Jason Spisak (3:37)

The.

Coy Johndro (3:38)

The executive producer of DC High Volume, the great Mike Palata, is sitting down with us today, and he is as big of a Batman fan as I am, or even bigger. So I'm very excited to talk all things Batman with him. So without further ado, let us light that bat signal. Let's dive in. Let's talk to Jason. Let's talk to Batman. I am sitting down with Bruce Wayne, Batman himself, Jason Spizak. You may also know him as Wally West. You may also know him as Joker in both Batman Hushed the movie and Teen Titans Go. And here he absolutely crushes as one of my favorite characters of all time. Jason, how are you, man?

Jason Spisak (4:17)

I am super surrealed out by that intro because I was just thinking, as you're going through those list of credits, I'm like, I don't know, Is that me? I'm just a fan. I just. I enjoy this. These are my heroes. What are you talking about? And then you're like, as Batman. Oh, man, that is such an incredible responsibility and a joy and a pleasure. So it is an incredible honor to be here.

Coy Johndro (4:43)

All right, Jason, you are well acquainted with this world as both a Batman fan and as the voice of Batman, as an actor. But for you personally, what's it like to be Batman?

Jason Spisak (4:53)

Man, it is insane. It is incredibly humbling. And when I think about my childhood and when I think about having watched Batman throughout the years and taken in the content that Batman has come into my brain through my life, it's impossible. As an actor, you never come to the work, just empty as a vessel. And that's what I love about when they gave Me the opportunity to play Batman. I thought, oh, wow, what a gift. I better not mess this up. That was my thought. And I'm super glad that. That this opportunity is unique in the scope of things that have been done in the DC universe and in Batman because it is. It is finally a telling that stays true to the original words. And that is such a gift, man.

Coy Johndro (5:43)

There's moments in these first four issues that I've waited my whole life as a Batman fan for, that I've not gotten to fully experience in this way. The transformation elements and the voice work, that is those. And you as an actor get to do as Batman, which is crazy.

Jason Spisak (5:58)

We were talking about that in 2025, that when I go back in my mind and I think of all of the elements of the personality of Bruce Wayne and Batman and the action sequences and the things that have happened. And then I've, you know, you read these comics and, oh, I've never seen that done. Yeah, I've never heard what that sounds like. What is it like when for the first time that Bruce gets the idea to be Batman and like, what does that sound like? And you were saying that. And I'm like, it is incredible to create. We take lots of care and gentleness, and it is a large responsibility to make those moments. Because it's new. It's actually new. Even though the panels have been around for decades, the images have been around for decades. D.C. high volume. Batman is an immersive audio experience. What does that immersive audio experience sound like for that word, that sentence, that moment in Batman and Bruce's existence? Is Bruce vulnerable here? Have we heard that? Have we heard how much he feels about this? He's not telling anyone. So much of Frank Miller's writing in Year One is thought bubbles. And that's what I love about this. We get an insight into Bruce Wayne's psyche and mind that we don't often get presented with. And you get to feel that, oh, wow, he really does have a little bit of worry. He thinks he's messed this up. Not sure this is the right choice. And we don't often get times to feel Batman in that space. We often get presented with the gothic Batman. We get presented with this very big stoic thing when in reality you just have to read your one to know it wasn't always that way.

Coy Johndro (7:45)

Well, we often talk about how Batman is the true face and Bruce is the mask. But I feel like Batman's always presenting by that nature. Right. He's presenting as Bruce. He's presenting as Batman. What's really unique about this format is you get to be the true voice of Bruce in his own journey. And that's why I think the Joker similarities, I feel more. Because he's not doing a thing. And I feel like Batman's got a little madness always percolating. Joker obviously lets his out.

Jason Spisak (8:08)

Yes.

Coy Johndro (8:08)

So were there any things that.

Jason Spisak (8:10)

And Bruce is very guarded in that.

Coy Johndro (8:11)

Way at all times?

Jason Spisak (8:12)

At all times. And depending upon whoever he's in the room with, he has to be very careful about how he plays that chess game. And it is a real burden for him to carry. A real burden for him to carry to say, okay, what mask am I wearing? And we have this thing when we were working on DC half volume Batman. Talking about the many voices of Batman, because, I mean, there's at least six. There could be nine. And that's what I like to say there. Because there's Bruce in Bruce's head, alone, by himself. There's Bruce when he talks to Alfred. There's this Bruce when he's out as the playboy amongst high society and the press is watching. That's a very different Bruce than the Bruce that's in Bruce's head. And then when you hear him as Batman, he's a very different Batman inside his own head. He's a very different sound when he's intimidating Falcone or Zuko or, you know, in their faces. And he's a. It's a different voice because he's like a different person. He's presenting a different thing. And you have to clearly make those distinctions. And that's what I'm hoping people will.

Coy Johndro (9:21)

Hear 100% and for the first time for me, in so many moments. And that's why I'm wondering, with that much expectation of this character being that iconic and you knowing as a performer, you've got all these variations, how do you balance that equalizer of fan expectation, your own experience? How do you find your voice as someone with so many voices?

