Welcome back to our read of Grant Morrison's run on Batman! For this episode, Peter insisted we read Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul IN FULL... and he was *WRONG*, y'all. If you were thinking maybe you didn't get enough of a summary from the stunning Chris Burnham summary pages in the Grant Morrison Batman omnibus we are here so you can witness our suffering with this part recap, part mocking, and part lamentation on this lumpy uneventful event. If you are reading digitally, here's the correct order: Batman (1940) Annual 26, Robin (1993) Annual 7 (2nd story), Batman (1940) #670, Robin (1993) #168, Nightwing (1996) #138, Detective Comics (1937) #838, Batman (1940) #671, Robin (1993) #169, Nightwing (1996) #139, & Detective Comics (1937) #839. For this epic (re)read, 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, but not this run in full and never any pre-90s Batman. And, Peter is now the novice - he's read some of this run before, but otherwise this is his FIRST TIME reading ANY pre-New-52 Batman! Tune in next week for Batman R.I.P. in DC Universe (2008) #0 and Batman (1940) #676-681.

It's This Week in X for 30 June, 2021 - the final week of The Hellfire Gala! Actually, there's just one Hellfire Gala issue this week - the final issue of X-Factor (2020) #10 - plus, the penultimate chapter of Cable (2020) #11. CONTENT WARNING: This issue contains overt themes of hate crimes, racially-motived violence, and sexual assault, which we begin discussing in specific at the 43-minute mark through 72m. In X-Factor #10, we discuss the structure of this abrupt series finale, as well as its narrative, visual, & editorial flaws - from the passing moments in the party scene, to the resolution of Prodigy's plot, to the major reveal in the final pages. Plus, thoughts on handling unexpected endings and if we care about that final reveal. In Cable #11, we discuss the merits of Teen Cable (Table) vs. Old Man Cable (…OMable?), the Ride of the Summers Clan +2, and how satisfying it is when a story has room to reach its intended ending. 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.

Welcome back to Crushing Comics Book Club for Batman by Grant Morrison! In this episode, we (and the Morrison omnibus) continue our read to the introduction of The Black Glove in Batman (1940) #667-669. Then, we SKIP issues #669-671 to continue to the Death of Batman (but not in the way you think) in Batman (1940) #672-675. The Black Glove is a story that HEAVILY references several stories in The Black Casebook, since it features Batman's full cast of international imitators! For this epic (re)read, 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, but not this run in full and never any pre-90s Batman. And, Peter is now the novice - he's read some of this run before, but otherwise this is his FIRST TIME reading ANY pre-New-52 Batman! Tune in next week as we read Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul IN FULL - not only in #670-671, but from prelude to ending in Batman (1940) Annual 26 & #670-671, Detective Comics (1937) #838-839, Nightwing (1996) #138-139, and Robin (1993) Annual 7 (2nd story) & #168-169.

It's This Week in X for 23 June, 2021 - the third week of The Hellfire Gala - plus EVEN MORE X-comics! Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss SWORD (2021) #6 (and Guardians of the Galaxy #15), Wolverine (2020) #13, Way of X (2021) #3, X-Men Legends (2021) #4, and highlights from Marvel Voices Pride. (Wolverine technically comes first, but because it was a briefer discussion we held it between the two more heavy-hitting issues.) In SWORD #6, we explore the intergalactic implications of the Hellfire Gala fireworks as we talk currency, coronations, terrific Captain America monologues, sneakily deleted scenes published in other comics, and the biggest shock of the Gala so far! For Wolverine #13, we debate if a comic that's 30% Logan really ought to be released under his name, and dig into Krakoa's first big "L" when it comes to Terra Verde. Way of X #3 is a heavy one, as we divide in love, frustration, and boredom and unpack our feelings by discussing Nightcrawler's ethics, making more mutants, sex positivity, and so much more. Then, we briefly buy/skip on X-Men Legends #4, and summarize the stories X-fans will care about the most in Marvel Voices Pride. 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.

