As some of you may have already guessed, ComicsAlliance is basically just an elaborate cover for David Uzumeri and I to try to out-nerd each other about Batman, and today, I’ve got my latest effort to top him: an analysis of the news that there are going to be two Batmen, 1600ish words examining the history of Bat-imposters and ersatz caped crusaders and what impact this is going to have on the story Grant Morrison’s been threading through his run since JLA.

As is the case with most things like this, it started as me jokingly suggesting the above title as a headline for the article, but it turned out to be a question that Laura Hudson thought people might actually want to know. Thus, the Internet’s Foremost Batmanologist is back in session.

So while the Brand Ecch news sites may have just reposted the press release and Yannick Paquette’s (friggin’ amazing) preview page, we went the extra mile! So until Caleb Goellner goes with loose fit jeans, Make Yours ComicsAlliance!

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Uh, sorry. I’ve been reading a lot of ’60s Fantastic Four lately.

This week, DC’s putting out another collection of Silver Age Batman annuals, and since I’ll take virtually any excuse to sit down and read a ton of Batman comics, I’ve gone through them to pick out the Batman Annuals’ nine craziest moments!

Being turned into “a human fish” only ranks at #9.

Hey, did you guys know I like Batman? Yeah, he’s pretty all right. That’s why I was especially excited for this four-page preview of Batman and Robin #14!

So excited that I decided to put on my David Uzumeri hat and offer some brief commentary/annotations for four unlettered pages. So go, read, and enjoy me totally flipping out about Batman, because really: When’s the next time you’ll have a chance to see that?

My comics culture Q&A column is back, and this week, I try to figure out how long it takes for Batman’s girlfriends to get kidnapped and/or killed and discuss some truly terrifying Archie books.

Long, long, long-time ISB readers will recognize a couple of the images used in this post, because I actually had to go back and find the ones I’d originally posted for the Archie entry. And to give you an idea of how long ago I posted those, these were pictures I’d taken with my digital camera, because I didn’t have a scanner yet. Fortunately, some PhotoShop Wizardry (well, PhotoShop stagemagicianry, anyway) allowed me to clean it up a little.

I can assure you, however, that that’s definitely a new scan of my copy of Godzilla vs. Barkley.

Despite the fact that Google alerts set up for “Batman” and “the stupidest things people have ever written,” it took Mike Sterling to hip me to the fact that Yahoo News had run an article on a guy selling a copy of Batman #1… complete with open comments.

The results, of course, are truly magical, and today, I’ve collected the 15 worst comments about how comics are stupid, Golden Age comics are totally everywhere, and how we should have elected Batman instead of our socialist president.

Just another day on the Internet.

Because I hate myself, I read Kevin Smith’s latest foray into comics, which was no doubt aided by cobblers, elves, and a strict drug regimen. Here’s the short version:

That pretty much sums it up.

Yesterday I watched the new Batman: Under the Red Hood direct-to-video movie, and today, I thought some things about it and then wrote those thoughts down in my capacity as a professional Batmanologist.

There are spoilers at the review, but I’m going to go ahead and assume that if you’re reading comics blogs, you probably already know how this goes down. If you don’t, here’s the short version: it was okay, but only just. Worth a rental or catching on its inevitable Cartoon Network broadcast, but probably not worth buying.

Which shouldn’t dissuade you from doing so using the Amazon link I provide. I gotta stay on my hustle, you know.