Crushing Krisis

Welcome back to Crushing Comics Book Club for Batman by Grant Morrison – and, to our first episode discussing Morrison’s run that began in 2006.

Content Warning: We discuss sexual assault from 27:00 to 32:45.

In this episode, we discuss Morrison’s first arc with Andy Kubert – “Batman and Son” – in Batman (1940) #655-658. This story establishes some major themes of Morrison’s run, as well as their major creation in the Batman family – Damian Wayne!

Then, we (and the Morrison omnibus) skip over the unrelated issues #659-662 to continue with #663 – the infamous prose issue about The Joker !

After that, Batman comes face-to-face with a second deadly imitator in #654-655. And, finally, we get a glimpse into Damian’s potential future in #666.

Harry is our expert – he loves Batman and Morrison, and he has read this run multiple times. Fariha is our intermediate – she has read plenty of Morrison and DC. And, Peter is now the novice – he’s read some of this run before, but otherwise this is his FIRST TIME reading pre-New-52 Batman!

Tune in next week to continue our Morrison read with Batman (1940) #667-669 & 672-675. Note that we are skipping over the Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul issues in #670-671, which we will return to in the following episode.

Want to dive in to reading and collecting Batman and the rest of the DC Universe? Visit the Crushing Comics Guide to Collecting DC Comics or the Batman Collecting Guide & Reading Order (which includes a specific page for the Morrison era of Batman).

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Our full Batman schedule (click through for a larger version):

It’s part two of This Week in X for 16 June, 2021 – the third week of The Hellfire Gala! Join Peter, Tyler, & Harry as we discuss New Mutants (2019) #19 and X-Corp (2021) #2. (We discussed the epic Planet-Size X-Men in the previous episode.)

In New Mutants #19, we cover the highs and lows of this cast who can so easily undress each other (figuratively & literally) from platonic love triangles to sincere apologies to that shocking finale.

And, was X-Corp #2 the sleeper hit of the Gala or a business-as-usual snooze? The panel is split on our reaction. We run through Monet’s agenda, discuss potential pitfalls of coloring a diverse cast, and opine on the potential picks for Mutant CXO.

Spoiler warning – we discuss everything about X-Men up to and including comics from this week, as well as other current events in the Marvel Universe.

Want to dive in to reading and collecting the X-Men and the rest of the Marvel Universe? Visit the Crushing Comics Guide to Collecting Marvel Comics, or head directly to the guide to X-Men’s Age of Krakoa by Jonathan Hickman.

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• MP3 Audio92 MB

Want to subscribe? You can find us on our RSS feed, Spotify, Stitcher, PodChaser, Apple Podcasts, and Podcast Addict!

It’s part one of This Week in X for 16 June, 2021 – the third week of The Hellfire Gala! Join Peter, Tyler, & Harry for a planet-size discussion of Planet-Size X-Men #1 – our coverage of this week’s other two issues will follow in a separate episodes.

We cover the events that lead to these cosmic fireworks, the most memorable moments of art and story, and the ramifications of the mutants’ major move both from our real world perspective and within the Reign of X. Get ready, y’all – we were in an intense, occasionally hot-headed, and thoroughly silly mood for this one.

Spoiler warning – we discuss everything about X-Men up to and including comics from this week, as well as other current events in the Marvel Universe.

Want to dive in to reading and collecting the X-Men and the rest of the Marvel Universe? Visit the Crushing Comics Guide to Collecting Marvel Comics, or head directly to the guide to X-Men’s Age of Krakoa by Jonathan Hickman.

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• MP3 Audio100 MB

Want to subscribe? You can find us on our RSS feed, Spotify, Stitcher, PodChaser, Apple Podcasts, and Podcast Addict!

Welcome back to Crushing Comics Book Club for Batman by Grant Morrison! This is the final of our three episodes of pre-reading to catch up on some of the themes, characters, and influences on Morrison’s run. Next week, Morrison begins!

In this episode, we read the final 3rd of the Tales of the Demon TPB, which includes Batman’s unlikely marriage to Talia al Ghul! Then, we take a quick spin through the Demon Trilogy of OGNs (collected together as Birth of the Demon TPB), reaping diminishing returns from each one.

Harry is our expert – he loves Batman and Morrison, and he has read this run multiple times. Fariha is our intermediate – she has read plenty of Morrison and DC. And, Peter is now the novice – he’s read some of this run before, but otherwise this is his FIRST TIME reading pre-New-52 Batman!

The stories are:
– DC Special Series #15 – “”I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!”” (Summer 1978)
– Detective Comics #485 – “”The Vengeance Vow”” (Aug/Sep 1979)
– Detective Comics #489 – “”Where Strike the Assassins”” (April 1980)
– Detective Comics #490 – “”Requiem for a Martyr”” (May 1980)
– Batman: Son of the Demon (September, 1987)
– Batman: Bride of the Demon (December, 1990)
– Batman: Birth of the Demon (December, 1992)

Tune in next week for our first engagement with Grant Morrison material, as we crack open our omnibuses and read Batman (1940) #655-658 & 663-666.

Want to dive in to reading and collecting Batman and the rest of the DC Universe? Visit the Crushing Comics Guide to Collecting DC Comics or the Batman Collecting Guide & Reading Order (which includes a specific page for the Morrison era of Batman).

• Download:
• MP3 Audio72 MB

Want to subscribe? You can find us on our RSS feed, Spotify, Stitcher, PodChaser, Apple Podcasts, and Podcast Addict!

Our full Batman schedule (click through for a larger version):

It’s This Week in X for 9 June, 2021 – the second week of The Hellfire Gala!

Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss X-Men (2019) #21, Excalibur (2019) #21, & Children of the Atom (2021) #4. (Yes, we know the books have Excalibur first; we disagree!)

X-Men #21 is the finale of Hickman’s X-Men, and it is fireworks-filled but surprisingly subtle. Come for intense Namor ego, stay for Sinister Secrets and sumptuous art (but, not for the anticlimactic off-panel psychic vote).

Excalibur #21 is about breaking things and circling back to previous status quo. We discuss narrative necessities, the personal vs. the political, ridiculous capes, finding the right cast, and a long-anticipated reunion.

Children of the Atom #4 is a BUY or SKIP discussion, with us highlighting what’s working and what’s worrying about this supporting book (which is NOT part of the Gala).

Spoiler warning – we discuss everything about X-Men up to and including comics from this week, as well as other current events in the Marvel Universe.

• Download:
• MP3 Audio126 MB

Want to subscribe? You can find us on our RSS feed, Spotify, Stitcher, PodChaser, Apple Podcasts, and Podcast Addict!