Wayne Manor Memoirs

After much delay, Wayne Manor Memoirs brings you the flagship episode of our Hugo Strange Quadrology: Strange Apparitions. This run of comics, largely written by Steve Englehart with pencils by Marshall Rogers, spans Detective Comics #469 - 479 and includes: the introduction of Silver St. Cloud & Rupert Thorne, a reimagining of Deadshot, the return of Hugo Strange, and one of the most iconic Joker stories ever told. This story arc heavily influenced Batman ‘89 and several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.    Are you enticed yet, Bat-Fanatics? If that weren’t enough, Joe and Kendall read this for the FIRST TIME in preparation for this episode. Look at your little Bat-Hosts growing up. So join them as they discuss this quintessential run on Batman with only a token attempt to contextualize the status of Batman in 70s comics. Gotta love hindsight!   Oh! And Chris Schrader (Hey Do You Remember?, Rogue’s Gallery, Strange Case of Lucy Chandler) joins us next time to help discuss the impact of Strange Apparitions on the Bat-Mythos overall!   Plot Pandemonium: Detective Comics vol. 1 #469 - 479 Chris Sims: https://comicsalliance.com/ask-chris-277-where-does-strange-apparitions-sit-in-the-batman-canon/

Welcome back to our second B-Side, Bat-Fanatics! What is the B-Side? This is the comics opinion show from Wayne Manor Memoirs for topics that: A) we don’t really want to cover for the main show, B) come from way outside the Bat-Mythos (like maybe other companies), C) deserve more time than a Bat-Radar can offer, or D) are justified with “because we said so!” This time we cover Brubaker & Phillip's self contained story, PULP! Westerns, Nazis, heists, and (of course) Pulps! We hope you enjoy, Bat-Fanatics! Content - Pulp Mentions - Ruthless, Fatale, Mr. Miracle, Watchmen, Omega Men, Stray Bullets

The Hugo Strange quadrology continues with Matt Wagner's Batman and the Monster Men! Can you really take 12 pages of Golden age content and transform it into a 6 issue mini-series? Joe and Kendall aim to find out. Set in the "modern" origin of Batman, this story falls between Year One and The Man Who Laughs and features an updated version of Professor Hugo Strange. This Strange is the pinnacle of diminutive physique and aspires to perfect human genes. Too bad he ends up with Monster Men . . . again.   So prepare yourself for a story of monsters, mad science, loan sharks, gambling dens, obligatory romance, and vigilante justice as Joe and Kendall continue their adventure through the multiverse!   Plot Pandemonium: Batman and the Monster Men #1-6

Welcome Bat-Fanatics to the second episode of Bat-Radar. Those of you familiar with the show are used to the episodic musings of Joe & Kendall, but here is a full hour dedicated to their most interesting reads from June 2021. If that weren't enough, they also do their best to catalogue and review every Bat-Book currently on the market. Do they get them all? No. Do they try really hard? Maybe. So sit down and listen to more unscripted nonsense from J&K and they talk comics, television, and video games.   Content: Boom's Whendon-Verse, God of War, Omega Men, Teen Titan's Rebirth, Invincible, Checkmate, Vagabond   Bat-Book Roundup: Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Robin, Batman: Urban Legends, Batman/Catwoman, The Joker, Legends of the Dark Knight, Batman: Reptilian, Future State: Gotham

Welcome Bat-Fanatics to the first part of our Hugo Strange Quadrology! This episode will focus on the Golden Age origins of Dr. Hugo Strange. We’ll follow this with a modern retelling of one of these classic tales then dive into the fan-lauded Englehart & Marshall run on Detective Comics from the 70s. We’ll finish by talking specifically about Englehart & Marshall’s impact on the Bat-Mythos.   Seriously though, Kendall jokes that Joe might be Hugo’s doppelganger. Let’s check. Bald? Yep. Round glasses? Usually. Thick chinstrap beard? Yep. Evil scientist bent on dominating the will of the weak? Definitely. They’re the same person! What’s even crazier? Hugo Strange is the first recurring villain in the Bat-Mythos. That’s right. Before Joker! What’s even more wild? We’re going to cover Batman #1 and talk about the LEAST popular story in the whole issue! That’s how we do things here Bat-Fanatics. Enjoy some classic Golden Age stories from the earliest year of the Batman!   Infinite Origins: Detective Comics Vol. 1 #36; Batman vol. 1 #1; Detective Comics Vol. 1 #46