Jason Spisak (9:39)

It was hard because you make a choice. And you're using this incredibly beautiful gift of the writing of Year One and Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb's writing is such a gift. You almost have to trust, fall into it. As an actor, you have to just try not to do more than what's being presented to you and just honestly look at it and be like, okay, just disregarding anything I've seen or heard or audience expectation. What are they telling me that I'm supposed to do here? What are they guiding me? Where is that? And it is a solid guide. They're brilliant writers. They're gifted folks. So just do that, and you will end up in the right place.

Coy Johndro (10:22)

And we've talked about the writers and the iconic level of these stories, especially lasted the test of time for a reason.

Jason Spisak (10:28)

Yeah, yeah.

Coy Johndro (10:28)

But I often, when I hear a voice actor equate them to certain iconic artists, like when I hear your voice, there are certain bat artists that come to mind.

Jason Spisak (10:37)

Of course.

Coy Johndro (10:37)

Are there any artists that you have started to identify with that when you're speaking and when you're forming? Do you have an imagery in your mind's eye?

Jason Spisak (10:44)

Well, I actually have the comic right next to me as I'm performing, so I will always have the panels up. There's no other way to do it because this is. I mean, this is legend.

Coy Johndro (10:55)

Yeah.

Jason Spisak (10:55)

So I don't want to be doing a Jason thing. This is very important to me because this has been laid out very clearly, and the imagery is very different. In Mazzucchelli's year one versus sales art, they're very different styles. And so that's guiding you. That's guiding you. So, hey, and we had this discussion, actually, when we were doing Dark Victory when we're doing Long Halloween, that there's this evolution in who Batman is, and, oh, look, he's getting to be much more of that gothic, traditional, stoic Batman in these panels. Well, hey, let's see if we can bring some of that to the sound here. And if you use those as a guide, you won't be lost. Yeah, that's your action. I'm not envisioning anything other than what's on that page. Are they showing me a look, a smirk? How does Batman stand in this panel? Okay, now how do I sound? Like the white Batman is standing. I'm using the panels, man.

Coy Johndro (11:54)

That's really unique as an actor, to get that opportunity to, like, you're not reading someone's action. You're literally like, I'm standing. Yeah, yeah.

Jason Spisak (12:01)

Because typically, as an actor, you know, when you're doing film or television or any of the video games that I've done, you've got the script, you've got the. You know, the direction, but you don't have something as clear and signposty as you have these beautiful works of art.

Coy Johndro (12:16)

I've always felt like the balance between Bruce and Batman was so tricky. And this.

Jason Spisak (12:21)

Sure, yeah.

Coy Johndro (12:22)

Is the example of everything we've talked about so far, is extenuating that circumstance to the scale of 6 to 9. To how many voices?

Jason Spisak (12:29)

Yes.

Coy Johndro (12:30)

How do you find that line in the sand, in the image where you're playing the equalizer of your toolkit to know which one to play up?

Jason Spisak (12:37)

Well, it's very interesting because the imagery is. Is helping us understand what is that situation. You know, is Selina standing there? You know, is. Who's in that room? Is it him and Gordon now just alone on the roof of the GCPD building? If that's the case, then, well, we know it has to be the Batman who Jim is used to seeing.

Coy Johndro (13:01)

Yeah.

Jason Spisak (13:02)

Bruce has to make this congruent for Jim. You know, he has to make sure this fits in Jim's reality. And. Okay, well, if that's the case, but they're alone, and now they're talking about something super intimate and, oh, oh, Harvey Dent's there. Okay, well. Well, how does that change it? Does he know. How well does he know Harvey well.

Coy Johndro (13:20)

How has he heard him? That distinction.

Jason Spisak (13:21)

Right. So you have to honor that presence of voice. And then on top of that, the circumstance. I mean, obviously, emotionally, where is Bruce and Batman? Where. I mean, you know, Batman has this very narrow emotional range. And that's one of the things that we love about that, that stoicism, because he has to be. To be this dark night of Gotham. You don't get to be emotional and make that work. But inside that range, there's all these shades. And it has to land right in that moment. And those emotional cues are then layered on top of what I would say, the circumstances. And you get those things together, and what your ear is gonna hear is you're gonna hear a different shade of Batman in each of those things. And what's interesting is, vocally, I. I am dropping into a Batman voice, but I don't have a Batman voice because that, to me, would be betraying the reality of what's going on in the story.

Coy Johndro (14:24)

And I think that's where there are pitfalls. At times when people that are voice actors do a Batman, it has to be kind of a thing.

Jason Spisak (14:30)

Put me in the Batman voice. But to me, that's the difference between acting and just sort of a mimic or a ventriloquist or whatever, puts their arm inside the thing of Batman and does a pretend. Truly acting. The story of what it's like to be Bruce Wayne in Batman, you're not putting on a voice. You're being another person. And that person has a set of realities that you have to commit to.

Coy Johndro (14:59)

I also really appreciate that, and I hadn't met you until today. I appreciate that your Bruce Wayne Isn't you as a normal civilian? There's affectation like me as a person. You won't know, but you know what I mean. I've heard voice work, bad coffee.

Jason Spisak (15:13)

I'm too close to Wally. Fine, fine. I lied about believing in magic, but magic is the real lie. A major load.

Coy Johndro (15:20)

I like the idea that your day will affect your experience in which voices might fall into it.

Jason Spisak (15:25)

It's true. But, yeah, that Bruce.