Welcome back to Crushing Comics Book Club for Batman by Grant Morrison - and, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Welcome back to Crushing Comics Book Club for Batman by Grant Morrison! This is the second of three episodes of pre-reading to catch up on some of the themes, characters, and influences on Morrison's run. In this episode, we read the first 2/3rds of the Tales of the Demon TPB, which includes the debut of Talia al Ghul and R'as al Ghul. We didn't know what to expect from these Bronze Age stories, but we wound up falling in love! 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: Detective Comics #411 - "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers" (May 1971) Batman #232 - "Daughter of the Demon" (June 1971) Batman #235 - "Swamp Sinister" (Sep 1971) Batman #240 - "Vengeance for a Dead Man" (March 1972) Batman #242 - "Bruce Wayne - Rest in Peace!" (June 1972) Batman #243 - "The Lazarus Pit" (Aug 1972) Batman #244 - "The Demon Lives Again!" (Sep 1972) Tune in next week as we wrap up our pre-reading by finishing the final four issues in Tales of the Demon, as well as the Demon Trilogy of Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, and Birth of the Demon.

It's This Week in X for 2 June, 2021 - and time for The Hellfire Gala! Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss Marauders (2019) #21, X-Force (2020) #20, and Hellions (2020 #12. In Marauders #21, we discuss every morsel of this opening platter of Hellfire Gala hors d'oeuvres, including welcome committees, psychic consent, Banshee's multiple invites, potential bonus Cuckoos, and fireworks that are only implied. For X-Force #20, we discuss the team's role in keeping undesirables OUT of Krakoa, inserting themselves in places THEY aren't desired, and encountering internal resistance to Beast's interventionist ambitions. Finally, in Hellions #12, it turns out the Hellfire Gala is NOT for all mutants. We discuss Sinister's oblivious mingling, Nanny's unlimited imbibing, Havok's ineffective inquiries, Empath's kindest moment, and that shocking final panel. 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.

Welcome to a new season of our Crushing Comics Book Club, where we discuss a classic run of comics together as both fans and critical readers. For the next few months we'll be reading Grant Morrison's Batman, but before we get started we'll be doing a few weeks of pre-reading to catch up on some of the themes and influences of the run. 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! Today, we start with a discussion of how we first found Batman (and Morrison), plus a read of Batman's debut in Detective Comics (1937) #27 as well as Batman (1940) #1 - the first appearances of Joker and Catwoman. Then, we all read The Black Casebook for the first time! It's an unusual book - 12 of the most-outlandish Golden and Silver Age stories as selected by Morrison to hint at, explain, or reflect the themes of their Batman run. We'll talk about our FAVORITE Casebook story, the WEIRDEST story, plus give a rundown of EVERY tale in this tome - with a few hints from Harry at how they might be relevant later. The stories are: Batman #65 - A Partner For Batman! from June, 1951 Batman #86 - Batman - Indian Chief! from September, 1954 Detective Comics #215 - The Batmen of All Nations from January, 1955 Detective Comics #235 - The First Batman from September, 1956 World's Finest #89 - The Club of Heroes from July, 1957 Detective Comics #247 - The Man Who Ended Batman's Career from September, 1957 Batman #112 - Am I Really Batman? from December, 1957 Batman #113 - Batman - The Superman of Planet X from February, 1958 Detective Comics #267 - Batman Meets Bat-Mite from May, 1959 Batman #134 - The Rainbow Creature from September, 1960 Batman #156 - Robin Dies at Dawn from June, 1963 Batman #162 - The Batman Creature from March, 1964 Tune in next week as we read the Tales of the Demon TPB.

It's This Week in X for 26 May, 2021! Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss X-Men (2019) #20 and New Mutants (2019) #18. We took a deep, DEEP dive into both of this week's issues! First, on X-Men #20, we discussed the prevailing theme of lost love, Mystique's motivations, creating terrorists (and your own worst enemies), worst weapons, interventionism, impotent bigots, inadvertently causing your destruction, and burning it all down. Then, for New Mutants #18, we discussed the themes of self-image, bodily autonomy, and the haves-and-have-nots of Krakoa and how each of those three themes weave through the various "debates" in the issue. 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.

