Bat Lessons: Batman History

Covering characters, stories, writers, artists, movie directors, business, politics and more. Everything in and around Batman. We start at the very begining, and work our way chronoligcally through 80 years of Batman.

32: Caped Crusader 12/10/2024

32: Caped Crusader Diving deep on the recent Amazon Prime Cartoon! Like we said in the episode, check out @SerumLake for way more tons of thoughtful analysis on the show. Stickers!! https://py.pl/5lkIFsSutdO Our Website! https://batlessons.com Threads (https://www.threads.net/@batlessons) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@batlessons) Bat Lessons (https://www.youtube.com/@batlessons) Bat Lessons Clips (https://www.youtube.com/@BatLessonsClips) Podcast Artwork by Sergio R. M. Duarte (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/) Podcast Music by Renzo Calma (https://www.instagram.com/renzocalm) Motion Graphics by r2ktalha (https://www.fiverr.com/share/AEpWpY) 00:00:00 Opening Thoughts 00:02:13 Amazon Prime 00:06:11 Creation of the Show 00:11:05 Recording 00:11:58 Time Setting 00:15:59 Tone 00:22:59 Gordon, Babs, Montoya 00:27:19 Bullock & Flass 00:29:47 Rupert Thorne 00:32:08 Penguin 00:34:47 Clayface 00:37:27 Catwoman 00:39:56 Alfred 00:43:01 Firebug 00:45:05 BAT-MAN 00:46:09 Harley Quinn 00:52:05 Gentleman Ghost 00:55:37 Onomatopoeia 01:03:19 Nocturna 01:10:05 Two-Face 01:17:07 Art, Animation, Closing Thoughts /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/34367370

31: Scarecrow 10/28/2024

31: Scarecrow Finally giving Scarecrow the justice he deserves! Stickers!! Our Website! Threads ( TikTok ( Awesome essay on Scarecrow As Toxin Delivery ( Awesome essay on Scarecrow As Henchman ( Japanese Scarecrows ( Political Cartoons ( The Wizard of Oz Was A Disaster ( Buster Keaton's Scarecrow ( The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ( Bat Lessons ( Bat Lessons Clips ( Podcast Artwork by Sergio R. M. Duarte ( Podcast Music by Renzo Calma ( Motion Graphics by r2ktalha ( 00:00 Haven't we done this? 02:02 Favorite Scarecrow 06:23 Inspirations 10:18 Political Cartoons 11:48 Wizard of Oz 18:28 Buster Keaton 22:50 Legend of Sleepy Hollow 27:13 Jonathan Crane 34:58 Golden Age Scarecrow /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/33641542

30: Solomon Grundy 09/22/2024

30: Solomon Grundy Idea on a Monday, Researched on Tuesday, Scheduled @capedjoel to guest on Wednesday, Recorded on Thursday, Edited on Friday, Uploaded on Saturday, Released on Sunday: This is our episode On Solomon Grundy Stickers!! Our Website! Threads () TikTok () CapedJoel! () Nursery Rhyme () Blog On Inspirations () Bat Lessons () Bat Lessons Clips () Podcast Artwork by Sergio R. M. Duarte () Podcast Music by Renzo Calma () Motion Graphics by r2ktalha () 00:00 Welcome Caped Joel! 01:29 Solomon Grundy 03:27 Nursery Rhyme 06:22 Batman Villain? 13:13 Green Lantern 18:18 First Appearance 31:07 Story Thoughts 32:35 Inspirations 37:50 Caped Joel! 40:55 Batman Memories 41:25 Batman Hot Takes /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/33156277

29: Corrections and Feedback Livestream 08/22/2024

29: Corrections and Feedback Livestream This is the replay from a livestream we recently had covering all the mistakes we made and all the feedback we got in the second year of Bat Lessons /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/32690992

28: Batman 1943 08/16/2024

28: Batman 1943 Few know about the first appearance of the Dark Knight in cinema. Fewer still know just how much of an impact it had on the batman universe. The Batman 1943 Serial is the genesis of the Batcave and of Alfred. Join us as we dive deep on the history and story of this important moment in the story of Batman. Threads () TikTok () Bat Lessons () Bat Lessons Clips () Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on threads, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Sergio R. M. Duarte () Podcast Music by Renzo Calma () Motion Graphics by r2ktalha () 00:00 Intro 01:52 Serials 16:56 WW2 17:38 Internment 23:31 Batman (1943) 43:43 The Radium Age 55:26 Dr Daka 58:38 Batman 01:00:00 Robin 01:01:22 Linda Page 01:02:19 Alfred Beagle 01:03:11 Closing Thoughts /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/32601207