Coy Johndro (15:27)

I feel like. I really feel the energy in the Bruce as much as the Batman is. The point I was trying to make is that there is the effort and work in Bruce because he's having to put in effort and work into what personality he's conveying. Because that's also a mask.

Jason Spisak (15:40)

Yeah. And if you hear Bruce in his head, it has to have this weight to it. I mean, if you look at the words, you look at what he's saying, he's like, you know, mother, father, I. It's this. There's this weight to the syllables that are coming out of his mouth. You know, there's not a ton of dialogue. To be fair to everyone, the amount of words on the page, I have noticed as an actor are far less than what you get in cinema. They're less than what you get in television and animation. Because in a comics, the art is doing so much heavy lifting for you. The actual words that are being spoken are fairly abbreviated to the point well chosen. So there is this weight that comes along with what Bruce is when he speaks to himself or to others that has to accompany it. He chooses his words, even in his own mind, very, very carefully.

Coy Johndro (16:34)

I feel I really like that point. I'd never considered the brevity as a strength for Batman that mirroring his stoicism, but also because of the medium itself. Art is such a stranglehold of the visual experience that you have to add that. That's interesting.

Jason Spisak (16:47)

That's correct. Yeah. You're not gonna find an over wordy Batman comic when Bruce is talking.

Coy Johndro (16:50)

Yeah. Aaron Sorkin is not out there just typing up.

Jason Spisak (16:53)

Right, right, right. You're not. You're not dictating into your phone and you're just throwing that up on panels. But I feel like Bruce's emotional content lends itself very well to that. It lends itself very well to that brevity that there is this weight that when he even arrives first at year one and he's, you know, I should have taken the train. And there's this sense of responsibility, there's regretfulness at times. Could I have done this better, you know? And as humans, where do we get those voices? Do we get those voices from our father? Do we get those voices from our mother? Where do those things come in? What makes us have this sense of internal responsibility? You know? And on top of that, he had to live his life without them. So, yeah, I think it has that weight because of the story.

Coy Johndro (17:39)

And we see the responsibility grow because we meet you as such a young Bruce and an even younger Batman. We see Batman happen. We experience the birth of the psych.

Jason Spisak (17:47)

I was frightened about that, by the way, because, like, the first time you get to do the Batman voice, having it be such a young version of Batman, such an inexperienced version of Batman, I didn't want the audience to reject it because it's not what they typically hear. Right, Right. And so, like, in the back of my mind, I'm like, just trust it. Just trust it. Just trust the writing. Just trust it. You. And. Because I want people to enjoy that journey.

Coy Johndro (18:08)

Sure.

Jason Spisak (18:09)

I want them to enjoy the journey that we're having from year one to long Halloween to Dark Victory. I want them to feel what it's like to be Batman and how he has to grow and he's forced to change.

Coy Johndro (18:22)

And I felt personally, and this was one of the things I've been wondering since I heard it for the first time, there's modulation in your voice that I feel like plays with Batman, finding his voice. And it's an affectation he puts on, as we've said, differently with different people. But it's almost like there are certain times he goes out to find Batman that he's also finding his voice.

Jason Spisak (18:42)

Yeah.

Coy Johndro (18:42)

So you can feel the levels being played even in the story of, like, not. Not quite that. Like, that's. Would you putting those in in the day in the booth?

Jason Spisak (18:49)

Yes. And we talked about it, actually. So not only was I putting it in, but this is a collaborative effort for everybody at realm and D.C. and everybody who's. Who's put the time and. And effort and love into this love letter to the fans. It's very important to everyone who's. Who's in the booth with me. And we have these discussions like, well, he's in this room of people, you know, and he says, none of you are safe. Wait, but he's in a room full of people. Should it be more projected than that? Yeah, but I don't know if he's that Batman y yet. Okay, well, let's see. Let me try it this way. And so I am actually trying this. And it's Sort of like Cinderella's glass slipper. If you work on a project like this where it's iconic art, it's iconic writing, these stories are legend. You know when you hear a thing and it's right and it goes. It just fits in, and you're like, okay, no, there. That's what it is. That fits in this space. You're never exactly sure where you're going to land in that moment. And there's lots of different ways to play it. And you check in. You know, I check in with the folks at Realm, and I check in Mike from D.C. is there, and Fred, our director from Realm, and Rash. And it's just such a beautiful team effort. And thankfully, I'm not alone, because if I was alone in this endeavor, alone in the booth, I have to tell you, I have a feeling that it wouldn't nearly be as good, because the folks at Realm have this dialed in. They have a vision of what they want this to be, but it's a collaborative effort to kind of do that on purpose. Maybe he's unsure in this moment. And I don't think anyone's ever gotten that privilege, because to me, as an actor, that's a privilege to get those opportunities.

Coy Johndro (20:32)

It's a pretty one of one moment to get to become Batman in all senses of the word. Now, now, mediums is something I want to discuss, because as a comic book person in this age of comic book, I'd say it's a golden age, because we have so many different ways comics are being adapted. But this medium, to me, feels like a one of one new thing. And at 2025, I don't get to live a lot of firsts in art, and so it's really special.

Jason Spisak (20:56)

Yeah.

