Chris is on Infinite Earths

Monday, February 12, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 030 - Batman Chronicles #14 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Thirty

Batman Chronicles #14 (Fall, 1998)
"Master of the House"
"The Lunatic Fringe"
"Random Encounters"
Writers - Lisa Klink, Bruce Canwell, Greg Rucka
Pencils - David Boller, Jim Aparo, Sal Buscema
Inks - Aaron Sowd, Drew Geraci, James Hodgkins
Colors - Noelle Giddings, Jason Wright
Letters - Albert DeGuzman, Clem Robins
Edits - Vincenzo, Gorfinkel
Cover Price: $2.95

Perhaps the most off-beat issue/episode yet!

Where else can you hear about an old man giving himself a cottage cheese sponge bath, a child who'd rather be eaten than see her captor beaten up... and also have a text-story in a turn of the century comic book?! It's an odd one, all right!

Plus: A very Jack Drake-focused NMaiLbag!

NML Crossing on Youtube

Sunday, February 11, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 029 - Batman: Shadow of the Bat #79 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twenty-Nine

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #79 (October, 1998)
“The Blank Generation, Part Two: A Favorable Wind”
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Buckingham
Inks - Wayne Faucher
Colors - Pam Rambo & Android Images
Letters - Bill Oakley
Edits - Gorfinkel & O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99

Wrapping up our two-parter with a bang... well, a boom. The supervillain team-up didn't go as smoothly as the Mad Hatter would've hoped... but, hope itself now (briefly) reigns among Bruce Wayne's Junior-Entrepreneur Club!

But all 'at is just preamble to the return of the raucous NMaiLbag!

NML Crossing on Youtube

Thursday, February 8, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 028 - Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twenty-Eight

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78 (September, 1998)
“The Blank Generation, Part 1: Corporate Nightmares”
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Buckingham
Inks - Wayne Faucher
Colors - Pam Rambo & Android Images
Letters - Bill Oakley
Edits - Gorfinkel & O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99

Today our "dark horse" Bat-Book delivers what might just be one of the tentpole issues of the entire NML run. What can Gotham City do when all of the non-Wayne-owned companies and industries threaten to bail? Thankfully, the people... those who'll stay... have some ideas, but will it (can it) be enough?!

We also get a peek at an upcoming (super?) villain team-up!

NML Crossing on Youtube

Monday, February 5, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 027 - Detective Comics #724 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twenty-Seven

Detective Comics #724 (August, 1998)
“The Grieving City”
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Pencils - Jim Aparo
Inks - James Hodgkins
Colors - Gloria Vasquez & Android Images
Letters - John Costanza
Edits - Vincenzo & Peterson
Cover Price: $1.95

It's not that the people of Gotham don't believe he exists... it's that they no longer believe in HIM. What happens when the urban legend of the City having a protector becomes moot... since, what has he done for us lately? Well, it leads to a crisis of confidence for our Caped Crusader... and it lends a whole lotta weight to our "new normal". If you've always known Batman as being the "coolest" guy in any room he enters... this is an issue you'll need to read to believe.

We've also got a Letters Page to discuss!

Plus: A wildly confusing (for me) NMaiLbag!

NML Crossing on Youtube

Sunday, February 4, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 026 - Batman #557 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twenty-Six

Batman #557 (August, 1998)
“Ballistic’s Evidence”
Writer - Doug Moench
Layouts - Vince Giarrano
Finishes - Sal Buscema
Colors - Gregory Wright & Android Images
Letters - Todd Klein
Edits - Gorfinkel & O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.95

Gotham City gets a visit from... a New Blood?!

The Bruce Wayne Batman has his first team up with the man called Ballistic... and, well... that's about the size of it!

Plus: A hoppin' NMaiLbag!

NML Crossing on Youtube

Thursday, February 1, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 025 - Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twenty-Five

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77 (August, 1998)
“Arwin’s Theory of Devolution”
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Buckingham
Inks - Wayne Faucher
Colors - Pam Rambo & Android Images
Letters - Bill Oakley
Edits - Gorfinkel & O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.95

Luck is for losers... but, luck'll beat skill any day!

In today's episode we're checking in with a Professor called Arwin, who no longer believes in Darwin... and is looking to prove his own theory using the Caped Crusader as his test subject! Lots of interesting food for thought... and, as has become a trend... plenty of callbacks to bits 'n bobs from that New York Magazine article!

Plus: The return of the NMaiLbag, featuring a discussion of comic book annuals, that is as fun as it is frustrating!

NML Crossing on Youtube