 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

Wayne Manor Memoirs

The Ol’ Englehart & Rogers Treatment

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.

B-Side: Suicide Squad (2016)

 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/

Apparitions of Hugo Strange

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

B-Side: Pulp

 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

These Men are Monstrous

 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

Bat-Radar: June 2021

 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

Hugo Strange: The First Rogue

 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

Bat-Radar: May 2021

 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

The King's Bat

 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

B-Side: Our War on Joker

 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

Beyond the Joker’s Return

 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

Batman ‘66, The Comic! Part Deux

 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 & #6Continuity Crisis: Martian Manhunter vol. 2 #20 & #36, Harley Quinn vol. 1 #23, Manhunter vol. 1 #26-30, Batwoman vol. 2 #19Outside the Panel: Harley Quinn S2 E3 - Catwoman 

It's a Trap!

 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

Wasteland Wonder Woman

 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 #1-3Crisis 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

These Legends Were Untold to Us

Wayne Manor Memoirs is a Batman research podcast dedicated to exploring the brightest, darkest, and strangest aspects of the Bat-Mythos. Join Joe & Kendall every other Friday as they deliver the bat-facts straight to your ears. Be prepared for discussions on first appearances, origins, story arcs,creators, retcons, and more!

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Wayne Manor Memoirs

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