We're back for our SEASON FINALE of reading classic X-Men! Listen in as Tyler and Peter re-explore the classic Claremont material, with Fariha reading it FOR THE FIRST TIME! This episode is an incredibly deep dive into Uncanny X-Men #137 and Jean Grey, as well as into the version that ALMOST made it to print from Phoenix: The Untold Story, as well as Claremont's 1990 epilogue to the story in Classic X-Men #43. Plus: Have we convinced Fariha to love Jean Grey?! This episode contains full spoilers for House of X and Powers of X and a few comments about the Dawn of X status quo that follows it. And, get ready, y'all - we'll be back next week with BATMAN BY GRANT MORRISON!

It's This Week in X for 19 May, 2021! Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss Way of X (2021) #2 and Wolverine #12. For Way of X #2, we discuss the sad state of several mutant brains, anomie, evolving societies, the middle path, psychic fingerprints, kinks in the resurrection process, and impending storm clouds for Krakoa. For Wolverine #12, we have a brief, chaotic BUY or SKIP debate over this issue's quality, X-Force's B-sides, Wolverine's hospitality, Omega Red's triple agency, and Beast's unbridled glee for war crimes. 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.

We're back for more classic X-Men! Listen in as Tyler and I re-explore the classic Claremont material, with Fariha reading it FOR THE FIRST TIME! In this episode, we discuss Uncanny X-Men #135-136. The Dark Phoenix has taken over Jean Grey's body and mind, and she's HUNGRY - but, can the X-Men stop her when she makes a brief return to Earth to say goodbye to her final human connections? We dig into Cyclops' first psychic dance battle, Phoenix's approximate sense of morality, how classic Sagas and modern Events are different, and more. Plus, we cover a pair of Dazzler stories in Classic X-Men issues - #37-38. This episode contains full spoilers for House of X and Powers of X and a few comments about the Dawn of X status quo that follows it.

It's This Week in X for 12 May, 2021! Join Peter, Fariha, Tyler, & Harry as we discuss Children of the Atom (2021) #3 and X-Factor (2020) #9 - for X-Corp #1, check out our previous episode. Children of the Atom #3 continues to split our panel in new and different ways. We discussed sudden space ships, self-imposed responsibilities, sour dinner parties, and taking off our X-glasses when deciding the value of this story. For X-Factor #9, we dig into psychic inception and Morrigan's goals. Then we spiral into a lengthy argument over a single data page and yell at Marvel for cancelling our favorite comic. 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.

It's a special single-issue episode of This Week in X, the first of two episodes for the week of 12 May 2021. Join Peter, Fariha, Tyler, & Harry as we dig into X-Corp (2021) #1. We had a mega-sized discussion for this giant-size debut, tackling each of the board members of this uncanny new corporation: Monet, Madrox, Trinary, & Angel. Plus, we get a little bit heated about horses, UN sanctions, and the big HQ "launch." 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.

We're back for more classic X-Men! Listen in as Tyler and I re-explore the classic Claremont material, with Fariha reading it FOR THE FIRST TIME! In this episode, we discuss Uncanny X-Men #132-134. The X-Men bring conflict to the door of The Hellfire Club and learn they are outmatched by their inner circle - and it has dire consequences for Jean Grey. Plus, we cover Classic X-Men issues - #40, 41-42, & 44 - including a touching tale of Rogue's two moms and Cyclops's orphanage origin story. This episode contains full spoilers for House of X and Powers of X and a few comments about the Dawn of X status quo that follows it.

It's This Week in X for 5 May, 2021! Join Peter, Fariha, & Tyler as we discuss Marauders (2019) #20, Hellions (2020 #11, and X-Men - Curse of the Man-Thing (2021). Marauders #20 was Storm's issue, but we were fascinated by Emma's parts of it. We tackle our favorite Storm memories, but also dive deeply into what makes Emma tick and her (at first begrudging, but now enduring) respect for Ororo & Kitty. In Hellions #11, we discuss Kwannon's self-sufficiency, Arcade's lack of loyalty, the Mastermind family, Sinister's duplicitous plot (and why it matters A LOT), and more. For X-Men - Curse of the Man-Thing we hold a "BUY OR SKIP" lightning round and discuss the finer points of Magik's status as a lord of a little slice of hell. 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.