27: Batman: The Ride 07/09/2024

27: Batman: The Ride On this very special edition of Bat Edition, we drive cross country and learn the history of Six Flags and Batman: The Ride and Mr. Freeze. Then, after spending a day at Six Flags St. Louis we give you our thoughts on the rides and their theming. Check out the video of us experiencing the park! Threads () TikTok () Bat Lessons on Youtube () Bat Lessons Clips on Youtube () Head on over to https://batlessons.com for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on threads, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Sergio R. M. Duarte () Podcast Music by Renzo Calma () Motion Graphics by r2ktalha () /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/32064447

26: The Untold Story Behind Batman's Butler 06/16/2024

26: The Untold Story Behind Batman's Butler Few supporting characters appear more in Batman stories than Alfred Pennyworth. Across comics, tv shows, movies and more, Alfred always stands by Batman's side. You probably know him as the loyal, skilled, and caring father figure that shaped Bruce into who he would become. But few know the story behind his creation. On this episode of bat lessons we uncover his early history in comics and newspaper strips and then discover the surprising way Alfred is inspired by the same source material as archer, the lion king, clue, 007, john wick, black butler, and more. You don't want to miss it. (Archive.org) (Amazon) (Youtube) (DCU Infinite) (Youtube) (Youtube) (Wikipedia) Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on threads, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by 00:00 Intro 01:57 First Appearance? 02:34 Who Created Alfred? 08:24 Daily Comic Strip History 16:39 Alfred’s Inker 19:29 Daily Strip Alfred 34:44 Batman #16 48:52 Story Thoughts 49:35 Alfred’s Inspiration /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/31760493

25: Batman Falls Down The Rabbit Hole - Tweedledee & Tweedledum 05/18/2024

25: Batman Falls Down The Rabbit Hole - Tweedledee & Tweedledum On this guestless edition of Bat Lessons, we cover the first appearance of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Then we fall down the rabbit hole on Lewis Carroll, and the creation of Alice in Wonderland. (DCU Infinite) (wikipedia) (wikipedia) (amazon) (wikipedia) (wikipedia) Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on threads, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by 00:00 Intro 02:43 Detective 74 22:17 Story Thoughts 25:34 Alice in Wonderland 29:39 Lewis Carroll 38:27 Tweedledum and Tweedledee 50:44 Closing Thoughts /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/31364607

24: Two First Appearances ft CasuallyComics! 04/15/2024

24: Two First Appearances ft CasuallyComics! Very special guest Sasha from Casually comics comes along for a chat about the malevolent Mad Hatter and crack photographer Vicki Vale! Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on threads, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/30829248

23: How Two-Face Began 03/18/2024

23: How Two-Face Began We’re joined by special guest Jameson from A Comic Book A Day to go over the first appearance of the duke of duplicity, Two Face!! (Blog Post) (DC Universe Infinite) (Amazon) (Amazon) (Amazon) (Amazon) (Amazon) Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/30418693

22: Penguin 02/19/2024

22: Penguin We’re joined by special guest Sal from ComicPOP to go over the first appearance of the pompous waddling master of foul play, the Penguin! Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/30008348

21: Clayface 01/15/2024

21: Clayface Brian and Alex Discuss Clayface in person! A brief overview of various iterations of clayface, and a read of the very first appearance of Clayface. A fun episode! Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/29493348

Bonus: Dickens, Genre Fiction, and Batman With Dr. Jennifer Conary 12/22/2023

Bonus: Dickens, Genre Fiction, and Batman With Dr. Jennifer Conary On This Bonus Episode, we're thrilled to have Dr. Jennifer Conary joining us! We discuss Dickens (to contextualize episode 20 and Batman: Noel) and victorian genre fiction in the vein of Batman. You don't want to miss it! Head on over to https://batlessons.com for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/29203323

20: Scrooge in Gotham: Batman Noel 12/18/2023

20: Scrooge in Gotham: Batman Noel On this very special Christmas episode, we cover a retelling of “A Christmas Carol” that has become a modern classic in its own right: Batman Noel. In standard Bat Lessons fashion we go way too deep, and cover the history of the original novella and bring in a Charles Dickens expert to school us. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/29120093

