"Batman Podcast Launches New Companion Series"

Superhero comics are no longer just the source material for blockbuster movies and TV shows; they've also inspired expansive audio dramas and podcasts. DC has launched a groundbreaking initiative with DC High Volume: Batman, a series that meticulously adapts some of the Dark Knight's most celebrated comic book narratives into an audio format. But to fully immerse yourself in this experience, you'll want to dive into more than just the main series.

DC is enhancing the DC High Volume: Batman experience with a companion series within the same podcast feed. Hosted by writer and journalist Coy Jandreau, these episodes provide an in-depth look at the production process, featuring interviews with the cast and crew, as well as the original comic creators. The first companion episode, set to premiere on Thursday, April 24, will include discussions with Batman voice actor Jason Spisak and DC's Creative Director of Animation & Audio Content, Mike Pallotta.

In a recent conversation with IGN, Jandreau shed light on how this companion series complements the main DC High Volume: Batman saga, offering listeners a richer understanding and appreciation of the project.

What Is DC High Volume: Batman?

To grasp the significance of the companion series, it's essential to understand the core of DC High Volume: Batman. This ambitious project is a collaboration between DC and the podcast giant Realm, aiming to bring iconic Batman comic stories to life in an ongoing audio drama. The series stars Jason Spisak as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jay Paulson as Jim Gordon, focusing on classic tales such as Batman: Year One.

"DC High Volume is the first of its kind to this scale, basically a one-to-one telling of classic Batman comic books but in this incredible audio long-format radio play," Jandreau explained to IGN. "It's taking Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, and turning them into a full, immersive audio experience with incredible production design, audio special effects, super-talented voice actors, and a score where different villains and heroes/characters have their own piece. It adds up to this incredible new way to listen to a story that I've been reading my whole life but can now hear in a new way."

The series aims to craft an ongoing narrative using seminal Batman graphic novels as key chapters in Batman's story. Starting with Batman and Gordon's shared origin story in Year One, it progresses into The Long Halloween, set in Year 2 of Batman's career.

"The idea is to have the long-running Batman myth in this new medium, allowing both die-hard fans like myself, who've grown up with these characters, and brand-new audience members, who might only know Batman from movies or the animated series, to have a jumping-on point," Jandreau said. "It's going back to the roots for a reason and playing the big moments in this shared universe, keeping the same voice actors, and ensuring it's something that grows and evolves through the storytelling of these classic stories."

As a lifelong comic book fan, Jandreau finds immense value in experiencing these iconic stories in a fresh auditory format, which adds a new dimension to the visual medium of comics.

"Listening to this, it's crazy the emotion and the experience that comes out of these stories in a different way," Jandreau noted. "I don't see it as subtracting art; I see it as adding audio. What's great is you can listen to these by themselves, in a car, with incredible headphones, or with tower speakers and get a unique experience."

Jandreau continued, "You can also listen while you read if you want, and then you've got a full different experience than just audio. You can also do this and have conversations around a fire in the old 1920s way. There are so many ways to enjoy it, but none of them diminish the comic. I've listened to this by itself, while reading, and while driving, and each version is different, but none of them make the comic any less interesting."

The High Volume Companion Series

Jandreau's companion series serves as a deep dive into the making of DC High Volume: Batman, exploring the challenges of adapting comics for audio. The series will be available in both audio format on the DC High Volume: Batman feed and as a separate video series. The first episode will air on April 24, closely following the main series' adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween.

"They've been developing this for a number of years before I was brought on board, but they always wanted to highlight the incredible behind-the-scenes talent," Jandreau explained. "Whether it's voice actors, the composer, or people at DC involved in the project, along with the writers and artists of the original stories, they felt it was important for people to get to know them."

Jandreau was chosen for this role due to his previous work on the DC Studio Showcase video series, making him a perfect fit to explore the creation of DC High Volume: Batman.

"I've been working on DC Studio Showcase, which is a bi-weekly show on Max and Max's YouTube, focusing on the studio side of DC Studios led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. As the comic correspondent there, once that started going well, they tapped me to do this, and I was honored because comics are the reason I want to do any of this. It's really cool to have a show that's about comics and another way to adapt them."

In the first companion episode, Jandreau discussed with Spisak the challenge of voicing Batman in this universe, exploring how the character's voice changes when interacting with different characters.

"Not to give spoilers for the first episode, but talking to Jason Spisak, who is our Bruce Wayne Batman, he really found a fascinating new take on Batman in doing the role," Jandreau said. "In Year One, as you've been hearing, it's Bruce Wayne becoming the Bat, and we've seen that in TV, movies, and read about it. But hearing it, it's fascinating to hear the Bat voice develop, to hear it play like an equalizer and discover levels in it and how Batman sounds with Gordon versus how Batman sounds with Alfred versus how Bruce Wayne sounds with Alfred versus, what does the voice in Bruce Wayne's head sound like, and does that change as he becomes Batman?"