Coy Johndro (20:57)

What was it like adjusting your performance as someone who's done voice work in so many other mediums that are a little bit more, you know, storied? Like, we've had video games for a while, we've had animation. This, to me, is something brand new. How do you adjust your performance to nail something that is brand new to the world?

Jason Spisak (21:14)

Well, it's all acting, I'll tell you that. And I think if I've done anything across my career, it's to try to ignore the medium as best as I can.

Shopify Representative (21:21)

First.

Jason Spisak (21:23)

First and foremost, I'm part of a storytelling troupe. I'm from a group of people who want to tell you the story, want to get you to feel where the character is and to disappear into that as best I can, that there's no more Jason, that's unimportant. What is it like to be in this story, in this moment? But you can't completely ignore the fact that this is an immersive audio experience for a thing that already exists. We get to have. And I don't know if anybody who's watching this or you remember radio plays, but there was this thing in the day days of the golden age of radio where you would have this audio experience of what it was like. And prior to that, you were reading. You were either watching theatrical performances or you were reading books. And when you're reading books, your imagination processes that and makes it real for yourself. But in an audio experience like this, you don't have the visual, so your imagination is on board in a completely different way. You're not reading the words, you're listening to the words. And your imagination gears up in a completely different way and begins to paint these beautiful pictures for yourself, which I encourage people to. If you haven't read the comics, don't just listen to this immersive audio experience. It's its own genre that if you can give yourself over to it and enjoy it, your imagination will take you places and then later grab the comics and flip through them with it as a second pass. I think it's. It is its own medium in a way.

Coy Johndro (22:51)

I feel like that is the experience I had with this. Having read the book so many times over so many years. I felt differently about the moment. Not only with Gordon's infidelity, but also the fourth act of this. In the fourth issue. It hit me stronger, the motorcycle moment. And that's crazy.

Jason Spisak (23:10)

Yeah, you were saying that where it's just like. Because you can viscerally hear the sounds of the motorcycle and. Yeah. And it takes you to a place in your mind. You're making it real. It's like, I'm making this real. It's like the Matrix. I'm making this real. And our brains are participatory on a whole nother level. When you're hearing it. When you're hearing it. And again, the music is incredible. It marries to each moment. And you're just on the edge of your seat because that music puts you there. You're like, oh, God, what's going to happen?

Coy Johndro (23:42)

What was it like the first time after being in the booth, after all the development, after playing the different takes, hearing it as a completed experience for you to listen.

Jason Spisak (23:50)

It blew me away. I mean, I can't say this enough. Like, it's incredibly humbling and it's such a gift because I love auditory experiences. I love that thing. I'm an audio guy and so like, I really loved listening to it and hearing the city. Right. When you read the comics, you don't hear Gotham, but like when you listen to DC High Volume Batman, you hear Gotham, you hear the train, you hear the footsteps of people. You know, when Bruce is going out to do reconnaissance, you're hearing things in the alley and people screaming and beer bottle getting kicked and all. Like you hear Gotham and you never got a chance to really hear Gotham. And. And I don't want to take anything away from other mediums like cinema, but in this you actually have moments where that's let breathe. You have moments in D.C. high volume where Gotham is a character auditorially. And that's beautiful. That's a really incredible thing that you get to. And it sits you right down in this world. It sits you right down where Bruce is going to be and have to do this really nearly impossible thing.

Coy Johndro (25:02)

You know, I just realized an experience I had with this that I didn't put together. It's like when you're eating a really good meal and you're watching tv, how you won't taste it as much and when you actually sit and chew your food. To me, this was that for Gotham.

Jason Spisak (25:15)

Yes.

Coy Johndro (25:16)

I've read this so many times, but I was sitting and chewing my food.

Jason Spisak (25:19)

Yes.

Coy Johndro (25:19)

And I got to really live in Gotham.

Jason Spisak (25:21)

You are auditorily chewing your food, you're chewing your Batman stories.

Coy Johndro (25:25)

I so appreciate it.

Jason Spisak (25:25)

One mouthful at a time.

Coy Johndro (25:27)

And I love that we get to experience a comic that is a direct experience that we have lived if we've read it. But this is also a great way for people that haven't read comics to discover the way the Batman is.

Jason Spisak (25:39)

We were talking about that, how there are people who like true crime. And for the genre of podcasts, of which this is, I would like to say an evolution. I think DC High Volume Batman is an evolution of the podcast medium. You have people who love the true crime podcast and you have people who love the fiction sort of narrative podcast, but haven't read the comics. That's not part of their lived history. So you get these folks who for them these stories are gonna be brand new. They get to have that first time Batman what wasn't always Batman experience, you know, or like what you know, and he's unsure of himself what you know. And I think that is such a gift to anybody who goes and grabs this on their, you know, in their podcast feed. They're gonna be so pleasantly Surprised by this. And then maybe, you know, they might go out and grab some comics. They might go out, and it might take them into a different place that they've never explored. So.

Coy Johndro (26:38)

And I wanna sit down with people that listen to this and then ask them what they think Gordon looks like, what they think Bruce looks like.

Jason Spisak (26:43)

Yes.

Coy Johndro (26:43)

We haven't read the comics.

Jason Spisak (26:45)

Please, please, please, what do you think? Or give him, like, a sketch pad and be like, jimmy, just draw. Just draw.

Coy Johndro (26:51)

What's your crime sketch of the culprit here in the draw?