19: Gotham By Gaslight 11/20/2023

19: Gotham By Gaslight Batman tracks down the infamous serial killer: Jack the Ripper! Brian and Alex continue their Victorian era arc, chatting about the history behind the murderer. We also cover the acclaimed graphic novel “Gotham by Gaslight” where Batman crosses his path. Finally, we cover the story of the creation of the comic book itself. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/28719828

18: Spring-Heeled Jack 10/16/2023

18: Spring-Heeled Jack We travel back to Victorian England to take a look at the terror of London, Spring-Heeled Jack! Who is this mysterious figure, and did they inspire Batman? Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/28326422

17: Catwoman 09/18/2023

17: Catwoman The Golden Age Catwoman: was she always an integral part of the Batman Universe? We learn together about her introduction and how the character evolved with time. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by Motion Graphics by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/28063677

16: When Batman Wasn’t Needed 08/21/2023

16: When Batman Wasn’t Needed Today we cover Alex's favorite single issue of Batman: Detective Comics 567. "The Night Of Thanks, But No Thanks!" by Harlan Ellison. This is a great comic with a unique backstory! Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/27806754

15: The Grim Joker 07/17/2023

15: The Grim Joker Was the Joker plagiarized? Brian and Alex dive deep on possible inspirations for the clown prince of crime. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/27484269

14: Steve Shives Judges By The Cover 06/22/2023

14: Steve Shives Judges By The Cover We're joined by special guest Steve Shives to take a look at the first batch of comic book covers featuring Batman. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/27235650

13: Joker 05/15/2023

13: Joker The clown prince of crime, THE JOKER! We cover what the creators said about his inception, some of the inspirations, and the first Joker story. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/26839956

12: Robin 04/17/2023

12: Robin Introducing the Boy Wonder. Head on over to for all things Bat Lessons. Send us a letter or voice recording, find us on mastodon or youtube, read full transcripts and find show notes. Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/26563308

11: Origin Part 2 03/20/2023

11: Origin Part 2 Brian goes a little too deep covering more origin stories for Batman. Everything from 1989 to 2022 and some awful Golden age stories to boot. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/26277909

10: Corrections & Feedback 02/20/2023

10: Corrections & Feedback A look back on the first year of Bat Lessons. We read letters and comments from listeners, set the record straight on some errors, and delve into some hallmark Bat Lessons tidbits. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/25985589

9: Origin Part 1 01/16/2023

9: Origin Part 1 A quick survey of every single retelling of the Batman origin, from 1939 to 1989. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to [email protected] or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/25621683

8: The Batman (2022) Part 2 12/22/2022

8: The Batman (2022) Part 2 We continue the conversation on the Matt Reeves directed Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to [email protected] or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/25408569

7: The Batman (2022) Part 1 11/21/2022

7: The Batman (2022) Part 1 We dive deep on the Matt Reeves directed Robert Pattinson starring batman movie. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/25082409

6: Halloween 10/23/2022

6: Halloween All things spooky and creepy golden age Batman! Including a lengthy segment on Dracula, the origins of World’s Finest, and the first appearance of the Scarecrow You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to [email protected] or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/24772230

5: Batarang 09/24/2022

5: Batarang We discuss Gardner Fox, Shelly Moldoff, The Utility Belt, Batarang, Bat-Plane and more! You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to [email protected] or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/24477705

4: Marc Tyler Nobleman 08/15/2022

4: Marc Tyler Nobleman This month we’re talking to . Marc is the author of 86 books ranging from colorful and funny children's fiction about chupacabras to incredibly moving all ages non-fiction about reconciliation after World War 2. Marc dedicated years of his life to fighting for the legacy of Bill Finger, the now credited co-creator of Batman. In September 2015 due in no small part to Marc’s work, DC Comics agreed to include Bill as a creator of Batman wherever that credit is shown. We’re super honored to have him on the show. You can find an archive of all episodes at Send your comments, questions and corrections to [email protected] or tweet at us Podcast Artwork by Podcast Music by /episode/index/show/9610b8e4-6e42-4f5c-b8ed-48819345aa79/id/23883780

Bat Lessons: Batman History

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