The final battle has begun. Batman is storming the Orghams’ headquarters while his family saves Gotham’s citizens and the motley crew of villains he has allied with takes on the Orgham lieutenants. Nearly 30 issues has led to this. The lead story of Detective Comics #1,088 is written by Ram V, drawn by Guillem March,…
It’s a celebration over here as we hit episode 150! We started out with a theme of anniversary issues, ones that were numbers leading up to 150, so a 50, a 100 and a 150. And we did do that. But somehow, we wound up with a second theme: stories where Batman trips balls. Sometimes…
Each week, ComicsXF staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New comics come out Wednesdays. See your local comic shop for more info. And if you own a local comic shop and would like to sponsor the CXF weekly Staff Picks, email contact@comicsxf.com. Austin’s pick: Aliens vs. Avengers #1: Xenomorphs reach Earth! The perfect…
Amanda Waller’s war on superheroes is in full swing, and Batman has asked Catwoman to help him steal something that will help put Waller on the backfoot. This should be easy with the world’s greatest thief, right? No, because he didn’t expect to find Waller’s newest Suicide Squad in a secret U.S. military base. Batman…
Welcome to the world of tomorrow! Like, way tomorrow. Matt McThorn is back, and we are talking about the 853rd century and Grant Morrison’s first DC crossover, DC One Million. It’s a wild, sci-fi epic, which we all know if completely Will’s jam. But you might be surprised as we talk about the core mini-series,…
I have heard it said that every writer has a Batman story they want to tell. Only a few get to tell them. And sadly not all of them are great. This week we’re reading three stories from writers not usually associated with Batman, Harlan Ellison, Eddie Campbell and David Lapham. And, well, none of…
For the first time in a very long time, this week was supposed to see the publication of a collection of Marvel and DC collaborations, so Will and I decided this would be a good time to read some of that. But these are big omnibuses, so as is often the case, they have been…
Gotham is a city of shadows. A city where good and evil blend together. It’s a city made for Noir storytelling. And while some Batman stories have some elements of a Noir, most are very much superhero stories. But to tie-in with the 40s themed animated series, Batman: The Caped Crusader, debuting this week, and…
Over his thirty plus year career in comics, Archie Goodwin racked up a lot of accomplishments. He wrote horror stories for lots of Warren Publishing’s anthologies. At DC, he wrote Detective Comics, “Manhunter” (more on both of those later), and was the editor behind Batman: Black and White, the early issues of Legends of the…
The Dynamic Duo and the Man of Steel are entering their final battle with the 6th dimensional Imp Killer, but Batman has been turned into a puppet! Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk have to step up and gather some additional help, or things will end poorly. But who will wind up sacrificing themselves to stop this…
Generally speaking, the episodes we do here are carefully curated. We try to take a theme, a character, and thoroughly dig through the 85 years of Batman stories to find the ones that best fit that theme. But then there are the weeks where Will just picks three random books off his bookshelf and wants…
At the end of “Gotham War,” a thief broke into Bruce Wayne’s brownstone and discovered that he is Batman. Now he is trying to use that information to his advantage, to make one big score and get out of the life. But things aren’t all that easy in Batman #150, written by Chip Zdarsky, penciled…
We’ve all seen the memes and the jokes: Batman’s real super power is his wallet. Batman has, historically, been from the moneyed class, and that’s how he gets all those wonderful toys. But what happens when Batman doesn’t have all that cash? That’s what friend of the show, Patreon backer, and financial adviser Abigale Heartbalm…
Batman works outside the law pretty much all the time. And while he often runs afoul of civic authorities in Gotham City, it’s surprising how rarely he winds up in the crosshairs of the feds (well, we’re just starting Absolute Power in the main line, but again, exception that proves the rule). But it has…
There are some stories that read a very different ways after certain events. Who would have thought that these innocent little stories about Batman involved with plagues would read so differently after a global pandemic. Patreon backer and friend of the show John Wickham joins us to talk about the 90s crossover “Contagion,” a fun…