Jason Spisak (26:53)

Selena, right now, what you think she looks like. You know, and that's unique because we're com. Yes, yes. And I would love to see people's interpretation of the auditory experience into their own version of a visual experience. That would be fascinating to know. And then have them, you know, open the comic and be like, wow. Wow, that is so interesting.

Coy Johndro (27:15)

And that's like being an artist, right? Like, you get to interpret what the writer wrote.

Jason Spisak (27:18)

I would love to see that.

Coy Johndro (27:19)

And speaking of your work, the booth itself, man, that experience to me is like alchemy. Were there any memorable moments for you as a fan that gave you chills, that got that, like, we. You said the glass slipper. What were some of the glass slipper moments from year one that you can remember?

Jason Spisak (27:32)

Oh, man, there were a couple. To be honest, as that actor, there's this moment where you have thought about what it's going to be like. You have rehearsed in your own space, you have done the work, and you leave all that behind. And it's time to, for the first time, do the voice of Batman. And I just. That moment is. It's incredible. It's incredible. And I do remember there being a little bit of silence on the end of the line. Cause there's this. The beginning of year one is Bruce's VO as he's coming into Gotham. And so the beginning of this is all Bruce. Yeah, it's all Bruce and Bruce's head and all of this, you know, so then when Batman drops in for the first time. Oh, oh, oh, okay. And that, to me, was so. It was a little bit worrisome, but not in the way that you would think. It wasn't like, oh, am I going to get this right? It was almost like, I hope they enjoy this as much as I do, because I really love it. I really love doing the voice that I've created in those moments that's specifically crafted for that time in the story. And I was really hoping they would, too. And they did. So it's quite lovely. I think everybody enjoys it when they hear it.

Coy Johndro (29:02)

I really like the confidence of the trust fall allegory. But I also really like that you have a certainty of how you feel about Batman, because that's so Batman. Batman would know how Batman conveys. And that certainty is really.

Jason Spisak (29:13)

I guess I'm in character character then, which is great.

Coy Johndro (29:15)

I am Batman. Was there a moment that you, as the voice of. Of someone so iconic to an iconic story? Yeah, you got that. Oh, my God. I get to say this line. Were there any lines that feel so formative to Year one that you were like, now I'm externalizing this. I'm adding my art to this.

Jason Spisak (29:32)

Oh, that's interesting. Yes, I. I did, man. I really. I mean, there is this moment where he tells everyone that none of them are safe. And it's such a beautiful. There's also a moment where he says, it's showtime. That is also incredibly un Batman like, to me, which I don't want to say that that's my favorite line, but I also think it shows you where he is, that he's playing this character for the first time. You know, it's showtime.

Coy Johndro (30:09)

It's just like, he doesn't know that's not him yet. Yes. But he has no clue that that.

Jason Spisak (30:13)

Is so inappropriate for Batman.

Coy Johndro (30:15)

That's like.

Jason Spisak (30:15)

Batman would never say it's showtime. What are you talking about? But. But I. I really love that. And to get that right is difficult because again, as an actor, you've. You've seen lots of other people's performances. You've taken in stuff over your life, and. Well, I've never seen that Batman. I've never seen that Batman. I've never seen the one that's just like, it's showtime. What are you talking about?

Coy Johndro (30:35)

That's the Joker. It's showtime.

Jason Spisak (30:37)

You know.

Coy Johndro (30:41)

So similar, but split.

Jason Spisak (30:42)

Yes. So, like, it was that. To me, if you're talking about a memorable line, I'm gonna award it to that one because it is. But I don't necessarily think that that one's, you know, quintessential Batman, but maybe it is quintessential Year one because it really fits the story that Miller was trying to create. And I think that makes him human to me. It's very dear to my heart, the human nature of Bruce Wayne, who has this psychological construction that eventually, I believe internally he's confused with. He's confused with and burdened by in many ways, you know, that we get to see what it's like when that's born.

Coy Johndro (31:25)

Yeah.

Jason Spisak (31:25)

That's really cool. Because Batman begins to have a whole lot of room inside Bruce's mind.

Coy Johndro (31:31)

So I'm really looking forward to seeing the evolution further because of those things. The character only grows. And, and to me, Batman is like a, like an American James Bond. Like, there's so many different ways and, and all of them are authentic. Like, they're like, when I see a James Bond, I'm like, oh, that's. This level's being played, and this is this memorable element.

Jason Spisak (31:48)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Coy Johndro (31:49)

Is that the most fun part of, of voicing Batman in the booth? When you get to drop into that moment where it feels like you're full of such certainty of the moment, you've got that unbridled. Not rage, but, like, control. Is that your favorite experience?

Jason Spisak (32:02)

It's not. To be honest, my favorite experience is the vulnerability that I get to bring. I, to play those heroic moments. I do love to play those, those quintessentially Batman y moments. Like, I, I, I love that idea. But that's been done.

Coy Johndro (32:20)

Mm.

Jason Spisak (32:21)

Right. And I think one of my jobs as an actor, like, if you get to play Hamlet and you, you know, that's been done a whole bunch of times. That's been done by a ton of actors. Why would you do Hamlet? Well, because I want you to see my Hamlet. I want you to see the interpretation that I'm bringing in. What can I find in this that no one else has found? And it's the same way. If you dive into Batman just wanting to give the audience that thing, I think you're doing the audience a disservice. They've come to see you. They've come to see something new. What are you gonna give them in that seat with that ticket? Make their time worth it. And DC high volume Batman is worth your time because. Because of all those other things I think that we can bring.

