Batman

The Bat Force celebrate the last 10 years of comics and Bat Force Radio

We return from our hiatus with the one and only Tom Taylor, to kick off season 10. Tom takes us through his past as a fire eater, playwright, and TV presenter, all the way up to his start in reading comics and then writing them, where he gave us books like Injustice: Gods Among Us, DCeased, Superman: Son Of Kal-El, Dark Knights of Steel, Nightwing, and now Detective Comics with Mikel Janin. We also delve into the importance of continued inclusion of diverse characters and stories in comics, the benefits of more positivity and less negativity in the comic fandoms, being interviewed by Anderson Cooper, and the events of the recently completed first story arc of his Detective Comics run, plus what is to come in the next arc, and beyond, plus lots more. This is a rare opportunity to hear Tom speaking in depth, so don't miss it.

Our favourite spooky artist Kelley Jones returns for our 7th annual Halloween chat. This year we talk about the recently released Dracula Volume 1 : The Impaler, and Kelley explains why his depictions of Vlad's impalements are so horrifically accurate. We also get into Dracula Volume 2 : The Brides, which is currently on Kickstarter here: http://kck.st/3zPYbAG As always, we pick Kelley's brain for some Halloween horror movie recommendations, and learn what movie scared him the most, as well as lots of talk about comics and art.

Kieron Gillen joins us as we go full spoilers on the second issue of The Power Fantasy, including an explanation of each of the main characters and their abilities. Kieron takes us through the development of the story and characters, along with his co-creator, Caspar Wijngaard, finding the core idea of The Power Fantasy during his run on Immortal X-Men. We also go through Kieron's origin as a video game journalist and making his way to comics. We gush about Caspar Wijngaard, Absolute Batman, and go over loads of other topics, including what one thing Kieron would choose to change about the comic industry. The Power Fantasy # 2 is available now.

Blake Northcott returns to talk about her upcoming Barbarella series with artist Anna Morozova. Barbarella # 1 is in stores October 2nd from Dynamite Entertainment.

This week we are talking about your next favorite comic, The Power Fantasy, with series co-creator Caspar Wijngaard. Caspar shares about building the characters, world, and story, along with series author and co-creator Kieron Gillen. We also hear about the roots and dynamics of their collaboration, choosing the art style for a decades-spanning story of super-powered beings with the ability to level the entire planet, depicting real world locations during different eras, drawing pizza in a character's hands without it looking weird, Caspar's own origin story in comics and art, video games, movies, and more. The Power Fantasy is in stores August 7th

Alvaro Martinez joins us and lets me pick his brain about the upcoming The Nice House By The Sea, the follow-up story to the multi-Eisner-winning The Nice House On The Lake. We talk about Alvaro's start in comics from his very first work, to his first work with James Tynion, leading up to the hugely successful Nice House. We get into how their creative partnership works, along with colorist Jordie Bellaire, how far the Nice House universe may or may not go, Alvaro's dream superhero comic to draw and his one and only choice of who the author would be, his childhood comic influences, and lots more. The Nice House By The Sea has a final order cutoff date of Monday July 1st, so tell your comic shop immediately that you need a copy so you don't miss out when issue one hits stores July 24th.

Jason Fabok returns to talk about the new series Rook: Exodus from himself, Geoff Johns, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh, as well as the birth of Ghost Machine, the new imprint at Image Comics, founded by themselves along with other A list creators like Brad Meltzer, Gary Frank, Peter Tomasi, Francis Manapul, and others. Jason discusses how Ghost Machine came together, some of the differences between steering their own Ghost Machine ship versus working with other publishers, and some of the other current and upcoming titles from other Ghost Machine creators. We also go a little bit into the upcoming 3 Jokers related story included in Joker: The World, coming in September. Beware spoilers for issue 3 of Rook: Exodus, in stores today! Check out ghostmachinepro.com for more info

"Batman: One Dark Night is a fan film, written by Tim Leftwich and Nathan Trucks, seeking to recapture the magic of the 1989 Batman films in a new, 8-10 minute action-packed short film. They are currently fundraising to reach their budget of $15k, which will allow them to bring their vision to life. And their stretch goals would allow them to do that job even better: adding better equipment, pay for our crew members, and practical effects (fire, smoke, ice, and so on)." Support today! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/batman-one-dark-night#/

Bat Force Radio Ep # 320 - Clay McCormack and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz join us to talk about their new ComiXology Original series Hard Style Juice (available April 16th) and it's story of a family-owned professional wrestling organization, with a twist of murder mystery. Beware spoilers for issue one, along with the story of how they linked up with ComiXology for the project, and a little wrasslin talk. Read issue 1 at www.hardstylejuice.com today!

