Episode 97 - One of These Stories Has a Very ”Now” Feeling

Andy and Mike are back with more Elseworlds fun with stories that take place in the 1930's and the late 1800's! 

And boy was it a mixed bag.

First up is Batman: Dark Allegiances, written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. This story, the one set in the 1930's, has a self-made Bruce Wayne fighting against corrupt politicians and a racist secret society with a dash of fascism thrown in for good measure. For a story set in the early part of the 20th century and published a little over three decades ago there is a really "now" feeling to it that Andy and Mike make a meal of.  They also talk about the two-fisted action, men in suits, women that know their own mind, and the guest appearance from Hitler. There is some contempoary policial talk during this section if you have a problem with such things, but when the sub-text in the story is text in real life it's hard to avoid.

Next up is Batman: Two Faces, which has the elevator pitch of "Batman meets The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". Bruce Wayne is a wealthy socialite that has an interest in fighting crime. The death of a friend at the hands of Two-Face pushes Bruce to create a serum that makes him stronger, faster, and better and he becomes the Batman to bring Two-Face down. A new villain named The Joker complicates matters and a final face-off leads to a shocking revelation. Andy and Mike had issues with this one, but they wonder if maybe starting with a strong story made this one look worse by comparison.

The wrap things up with a conversation about the difference between Marvel's What If stories and DC's Elseworlds and the contemporary comic fan scene where they manage to not sound like two old men yelling at clouds.

It may not seem like it, but Andy and Mike do like feedback even if they are crap at getting to it. The most direct way to do this is to email them, which you can do by directing your thoughts to overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com. You can also leave a comment over on their Facebook page. You can also leave a comment at the new web home of the show, The Bailey Planet.

Next Time: The guys take a look at two Doug Moench written Batman stories. One from the eighties and one from the nineties.