Coy Johndro (33:08)

And what do you think for you, with your love of the character, with the investment which I so appreciate making in the character. You've given him so many different colors. How do you now perceive him differently?

Jason Spisak (33:18)

Yeah.

Mike Palata (33:18)

Yeah.

Jason Spisak (33:18)

Well, here's, here's the thing about that is you never realize what you don't know until you're done, until you perform as an actor and your job is to now, hey, put on that suit, put on that cowl, you know, be that millionaire, you know, billionaire playboy. Like, you don't know what you don't know until you have a chance to do that.

Coy Johndro (33:40)

Yeah.

Jason Spisak (33:40)

And once you do, I don't look at Batman the same now. I have to be honest, I don't look at Batman the same now. There's a. Oh, man, how do I say this? There's a vulnerability, there's a, a strong fragility. You know, it's like bulletproof. Glass is still glass.

Coy Johndro (34:03)

Oh, I like that, man. That's Batman.

Jason Spisak (34:05)

You know, it really does help you understand why the story gets taken so many places by D.C. and why those things really do happen in the comics is because this is a real human being who's putting this on, who's putting this cowl on, who's going to do these things. And it's the humanity of Bruce Wayne and what he becomes, which can't be separated from Batman. I think it's that humanity. I, I really, I think I lacked a bit of understanding until I got a chance to really create it.

Coy Johndro (34:40)

I, I gotta end it there. I think the most Frank Miller line possible is bulletproof. Glass is still glass. That is a Batman year one quote, not from the book, but from dc. High volume, absolute pleasure, man. Thank you for caring about this character so much. It shows every moment of this. I think it's an amazing medium and an amazing experience. Thank you for what you brought to Batman.

Jason Spisak (34:58)

Thanks, Corey, and thank you all.

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Mike Palata (35:44)

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Coy Johndro (36:16)

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. From streaming to shopping. Prime helps you get more out of your passions. So whether you're a fan of true.

Jason Spisak (36:25)

Crime or prefer a nail biting novel.

Coy Johndro (36:27)

From time to Time.

Jason Spisak (36:28)

With services like Prime Video, Amazon Music.

Coy Johndro (36:31)

And fast free delivery, prime makes it easy to get more out of whatever you're into or getting into. Visit Amazon.comprime to learn more. Let's keep things rolling. Let's bring out the executive producer, without whom this show would not be possible. The heart of D.C. high volume Batman. The one and only Mike Palata. I am sitting down with executive producer of DC High Volume Batman, the great Mike Palata. How you doing today, man?

Mike Palata (37:07)

I'm doing well. Coy.

Coy Johndro (37:08)

I gotta know, man. We've talked about Batman at length, but what is it about Batman that you connect most to?

Mike Palata (37:15)

Oh, wow. Yeah. With Batman, I love the aspect of the character that's so malleable. He's a character over 80 years now you can do so much with. I mean, it speaks volumes that you can put him in absolute Batman with what Scott Snyder is doing and he still works. You can make the 60s TV show with Adam west and it's a more comedic, satirical take and it still works and he's still iconic. The iconography is so malleable. My own personal draw for the character. I just love that there's a sense that I can always go back to Batman stories and find something new, whether it's, you know, the stories we're adapting here, like year one, every time I read it, there's something new there. And in adapting it, I found so much that I did not see before. It's like a lot of great texts where you go back and you revisit it at different points in your life and you find something new.

Coy Johndro (38:18)

Do you remember your first entryway point to Batman in general? Your first moment of like, I'm connecting with this character at whatever age.

Mike Palata (38:25)

It was like so many other people. I think the earliest, earliest days is the Adam West Batman. I remember my sister babysitting me and I wanting to watch Batman, the 1960s TV show, and she wanted to watch 90210 and we fought it out. And then being a six year old and seeing commercials for the Animated Series and programming my vcr and then from there getting into the comics. My entry point into the comics, in comics in general was from movies like Terminator and Aliens and Predator. I was such a Terminator, Aliens and Predator kid. So I was reading Terminator, the Burning Earth by Alex Ross. It was his first comic book ever. Go read it. It's amazing. And it blew my mind as a nine year old. And from there I remember picking up the Batman Alien crossover that Bernie Wrightson had had drawn and Bernie Wrightson's art is staggering. Amazing. And I just fell in love with Batman comics, starting with that book. And it just fully dove in from there and just consumed all Batman comics I possibly could from there. I think the first time I read Year One and Long Halloween would have been. I would have been probably about 14 years old.

Coy Johndro (39:51)

I think I was about the same.

Jason Spisak (39:52)

Yeah.

Mike Palata (39:52)

Which is, I think, about the best age to first read it. Now it's weird to revisit those stories. Being older than Batman, it's really started.

Coy Johndro (40:01)

Affecting the last, like, five years. Like the last five years where I've started feeling older than young Bruce. I'm like, oh, yeah, Time is passing, isn't it?

Mike Palata (40:07)

Yeah. I'm like, oh, yeah, he's such a man.

