Episode 79: Please Hama Don't Hurt Em

Welcome back to The Overlooked Dark Knight, the podcast that shines a light on Batman stories hardly anyone talks about!

In this exciting episode Andy and Mike talk about the very brief seven issue Batman run written by Larry Hama. It was the dawn of a new age in Gotham. No Man's Land was over, a new century was beginning, and the Batman titles underwent a seismic creative shift with newer writers either taking on over taking over the exploits of the Dark Knight. Novelist Greg Rucka was writing Detective Comics. Devin Grayson, plucked from the cream of the fan fiction crop, took on new title Batman: Gotham Knights. But what about the flagship title Batman? Well, that fell to veteran writer and editor Larry Hama. Best known for his work on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Wolverine, Hama jumped over to DC Comics to write one of their best known and most popular characters. It seemed like a good fit. Hama was known for world building and writing action packed stories with clever dialogue.

So why did his run last only seven issues?

Andy and Mike talk about all seven of those issues and try to answer that question by looking at Batman issues 575 to 581. They talk about characters such as Banner and Orca and the themes that Hama seemed to be exploring as well as the style of his writing, which didn't seem to mesh with the new Batman ethos. They also talk about the art by Scott McDaniel where a rare disagreement between the hosts breaks out in a fierce, no holds barred, two men enter, one man leaves Thunderdome battle. Actually, it's a mild disagreement. That's all.

Andy and Mike want your feedback on this episode so they can read it on an upcoming show!  You even have options in how you leave your feedback.  The most direct way is to leave a comment right here on the site.  You can also send all questions, concerns, fears and trepidations to overlookeddarkknight@gmail.com.  Then there’ the Facebook page, where you can also leave a Batman related question for Andy and Mike to answer at the beginning of the show.  If you talk about this show on the social medias please include a #overlookeddk so the guys know where to find it.

The opening and closing theme for the show is Superhero Intro by Stringer Bell and taken from the royalty free site Pixma Bay.

Next Time: The guys talk about The Joker: Devil's Advocate!