Juan Gedeon joins us to talk about creating The Jurassic League (which is soon to be adapted into an animated feature), relocating from Argentina to America to make comics, the books that made him want to make comics, music, and lots more.

Aaron Campbell joins us for a chat about John Constantine Hellblazer : Dead In America. The new chapter in John's story from Aaron and author Si Spurrier, that sees him on a road trip across America that features Swamp Thing and Dream of The Endless. We also discuss matters like the proper pronunciation of Constantine (which is "teen"), on-screen iterations of the character, AI, and lots of other fun stuff.

Our annual Christmas gathering to discuss comics, movies, collectibles, and listen to SOME of us get more than a little drunk.

Kelley Jones returns for our annual Halloween chat and, this year, we're talking about Dracula Volume 1 : The Impaler. The new comic written by Matt Wagner, drawn by Kelley, with colours by Jose Villarrubia, and if you visit their Kickstarter page before November 16th, you can be a part of it. We also chat about horror movies and some of the usual Halloween time stuff. Check out the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/draculatheimpaler/dracula-volume-1-the-impaler-by-matt-wagner-and-kelley-jones The story begins with this volume, DRACULA—BOOK 1: THE IMPALER, which explores Dracula's bloody history and his tenure at Satan's legendary seminary of the dark arts, the Scholomance. “The first graphic novel explores what led Dracula to seek out Satan's tutelage and how he became the lord of the undead,” explains writer Matt Wagner, who adds that the book is finished and just awaiting printing.

Eisner winning comic creator Becky Cloonan joins us for a spoiler-free talk about her upcoming series Somna, (co-written and co-illustrated with Tula Lotay with colors by Lee Loughridge) for DSTLRY Media. We get into the origins and inspirations of the erotic folk horror story, creating a new story with Tula for the first time, and getting involved with DSTLRY. We also get into her own origin story in comics, having Ralph Bakshi as a professor, the inspirations for her art style, a couple of her non-comics art projects, and a bunch of other stuff. Somna issue one is in stores November 22.

Christian Ward returns as we go full spoilers on the first issue of his new cosmic horror epic. Where Morrison and McKean meet Lovecraft and Cthulhu, Christian Ward begins Batman : City of Madness. Be sure to pick up issue one before listening to this episode, because we get into all the details of everything that goes down within it's pages.

Where Grant Morrison and Dave McKean meet H.P Lovecraft and Cthulhu, Christian Ward begins Batman : City of Madness. Come along as Christian discusses his new three issue cosmic horror epic on DC's Black Label, the inspirations behind it, the years he has waited to tell the story, and how it came to be. We also get into Christian's upcoming work on Spectregraph with James Tynion for DSTLRY, his own origin story in comics, Batman 89, his past as a teacher and the gamble he took to become a successful comic creator, and lots more. Batman City of Madness # 1 is in stores October 10th but the Final Order Cutoff date for comic shops is September 9th so be sure to let your comic shop know that you want a copy!

This week we are joined by both Clay and Seth Mann as they take us way behind the curtain to talk about what they have been quietly working on together, from a pitch stage to a greenlit project, complete with contract negotiations, editorial compromises, etc. We also coax them into telling us about growing up as comic fans with some childhood photos that we dug up online, plus stories of fumbled promotions on Seth Meyers, collaborations and general brotherly bickering. This is a fun one.

