The summer after my third grade year, my mom would drop me off at the library while she went to work. I’ll always remember the day I discovered they carried comic books. Up until that point, my knowledge of Batman was the colorful world of Adam West. But that summer I happened upon something traumatic and beautiful that set me on a course for a lifetime of being a Fanboy: Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. This book, as we know, was the inspiration behind Tim Burton’s Batman, which led to The Animated Series, which both served to created a darker, reinvigorated DC universe. This led eventually to the Nolan movies, the Arkham video games, and this falls animated version of The Dark Knight Returns.
Fatman on Batman is the lovechild of Kevin Smith (Silent Bob), best known for Clerks and Dogma. Smith is the fanboy who grew up to write movies and eventually, the comic books he worships. The podcast is not just a love letter to all things geek, it’s an opportunity to learn about a craft. His interview with Paul Dini, architect of Batman: The Animated Series, tells the life story of an intensely professional artist, who breaks in to tears when describing his Mr. Freeze origin story. Then there’s the three hour autobiography of Mark Hamill, which never mentions Star Wars and leaves you with an incredible respect for the lifelong character and voice actor.
Fatman on Batman is truly uncensored, which means Kevin Smith will offend you. Its pure, unbridaled nerdiness might only appeal to a few, but to those who know what they’re talking about, it will feel like coming home to old friends.
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