have only grown. This week, we are covering the last comic Cooke was involved with that has any Batman related content, as well as two other comics that are related to it, one very directly, and one a bit more tangentially.

Night of the Stalker (Detective Comics V.1 # 439)
Solo # 5
The Bad News, or The Butterfly (The Question V.1 # 1-4)

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 170: Farewell, Darwyn Cooke

It's always a good time for us to return to the runs that we're following in order. This time, things go from bad to worse in No Man's Land, Dick Grayson investigates Wayne Manor for clues to Bruce Wayne's whereabouts while Damian has a strange encounter with Oberon Sexton, and the magical war in the Injustice world reaches its epic conclusion.

Claim Jumping (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 119, Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 87)
Batman Vs. Robin (Batman and Robin V.1 # 10-12)
Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three V.2 (Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three # 8-12, Annual # 1)

Check out our current ranking list at www.comicsxf.com/batchat-rankings/

Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

Follow the show on Twitter @BatChatComics and support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/batchatwithmattandwill

Episode 171: There's Something Funny About Him

Each week, hosts Matt Lazorwitz and Will Nevin look at three Batman stories, discuss them and put them on a list that will encompass all Batman stories. Some are great, some are not, but we hope you enjoy them all!

New tracks tagged #BatChat