Kelly Thompson joins us to talk about her new Image Comics horror series The Cull, as well as her upcoming Birds of Prey series (her first at DC). We also chat about her origin in comics and writing, her first comic as a child, tv and movies, Rage Against The Machine, the origin of her internet handle, the detail that you may miss in the final pages of The Cull, and loads more. Find Kelly online at 1979semifinalist.com The Cull # 1 is on Sale August 16 from Image Comics Eisner-winning writer KELLY THOMPSON (BLACK CLOAK) and superstar artist MATTIA DE IULIS (Captain America) team up for their first creator-owned work together Something is Killing the Children horror vibes mix with The Goonies-style adventure as five friends set off to shoot a short film on a forbidden rock near their home the summer before they all go their separate ways. But that's not really why they're there. One of them has lied. And that lie will change their lives forever. Birds of Prey # 1 is on sale September 5 from DC Comics BREAKING HEARTS AND FACES--THE BIRDS OF PREY ARE BACK! Every mission matters. Every life saved is a miracle. But this time, it's personal. Dinah Lance is one of the DCU's most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she's a fearsome foe in any scenario...but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help. Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group of badasses--Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn--and only one goal: extraction without bloodshed. What could possibly go wrong? Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Black Widow) makes her long-awaited DC Universe writing debut, and is joined by her Hawkeye partners-in-crime Leonardo Romero (Batman) and Jordie Bellaire (Wonder Woman) to debut an all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey series...still breaking hearts and faces after all these years!

Mattson Tomlin (on a writer's strike-imposed hiatus from writing The Batman 2) and Lee Bermejo (en route to SDCC) join us for a SPOILER-FILLED chat about their BOOM! Studios comic A Vicious Circle. The pair explain how their creative partnership began, the development of the story, influences, "Just doing Frazetta", the writer's and actor's strikes (and the importance of supporting them), The Batman 2, Batman The Imposter, and probably some other things that I'm forgetting because its 4am. Book two is in stores today (July 19th) so get your copy and read it, before getting into this episode.

Travis Mercer joins us to talk about Batman: Fighting The Frozen; the comic he illustrated for the McFarlane Toys Page Punchers figure series, his upcoming projects, his comics origin story, and lots more.

Sean Murphy returns to go in depth into "Zorro - Man Of The Dead", his upcoming Kickstarter original comic, and beware big SPOILERS as he also takes us through the plot of the next chapter of his Batman White Knight universe for DC Comics. Check out the Kickstarter campaign here: https://tinyurl.com/ZorroKickstarter and listen as Sean takes us through the plot (it's not what you'd think), the process of purchasing the rights to Zorro, his book deal with Massive Publishing, and some of the backer perks that will be available when the Kickstarter project goes live. We also chat about the state of comics for readers, publishers, and retailers during the continuing shift in the distribution chain that puts your comics into your hands, the original comic art market, and some other random topics.

Bat Force Radio Ep # 306 - The gang sits down to give our reviews of the big screen Flashpoint adaptation, while attempting to paint a picture of the film to the one of us who has yet to see it. Did we love it? Did we hate it? Have we ever agreed on anything? Tell us what you thought, in the comments.

We had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Stefan Folkins and Marty Henley from NECA to dive into the process of bringing their newly released 1989 Batman Utility Belt Replica to life! We also chat about the groundbreaking film, its impact, and influence on fans still to this day. Grab your 1989 Batman Utility Belt from www.thenecastore.com now!

Katana Collins and Clay McCormack return for a SPOILER-FILLED chat about issue one of Batman White Knight Presents Generation Joker, crafting the story of Jackie and Bryce on a dangerous trip with Dad, while weaving in some familiar faces, as well as some new ones. We also grill them about some upcoming projects, con appearances and, of course, the obligatory chat about The Last Of Us and Yellowjackets. Again, this is a SPOILER-FILLED episode. Read Generation Joker # 1 before listening,

Nick Robles joins us just in time for the final issue of his Boom! Studios series "Behold, Behemoth", to talk about the creation of the story, along with Tate Brombal, and how the project kept him from stepping out of comics. We also get into some of his prior works, including introducing new characters into Neil Gaiman's Sandman Universe in the pages of Waking Hours, and we finish it off by geeking out about Yellowjackets and The Last Of Us (both the games and the HBO series) and how that story lent influence to Behold, Behemoth.

Fernando Blanco joins us to discuss the development and creation of w0rldtr33 with James Tynion, the unfortunate delay caused by a printing error, the themes are inspirations for the story, as well as his own origin story in art and comics, making a career for himself in American comics, all the way in Barcelona.

We are joined once again by international best selling author Blake Northcott to discuss her upcoming comic adaption of her best selling book The North Valley Grimoire, her Disney obsession, hanging out with Samuel L Jackson, writing with rockstars, and more.

We continue our trip through the Batman works of Grant Morrison with Gothic. Originally appearing in issues 6 to 10 of Legends of The Dark Knight in 1990, it features occult and religious themes and imagery, a killer from Bruce's past, and the art of Klaus Janson.

