Two central stories in the Batman mythos are getting a new adaptation, allowing fans to experience them all over again in audio drama form, and inviting new fans to check them out for the very first time. DC Comics just announced a new weekly podcast series in collaboration with Realm, adapting the comics Batman: Year One and Batman: The Long Halloween into audio formats. The show launches on April 2nd and drops a new episode every Wednesday after that, and it will be available to stream or download on all major podcast platforms. The podcast is called DC High Volume: Batman.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It’s a brilliant move for comic book publishers to try and get in on the audio medium that has worked so well for audiobooks and podcasts in recent years, and DC has pulled out all the stops for this production. High Volume will begin by adapting Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Year One into a four part audio drama with an A-list cast. That includes Jason Spisak as Batman, Jay Paulson as James Gordon, Adam O’Byrne as Harvey Dent, Mike Starr as Carmine Falcone, Simon Vance as Alfred Pennyworth, and Dan Gill as The Joker.
The second storyline will be The Long Halloween — a limited series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale which is set immediately after Year One. Here, the cast will grow to include Jesse Burch as The Riddler, Michelle Lukes as Poison Ivy, and Kevin Smith as The Penguin. DC didn’t mention how many episode this arc will cover, but the comic consisted of 13 issues, so if they remain a one-to-one ratio, The Long Halloween will last over three months.
[RELATED: The Batman: Zoe Kravitz Read Year One To Prepare For Catwoman Role]
The trailer above gives an idea of the style this show will adopt, for those that haven’t listened to audio dramas before. The practice of adapting comic books this way has been very successful before — Audible’s adaptation of The Sandman, for example, is very well-reviewed and it helped pull in new fans as the TV adaptation was airing. In the same way, The Long Halloween was a major inspiration for The Batman (2022), so this is a great entry point for fans of the films.
First published in 1987, Year One was intended to modernize the Batman origin story and set it in stone, resolving the contradictions that had cropped up in various retellings over the previous decades. It has become a foundational text for all the comics that have followed, even through reboots and timeline-altering events. It has been collected and republished many times, so those interested can find it in hardcover, paperback, or digital formats.
The same is true for The Long Halloween, and both stories have also been adapted into animated films in recent years as well. These movies aren’t available on Max at the time of this writing, but they can be found to rent or purchase on PVOD stores like Prime Video, or on Blu-ray and DVD.
For those interested in the audio experience, DC High Volume: Batman premieres on Wednesday, April 2nd on all major podcast platforms, with new episodes every Wednesday after that. The show will begin with Year One adapted in four episodes, followed by The Long Halloween.