The companion series is structured to align with key emotional beats and plot points from the main series, rather than strictly following the comic's chapter-by-chapter format.

"It doesn't always go this is Year One four issues, and then we have a conversation, and then it's Long Halloween," Jandreau explained. "I actually love that our first episode follows a huge moment in the first issue of Long Halloween. We've got Year One, and then we have right from Year One a beat of Long Halloween. And then I dive in, and that way, I got to discuss the evolution from Year One into Long Halloween, the character growth, and all those things. It's more about hitting an emotional beat that resonates with the people I'm interviewing and ties into where the audience is getting that interview, ensuring what I'm doing is additive to their experience and giving them context at the right time."

Jandreau drew inspiration for his show from various sources, including Inside the Actors Studio, Hot Ones, and classic late-night talk shows.

"I went with Inside the Actors Studio. James Lipton has always been a hero of mine. It was kind of a blend of how James Lipton does his interviews in long form, meets how Sean Evans finds very nuanced ways to uncover new ideas from the talent across the table's perspective. And then old-school talk show Johnny Carson, Conan O'Brien. A blend of long-form Lipton, new wave, 'find a question talent has never been asked' Sean Evans. And then I want it to feel the energy of a talk show a la a Conan or a Johnny Carson. To me, I want to blend all the different forms of this."

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The Future of DC High Volume: Batman

Looking forward, Jandreau has his sights set on interviewing key figures in the Batman universe for the series. He's particularly eager to speak with The Long Halloween writer Jeph Loeb and his Batman: Hush collaborator Jim Lee.

"Jim Lee, now that he's at his position at DC, has been so inspiring because he's got so much creative oversight while also being an artist," Jandreau said. "His own work is some of my favorite, and his insight is some of my favorite. Since he inspired so many stories I love and because of what he's doing at DC broadly, I think Jim Lee is definitely one."

Jandreau continued, "Jeph Loeb I've actually talked to at Cons. I've hosted some of his panels, and Jeph Loeb is responsible for so many of the comics that I consider the framework for the adaptations people know. When people look at classic Batman stories, a lot of times they don't realize it's Long Halloween. A lot of the DNA of Long Halloween. It's a lot of Dark Victory, and I feel like Jeph Loeb is someone who I want to have that long-form chat with to gain that insight."

"Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee also just very conveniently are doing Batman: Hush again. Those two guys are absolutely cornerstones for me. I want to pick their brains about Batman."

Jandreau also mentioned Tom King, who wrote a lengthy Batman run from 2016-2019, including the controversial, failed marriage between Batman and Catwoman. Although King's run is set later in Batman's career, Jandreau is keen to discuss his perspective on the character.

"He used to work for the CIA, and he literally has lived a Batman-adjacent life," Jandreau said. "The way he sees Batman and his view of the Bat and the Cat, the way he writes love, the way he writes women, the way he writes this pathos and vengeance, and especially the way he writes Bruce's pain and learning from it has always been how I see Bruce Wayne."

Jandreau continued, "And I've really wanted to have a conversation with him in a way that I got to share it with others. I've talked to him briefly at Comic-Cons and those places, but I think it'd be really great to talk with someone who did such a long run on Batman who is currently working on the Lantern show. He's responsible for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is being adapted. He's clearly such a diversified talent in what's being adapted. It'd be really cool to talk with him about Batman while we are adapting it in an all-new way. Tom King's up there as well."

Ultimately, Jandreau hopes his companion series will foster positivity within the Batman fandom, countering the often negative atmosphere found online.

"I think the internet can be a very dangerous place," Jandreau said. "I think it can be a place of hostility, especially in fandom, right? Genre content is very tribal because people are protective over these stories. These stories mean the world to them. There's so much passion, which is why they thrive, which is why Batman's been around for so many decades, which is why these stories can come out weekly, and we can still get excited about them, which is why you can adapt them so many times, so many ways."

Jandreau continued, "I think it's important we find the positivity in that because there's plenty of negativity in the world. I don't see any reason to make negativity about this genre content, about this fandom. I just think any way we can make fandom more positive and we can share in the internet a little bit more in an uplifting way ... That's what I want to do with this show and any show I'm a part of. I hope it makes comic fans, especially diehards, that have wanted to share in these stories in a new way, feel like they have a new home, a new comic store, but I also hope people that have always been like, 'Batman's so cool. I wonder what it's like to read a comic book,' ... They get a chance to also come in and go, 'This is something so special.' We want this to be the least gatekeeping. The comic book store door is wide open, and that's really important to me."

For more Batman fun, check out the top 10 Batman costumes of all time and the top 27 Batman comics and graphic novels.