We sit down with Shiv The Impaler to talk all about his Brutal Slam project Skin Stripper and how the Snyder Verse has heavily influenced the latest single "DO YOU BLEED?" and the upcoming EP "SICK AS FUCK 2 BADASS" dropping on the anniversary of the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League March 18th. DISCLAIMER: No members of the Coalition of Angry Nolan Nerds were harmed during the recording of this episode.

We sit down to talk about our early thoughts on the new Batman - I mean Flash - trailer. After that, we continue into some discussion on the upcoming DC universe under the Gunn - Saffran regime.

Author Tate Brombal joins us to talk about his work on books like House of Slaughter; Behold, Behemoth; The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos; and Barbalien; as well as his unique origin story in writing comics, working in the universes of Something Is Killing The Children and Black Hammer, with creators like James Tynion and Jeff Lemire, and lots more. This is a good one, and you don't want to miss it. Beware SPOILERS for House Of Slaughter # 11

Back at the beginning of December, we gathered to celebrate the creations and contributions of some of the great creators we lost in 2022.

Bat Force Radio Ep # 297 - We go deep into James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds' The Department Of Truth comics, with special guests Ryan, Nick, and Alex from the Bledsoe Said So podcast. Ryan Bledsoe is an Experiencer whose family and life have long been the subject of study by goverment agencies. In addition to Ryan's own experiences, which he details in this episode, his father, Chris Bledsoe's story includes encounters with the entity who we will know as Babalon or The Woman in the Red Dress within The Department of Truth comics. This episode is full of spoilers from issue 1 to 12 of The Department of Truth. If you haven't read the series yet, do yourself a favour and read it before you listen. Check out the Bledsoe Said So podcast at www.bledsoesaidso.com

As we prepare to delve into the complete Batman work of Grant Morrison, we begin with a discussion of Grant's beliefs in magic, sigil creation, manifestation, and drug use, to better understand the themes and ideas that came up during the course of their runs on Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman Incorporated, Final Crisis, the return of Bruce Wayne, etc. For some background on what we are discussing, check out Grant Morrison on Chaos Magic, the occult, and Sigil creation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTMFBYXmvMk

We talk about the good, the bad, and the spoilers of Black Adam along with Gotham Geek Girl, who attended the red carpet premier. Beware spoilers for the return of you know who.

Our spooky time favourite, Kelley Jones, returns for the 5th straight Halloween and we talk about his cat's appearance in the Netflix Sandman series, comics, horror movies, the time he helped revolutionize Mr. Freeze and bring him back into Batman comics, and lots more. This episode uses a lot of visual elements and we suggest checking it out on Youtube to see all that good stuff.

Lee Bermejo returns to discuss this week's Batman: Dear Detecive. The 56 page Black Label Prestige Plus size book, collecting his masterful Detective Comics variant cover run, in their proper narrative order, alongside a mysterious letter written to The Dark Knight. As always, we touch on some other topics as well. Honestly, we recorded this episode a couple weeks ago and we couldn't tell you what those other topics were, at this point. Maybe leave a comment and remind us. K thx Most importantly, go pick up a copy of BATMAN: DEAR DETECTIVE. You wont soon find a better looking comic.

Clay McCormack returns for a spoiler-filled chat about the new Batman White Knight Presents: Red Hood. The 2 issue mini that he created along-side Sean Murphy, Simone Di Meo, and Dave Stewart. Clay shares thoughts on creating a version of Jason Todd that is unique to the White Knight Universe, while remaining faithful to the version of the character we all know; as well as introducing the new character Gan, a self-proclaimed Robin, now being trained by Jason. We also pry for info on the secret next White Knight spinoff, as well as plans for the sequel to Bloody Hel, and Clay's time at this year's SDCC and upcoming con schedule.

This week we're joined by Ram V, the new author of Detective Comics, plus books like The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Blue In Green, These Savage Shores, Swamp Thing, Venom, Catwoman, etc. We talk about his Gothic Opera in Gotham, his supervillain origin story, yelling at Rocky fans, food, writing Aquaman into a deep sea horror story, his dogs, the story behind his name, and lots more.

