Wayne Manor Memoirs – Details, episodes & analysis

Holy (possible) resurrection Batman! After nearly a year of inactivity, Joe and Megan return to try their hand at a different format. This is a trial run Bat-Fanatics! Your feedback is welcome (and needed!).

This... year... Joe & Megan tackle the historic first crossover between DC and Marvel, Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man! This highly successful marketing ploy, err... comic... was released in 1976 as part of a collaberation between Marvel and DC, with both companies taking an active roll in plotting and art direction. Does this landmark issue deliver it's value? Do Superman and Spider-Man fight? Is it even a contest? Does Lex Luthor work well with others? How do red suns work? Can Joe and Megan still work their equipment? Does Joe have to relearn how to edit? Tune in Bat-Fanatics to discover all the answers!

Special thanks to Rogue's Gallery, Hey Do You Remember, and Checkered Past for convincing us to alter the format and try again.

Welcome back Bat-Fanatics! Megan joins Joe for a very special episode dedicated to the first women to make their mark on Batman comics. Our suite of writers starts way back in the Golden Age with Ruth Lyons Kaufman. Then we visit the bronze age with Barbara Kesel before returning to the modern era with Devin Grayson. For artists, we start in the 80s with Mary Mitchell before revisiting New 52's Becky Cloonan. 

Don't fret Bat-Fanatic if your favorite female creative isn't on this list! We tried to keep the list focused on big milestones this time. We're definitely interested in expanding our knowledge of the women who've shaped Batman. Feel free to reach out if you have a particular female bat-creator you want us to cover!

Comics: Batman vol. 1 #16, Batman vol. 1 #401, Gotham Knights vol. 1 #1, Batman: Gotham Nights vol. 1 #1, Batman vol. 2 #12

Happy Holidays, Bat-Fanatics! You know, as we always say on this podcast, there is nothing that prepares you for this festive season more than taking a closer look at another psychopathic member of Batman’s rogues gallery. This holiday season, the Calendar Man has stuffed your proverbial stocking with bits and pieces of Lord Death Man. But don’t fret! He’s gonna be fine! He survived a volcano! That might be getting ahead of ourselves, though… Joe & Kendall put the menace of Bat-Manga under the microscope to find out just how Lord Death Man… lords…over… death? That’s right, Bat-Fanatics. Joe read manga. FOR YOU! And he even liked it. What is the world coming to?

So don your dramatic capes, pull out that skeleton Halloween costume from a few years ago, prepare your best Han Solo in carbonite impression, and get ready to contemplate the harsh realities of insanity and immortality as we cover ALMOST EVERY SINGLE APPEARANCE OF LORD DEATH MAN EVER. That’s right. Almost all of them. Watch out for the volcano.

Infinite Origins: Batman vol. 1 #180, Bat-Manga #1-3

Continuity Crisis: Batman Inc vol. 1 #1-2, Batman Inc: Leviathan Strikes! #1, Batman Inc vol. 2 #13, Talon vol.1 #16-17, Batman Eternal vol. 1 #46, Harley Quinn vol. 3 #48-49, Batman: Gotham Nights #16

Welcome back to another OUTRAGEOUS episode of "Being Brave & Staying Bold," a bonus show from Wayne Manor Memoirs!

Joe & Kendall have arrived at the end of season 1! It's time for the final showdown with Equinox! Can Batman & his allies defeat a man in perfect balance between order and chaos? Season 2 says yes. Plus, we pick our highs and lows for Season 1.

This episode covers season 1, episodes 26: The Fate of Equinox! 

Welcome back Bat-Fanatics for an episode of particularly weird proclivities! This time Joe & Kendall discuss the unofficial DC/Marvel Meta Crossover from the early 70s. This crossover, orchestrated by Steve Englehart, Len Wein, and Gerry Conway, takes place during the Rutland, Vermont annual Halloween Parade and features said writers (plus Glynis Oliver) as characters within their comics interacting with comic characters. Oh yeah. It’s one of THOSE. So buckle-up because we’re about to cover our first Marvel comics EVER on this podcast! Find answers to all of life’s questions: does Marvel pay Steve Englehart? Who is Tom Fagan and how many rooms does his mansion have? How many hamburgers can Len eat? What keeps happening to Glynis? And (most importantly) why is Steve Engleharts car so crappy? 

Oh! And your emails. So many emails!

Plot Pandemonium: Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #16, Justice League vol. 1 #103, Thor vol. 1 #207

Our Quadrology is over, which means it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled, seemingly random, programming. This time Joe & Kendall take a crack at Superman: The Animated Series (STAS)! Turns out, this was another (unintentional) blind spot for Joe. Of course this is a Batman podcast (at least we say it is…), so we’ll be discussing their first team up in the Timm-verse, World’s Finest! This TV movie, with a meager runtime of ~66 minutes, is incredible. Joker/Lex “team up?” Check. Hamfisted but surprisingly satisfying romance between Bruce and Lois? Check. A sense of growth within our titular characters from working with each other? Check. If you’ve never watched this, Bat-Fanatics, stop reading and go do it. Seriously. We’ll wait. Back? Great! Let’s talk Batman & Superman!

Episode Extravaganza: Superman the Animated Series S2: E16, 17, & 18 - World’s Finest

We welcome back beloved Batman fan, and fan-favorite guest, Chris Schrader (Rogue’s Gallery, Hey Do You Remember?, Strange Case of Lucy Chandler) to the podcast for the show stopping finale of the Hugo Strange Quadrology! It only took us 4 to 72 months to finish four REAL episodes of the podcast. That’s quality, right? What are we discussing? Why Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers of course! Didn’t we kinda do that last time? Sure, but this time we’ve invited a guest and given ourselves some REAL breathing room to discuss their creative works in detail. What else did they work on? What are the highlights of their careers? Is there anything else you should look at? ABSOLUTELY! 

So dive in, Bat-Fanatics! Joe and Kendall are great fun, but Chris always gets them thinking outside their comfort zone! 

Background Bat-File: Steve Englehart & Marshall Rogers

We're back for another B-Side! This time we take a left turn (or several left turns?) to discuss a film that offers some really high highs and some really low lows. Hot on the heels of The Suicide Squad, Joe & Kendall decided to discuss 2016's Suicide Squad.

Part of the early attempt to establish a DC Cinematic Universe, Suicide Squad suffers from myriad problems: trying to be Guardians of the Galaxy, WB meddling, and a bizarre script to name a few. However, it's not all bad! We are introduced to Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Viola Davis' TERRIFYING Amanda Waller. 

Listen in Bat-Fanatics as we dissect why Joe likes this movie, why it disappoints Kendall, and whatever the hell Jared Leto was doing here.

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