Coy Johndro (40:10)

Yeah.

Mike Palata (40:12)

When he's 26 and I'm how old?

Coy Johndro (40:15)

But, yeah, when the Robins start getting, like, young in your mind, you're like. You're paternally protective. You're like, oh, no, I am. I'm the Bruce now.

Mike Palata (40:22)

I definitely feel. I feel that for sure. Having a son of my own and my own ward.

Coy Johndro (40:28)

Yeah.

Mike Palata (40:28)

My own Robin. Yeah. It's a strange feeling, but like I said before, it adds new layers to these stories when you revisit them.

Coy Johndro (40:37)

And the audio side of it, I love, because it's a new way to be an entry point. You mentioned all of these, like, Terminator, Alien, all these movies. Like, kids of the 80s, we had that entryway point. But there's so much technology now. There's so many new entryway points to comic books. And I think living in this golden age of comics is such a gift to now look back and be like, oh, this is also how you can discover what was your entryway point into audio storytelling that made you want to pair these two.

Mike Palata (41:04)

I would say about. This would have been 10, 12 years ago. This is before I worked at DC. I worked at this job that I was working in, like, a warehouse at a computer desk all day long, and there was no windows whatsoever. So at the end of the day, at night, I would want to go for these long walks. And I always wanted something to listen to. So I found myself listening to audiobooks and consuming so many audiobooks and just being drawn towards Stephen King audiobooks. Listening to Salem's Lot and Carrie and again, anything I could, just to give my mind something to listen to. I am always drawn to narrative, and I loved it. But I found myself wanting to marry comic books and graphic storytelling with this audio. And it's not an original idea to me. I Think it's an idea so many fans have had, which is, why not develop these stories for audio? And the idea of doing them word for word the way that an audiobook is word for word. So that's really where it's stemmed from. And then working at dc. I'm a creative director at dc, and I've worked at DC for about nine years now. And when I got the opportunity to start working on the podcast business and the audio business, I got to dive into the world of Batman and all of these characters with projects like the Audio Adventures and Unburied and other series related to that. And. And I found working on those shows was incredibly fulfilling and incredibly valuable. But those were original stories, and with something like this, I wanted to work with the teams at Realm and with my co pilot on all these projects, Victor Diaz, to take what we've learned from those projects and use it to adapt the stories that people know and love from the comics.

Coy Johndro (43:10)

I love that we opened this conversation talking about Batman being something that is so flexible and versatile, and even in that experience, your direct experience is adapting a story, making it new, adapting a story, making it new, and now giving us the story of year one. And I think that's really something special. But I'm curious, what is an EP in this capacity on this show? What's it like to actually be kind of, you know, pulling strings with the character in a direct way?

Mike Palata (43:36)

Yeah, there's a lot involved with being an EP on this show. The show. Yeah. Victor, who I mentioned before, he and I will weigh in on everything from the scripts, making sure that we're adapting it as closely as possible to audio, but not missing anything. We're trying to keep verbatim as word perfect as possible with the original text and the original artwork, but there are moments where even reading the script, you're like, how is this going to work in audio? And are we hitting those points? So it's really. It's part of our job to think with that specific lens when we're reading through the scripts, and then we'll weigh in on the cast, you know, finding the perfect. I think we found the perfect Batman with Jason Spiscisak. Incredible. Yeah. Jason Spisak as Bruce Wayne in Batman is phenomenally good. He gets that it isn't just one voice for Bruce, and it's one voice for Batman. There is a spectrum. There's the Batman who he is with Jim Gordon, and then there's the Batman who he is with Alfred, and then there's clearly the very vulnerable Bruce when he's talking to his parents at their grave site, there's the Batman with Catwoman and the Bruce with Selina. And, yeah, Jason truly understands all of that. And then weighing in on Jay Paulson as Gordon and then talking with Jay about this is a younger Gordon, but I also think he hasn't been destroyed by Gotham yet.

Coy Johndro (45:04)

I've always seen the graying as symbolically, the chipping away. Exactly. There's a lot to the visual of Gordon.

Mike Palata (45:10)

Exactly. So as eps, you know, we're working with our director and producer, Fred Greenhalgh, and we're working with Roshan Singh Sambhi to talk to the actor and kind of walk him through. Like, you can sound younger here. Once we go into some of those later stories, maybe feel free to start kind of aging up the character's voice. There's a great sadness you hear in Gordon's voice even early on in Year One, and I think you're gonna hear more weariness as it goes on and more this man just being beaten down by Gotham City, but still persevering and powering through it. So we'll talk to the actors about all of that, and that's the benefit of also having the same actors playing these characters throughout. So, really, Victor and I are there every step of the way that we could possibly be weighing in on everything, kind of being a guiding voice for D.C. and hopefully representing the fans and what we think the fans will want to hear in this project and what's going to help new listeners want to continue to listen.

Coy Johndro (46:22)

Essentially, Year One to me is one of the great gateways into comic books. It's one of the comics that I could say, hey, you've never read a comic. I think you should try this one out. I think this might be for you. What do you think it is about Year One that is so approachable and in this medium, what do you think people are going to find that might not have ever read a comic?