Welcome Bat-Fanatics to our inaugural episode of Bat-Radar. Those of you familiar with the show are used to the episodic musings of Joe & Kendall, but here is a full hour dedicated to their most interesting reads from May 2021. If that weren't enough, they also do their best to catalogue and review every Bat-Book currently on the market. Do they get them all? No. Do they try really hard? Maybe. So sit down and listen to more unscripted nonsense from J&K and they talk comics and enjoy beer during a thunderstorm. Content: Reckless, Fatale, Heroes Reborn (2021), Brubaker Captain America, Coates Captain America, DCeased Bat-Book Roundup: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman: The Detective, Nightwing, Robin, Batman: Urban Legends, Batman/Catwoman, Catwoman, The Joker, Batman: Black & White, Superman/Batman

It’s time for another installment of Talkin’ Tom King! I mean… Wayne Manor Memoirs. This time Joe and Kendall revisit some of the one-shot (single issue) stories from Tom King’s run on Batman. There are some great books in this selection, including two of their FAVORITE COMICS from King. Why? How?! What is the role of a one-shot in an ongoing story arc? Why are these single issues so effective when they are essentially comic book short stories? Joe & Kendall do their best to answer these questions while expounding on the virtues of character driven storytelling. If that wasn’t enough, we get the best team-ups that NO ONE asked for… Batman & Elmer Fudd. Take back that eye roll Bat-Fanatics, this book is SHOCKINGLY good. So give a “Hell Yeah” as you strap on your body-kite, make sure your butler/father has the best equipment for cleaning up swamp detritus, and prepare for bountiful (possibly biased) praise to be heaped upon Tom King. Plot Pandemonium - Batman vol. 3 #23, 24, 38, 54, Annuals 2 & 4; Batman/Elmer Fudd Special

After 4 months in editing Hell, Joe and Kendall finally release the inaugural episode of the B-Side! What is the B-Side? Well, Bat-Fanatics, this is the comics opinion show from Wayne Manor Memoirs for topics that: A) we don’t really want to cover for the main show, B) come from way outside the Bat-Mythos (like maybe other companies), C) deserve more time than a Bat-Radar can offer, or D) are justified with “because we said so.” This episode we’re covering James Tynion IV’s pre-Future State run on Batman… with a major emphasis on the Joker War storyline. We hope you enjoy, Bat-Fanatics! Content - Batman vol. 2 #86 - 105 Mentions - Batman: Gotham City Chronicles Board Game, Batman: War Games

What the shock? More Batman Beyond content? Oh yeah, Bat-Fanatics. We’ll keep serving it as long as you keep eating it up. This time Joe & Kendall look at the direct to home video Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. This was another blind spot for Joe and it did NOT disappoint. I mean, the inclusion of Mark Hamill makes everything better. Originally released after Season 1, Return of the Joker aimed to bridge the gap between Batman:The Animated Series and the rest of the Batman Beyond Universe. Boy, does this get dark! So dark that the original film was edited for initial release and eventually restored a few years later. Chief among them? The ultimate fate of the Joker. So prep a bag of popcorn, don your futuristic bat-suit, and discover why no-one in Batman Beyond really likes any of their former friends! ** This episode was recorded before Batman ‘66 volume 2, so the ongoing “plot” of Season 3 will be slightly out of order. Don’t let your back get Bane’d! It’s bad for podcast continuity ** Plot Pandemonium: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Inside the Panel: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Vol 1 #1

We hope you’re ready for some ‘66 shenanigans Bat-Fanatics! This week Joe & Kendal are joined by special guest Megan to delve into the second volume of the Batman ‘66 comic series. They covered the first volume way back in episode 29!    The second volume focuses on many of the one-arc villains from the series, plus two VERY unexpected returns: Eggbert & Lisa Carson (Lisa was part of our King Tut discussion in Episode 46). Do these stories hold up to the first volume? Do they still capture the “vibe” of Batman ‘66? More importantly… will Bookworm discover the secret identity of Batman? How many women will try to marry Batman/Bruce Wayne? How do identical cousins work? Listen in and find out!   ** This episode was recorded after Return of the Joker, so the ongoing “plot” of Season 3 will be slightly out of order. Don’t let your back get Bane’d! It’s bad for podcast continuity **   Plot Pandemonium - Batman ‘66 vol. 2: Physical Issues #6 - 10, Digital Issues #16 - 30