New Batman author Chip Zdarksy returns for a spoiler-filled chat about his new run on Batman, beginning with this week's issue 125, including the identity of Failsafe, Tim Drake, Penguin, Alfred, and more; as well as his work on Batman: The Knight, Daredevil, Public Domain, writing for TV, the movie he helped pitch to Marvel, and lots more. Absolutely read Batman 125 BEFORE listening to this episode or have every page spoiled.

We finally return to comic reviews to discuss Mattson Tomlin, Andrea Sorrentino, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands' 3 issue mini-series Batman: The Imposter (plus variant covers by Lee Bermejo). Go pick up a copy or, if you already have it, read along and tell us all the things that we got wrong.

This week we sit down to discuss the art and influence of Neal Adams from our own perspectives from interactions with him and collecting of his work, as well as being joined via voice messages by Jock, Lee Bermejo, Jason Fabok, Paul Pope, and Doug Mahnke, who offered their thoughts and perspectives as influential comic artists inspired and affected by the art and artist's rights efforts of Mr Adams that changed the industry.

Author / Illustrator Clay McCormack joins us to talk about his origin story in comics, his WW1 / Viking epic Bloody Hel, writing the upcoming 2 issue Red Hood story as part of Batman Beyond The White Knight from Sean Murphy (with whom he also co-hosts the BatAss podcast covering Batman The Animated Series and Batman Beyond), as well as collecting, movies, video games, drawing knees, general nerdery, and lots more.

Paul Goodenough and Sarah Lord of Rewriting Extinction join us to discuss "The Most Important Comic Book On Earth - Stories To Save The World" a global collaboration for planetary change, bringing together a diverse team of 300 leading environmentalists, artists, authors, actors, filmmakers, musicians, and more to present over 120 stories to save the world. A team that includes names like Ricky Gervais, Jane Goodall, Cara Delevingne, Andy Serkis, Jock, Alan Moore, Cliff Chiang, Brian Azzarello, and hundreds more. Visit www.rewritingextinction.com to learn more or find out where to get your copy and help to save the world.

One of our favourites, Clay Mann, returns to talk about the upcoming conclusion to his Batman Catwoman series and his thoughts on the story, as well as The Batman movie, stalking Robert Pattinson at an afterparty, Jim Lee, artist's block, promotion of current comic books, his future, an upcoming Phantasm collectible, and lots more.

As Batman Beyond The White Knight #1 hits shelves, here is the SPOILER portion of our chat with creator Sean Murphy, that began with the spoiler-free portion in episode #282 (check that one out first, if you missed it). In this episode, we go deep into spoilers for not only issue 1 and the big cliffhanger final page, but also preview some of what is coming in issue #2 and beyond, as well as the 2 issue mini that spins out of this series. Do not listen before reading issue 1 if you don't want it to be spoiled.

Along with special guest ReevzFX, we're joined by "The Ballet Bat" Carl Newman to talk about his experience filming the 1989 Batman movie as a body and movement double for Michael Keaton, chosen to add grace and athleticism to the Batman, working with Tim Burton, Jack Nicholson, et al. You'll be shocked to find out how many of the iconic shots and scenes from the film are not actually Michael Keaton, but Carl himself under the cowl.

Sean Murphy returns in advance of the start of the next chapter of the White Knight Universe: Batman Beyond The White Knight. We take a mostly spoiler-free walk through what is coming in the new series, as Terry McGinnis arrives in the Murphy-verse and Bruce's new look in a new Gotham, as well as getting into Sean's thoughts on The Batman, what made him worry he would have to walk away from DC Comics, the success of his crowdfunded graphic novel Plot Holes and a reveal of what character he has acquired the license rights to use for his next crowdfund project, and lots of other stuff that I'm probably forgetting at the moment. And check back with us on March 29 when we are back again with Sean for a spoiler-filled walk through Batman Beyond The White Knight #1 on the day of it's release. You'll also hear some things that are coming up in issue 2 and beyond, if you're into that kind of thing.

We reconvene after second (or fourth) viewings of Matt Reeves' The Batman to go deeper into this new world and get some first thoughts from some of the guys who missed the previous episode. Join us for some new catches and new viewpoints. Yeah, we'll probably be back to this topic again, very soon.

After attending early screenings of The Batman, we gather to discuss our thoughts on everything from the story, performances, score, comics inspirations, theatre swag, to comparisons to previous Bat films. We stay spoiler free for the first 15 to 20 minutes. If you have yet to see The Batman, jump out before the spoilers and come back after you have.