Look, Bat-Fanatics! It's our first character episode of Season 3 and we choose… Dr. Trap? You know, the guy with the metal jaw who tried to kill Harley, Ivy, Selina, and Kite-Man in that one episode of the second season of the Harley Quinn TV show? THAT guy? Oh yeah, Bat-Fanatics. That guy. This is easily the weirdest character progression Joe and Kendall have seen to date. In fact, Dr. Trap doesn’t appear as a “real” character until almost 3 years after his original design. That design? A methodical serial killer of supers, both heroic and villainous. Great premise right?! So join us as we read, perhaps, the most eclectic batch of DC comics that we’ve ever read to figure out where this mysterious metal-mouthed menace starts, and where he ends up! Infinite Origins: Chase vol. 1 #3 & #6 Continuity Crisis: Martian Manhunter vol. 2 #20 & #36, Harley Quinn vol. 1 #23, Manhunter vol. 1 #26-30, Batwoman vol. 2 #19 Outside the Panel: Harley Quinn S2 E3 - Catwoman

Well, Bat-Fanatics, it isn’t Batman, but he does make an appearance . . . so it counts! This time Joe and Kendall dedicate a whole episode to a Wonder Woman comic, specifically Wonder Woman: Dead Earth. Daniel Warren Johnson is both writer and artist on this wild, monster-filled ride. BEWARE! Spoilers abound if you haven’t read this, and man, you should read it! Wonder Woman in the post apocalypse? Check. Survival of humanity pushed to the brink? Check. Shocking appearances from the other members of the Trinity? Abso-freakin-lutely. This is a strange but extremely satisfying take on Wonder Woman, Bat-Fanatics! So strap on your Amazonian utility belt, turn your lasso of truth into a weapon of war, and prepare to battle your way through the apocalypse Wonder Woman style! Plot Pandemonium: Wonder Woman: Dead Earth 1-4

We return to 1980 to discuss the much beloved Untold Legends of the Batman! An adamant favorite amongst some of our more vocal Bat-Fanatics, this summary of Batman’s Pre-Crisis origin has never been seen by Joe & Kendall . . . until now! What an amazing time capsule this book is! Written by Len Wein with art by John Byrne (Issue 1) and Jim Aparo (Issues 2 & 3), this book served as a much needed jumping on point for new readers. It also happens to be the 2nd mini series ever published by DC. Joe & Kendall even include a “reader’s guide” for folks looking to find the original stories references within. So dust off your dad’s Batman Halloween costume, seek your long desired vengeance against Joe Chill, and join us in this defunct but wildly entertaining Batman origin.   Plot Pandemonium: The Untold Legend of the Batman #1-3 Crisis of Infinite Interpretations: ULotB Reader’s Guide YouTube Recordings of the Audio Cassettes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K92KciDNWoY&ab_channel=DarthPaul83 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCsOzSR6hn8&ab_channel=DarthPaul83 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49rP-NVtNaU&ab_channel=DarthPaul83

What the shock?! Yes, Bat-Fanatics, we return to the fan beloved animated series: Batman Beyond. This time Joe and Kendall review episodes 5-8, including the final fate of Mr. Freeze in the DCAU. These episodes really rip! And if the Bat-Fanatics need a reminder, while this is a delightful nostalgia trip for Kendall, Joe has NEVER seen these episodes before. Holy new Bat-Mythos! Within these 4 episodes are: the birth of Blight, the emergence of Shriek, the first DCAU Royal Flush Gang appearance, and an episode chocked full of Marvel homage. If that’s not enough, Joe and Kendall discuss the rumors surrounding a possible Batman Beyond Movie involving Michael Keaton! Episode Extravaganza: Batman Beyond S1: E5 - Meltdown, E6 - Heroes, E7 - Shriek, & E8 - Dead Man’s Hand

Welcome, Bat-Fanatics, to 1961, a transitionary period where the morality of the 50s is beginning to mingle with the sexual revolution. This is the setting of Howard Chaykin & Dan Brereton’s Batgirl & Robin: Thrillkiller,  a noir tale of corruption and murder in the dark heart of Gotham City. In the middle of it all is detective Bruce Wayne. Holy Twisted Continuity! Joe and Kendall dive into this Elseworld’s story lauded for its art and atmosphere to find out what happens when Barbra becomes the only bat-game in town and the Joker becomes… a woman?! So carefully manicure your 5 o’clock shadow, seductively unbutton your blouse until you’ve made everyone uncomfortable, and earn your reputation as a madcap heiress because this one had some potential, Bat-Fanatics, but boy does it fall apart quick! Plot Pandemonium: Batgirl and Robin: Thrillkiller #1-3