Mike Palata (46:41)

Yeah, I worked in a comic book store 20 years ago when I was a senior in high school, and I worked, and it was a great experience. And I would hand people Year One if they came in and they wanted an intro to Batman or they were interested in something, and I would give them Year One, I'd give them the stories we're adapting here. They're perfect entry points for the character. I find this era of Batman, specifically in the late 80s and into the 90s, is such a good sort of. They're hitting the refresh button on the character post crisis, obviously, and it started from the ground up, and it had a nice grit to the character and a darkness that I think has been adapted loosely and kind of taken into movies and tv. And a lot of what people think of when they think of Batman now is because of these comics. Pre year one, pre 80s, it was Adam west and it was bright and colorful, and Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's vision with Year, along with all the other writers and artists of the 80s into the 90s, they really added to that Dark Knight that we know and love. And Year one is an interesting story, too, because it's kind of perfect for audio because it really is the story of Jim Gordon, just as much, if not more so, than Batman. And with the captions or the journals that you're reading, you're getting into their headspace and you're hearing them. So there is a natural narrator throughout. You get this dual POV that when we were working on the show, we were like, how do we do this shift accurately? And where the listener can clearly follow it without it being like, okay, who's talking now? Are they speaking aloud?

Coy Johndro (48:39)

Is it here? Here?

Mike Palata (48:40)

Yeah. Is Bruce talking to someone else on the plane right now? What's happening? No. So we worked it all, and I think we came up with a way to present the story and really do it justice.

Coy Johndro (48:51)

It is so bombastic. It is something that this is so much more than a comic without visuals. Like, there is an element of Gotham that I've never experienced until this. And that's so cool, having experienced Gotham for 36 years. Like, this is its own thing. What do you think it is about the audio medium that's specific to Batman that's so unique? Because for me, I've rediscovered Gotham in a new way. The. The moment in. In Year One, issue three, where the motorcycle happens, I felt things I'd never felt before.

Mike Palata (49:21)

Yeah, I mean, that's really a testament to, you know, the sound design work by our team, Jonathan Roberts and the Dans, as we call them, Daniel Ramirez and Daniel Brunel. And that's also a testament to Sam Ewing's work as our composer with Marcus Begala. They're building out this world and fleshing it out in an audio space that's really making it so immersive and lived in. I think Batman presents a unique opportunity in that it feels just left of reality. It feels real, but it's gothic. And it's just above reality enough for you to be able to engage with it without feeling like. Like you're going into the realm of fantasy, or you're going so far outside of the norm where you have to completely learn a new language. In audio, there's so many fun moments where we. Can we get to sit down as a team and talk about, like, what should the Batmobile sound? Like, what should it sound like when Batman disappears on Gordon? Should there be a sound? Should it be, you know, like, how do we convey this moment in audio only, essentially? And. And that's not to say, oh, don't have the book open when you're listening. By all means, if you want to crack the book open and sit there and page through it and follow along with us, you're more than welcome to. But that's not what we're making. We're making something that you can experience if you're grocery shopping, if you're commuting, if you're on the subway, if you're just. Or if you're like me and just someone who needs to get some fresh air. Because your job, job, you know, the windowless job.

Coy Johndro (51:05)

You gotta imagine your mindset.

Mike Palata (51:06)

Windowless job.

Coy Johndro (51:08)

I. I really like that it is a singular medium experience because of what you're describing. Like, what are you excited for Ride or Die comic fans to discover? Are there moments that you think might read different in this medium?

Mike Palata (51:19)

In. In episode one, there was a scene that.

Coy Johndro (51:21)

When.

Mike Palata (51:22)

When I got the first mix of episode one, the scene of Bruce in the Porsche applying the scar to his face when he's just about to. It's the proto Batman when he's realizing he needs a disguise. He can't just go out as Bruce Wayne and try and stop crime or whatever he's gonna do. And there's such a beautiful moment of the sound design and this swelling music that the team composed mixed with Jason's performance of realizing he needs to. To apply the scar. And it gave me chills the first time I heard it. Because when you look at it, you know, Mazzucchelli's done this incredible job of drawing Bruce in this very shadowy scene under the elevated train tracks and just sitting in a car that's humming. But when you actually hear the engine rumbling and you hear him in his thought process, it gave me goosebumps. And it still does every time I hear it. It's like the perfect mix. And there's a lot of scenes and like that where, you know, we would be in a session and, you know, we would just talk about, like, what is Bruce's voice here and what is. What is his voice when he's Just talking to himself in his head.

Coy Johndro (52:35)

Yeah.

Mike Palata (52:36)

And we would say, like, you know, Bruce is the mask. Bruce. Bruce is, you know, when he's at the gala and he's wearing the suit and tie, that's him putting on a mask. The version of Batman's voice in his head is more like Batman than it is like Bruce. There is a version of it that's probably, again, if you were to look at the spectrum of Bruce and Batman, it's probably a little bit closer to Batman. So I think, yeah, listeners are gonna find a lot of those moments throughout, and I hope that they agree with our decisions.

Coy Johndro (53:09)

Speaking of, I love that the themes are so specific as you have these swelling moments of character cues and introductions. And agreeing with them, I think, is one of the most beautiful things, is these are sound cues. I've never considered. Was there any sound cue or theme that you were like, oh, wait, that is blank. I would never have thought of that sounding like that.

Mike Palata (53:29)

Yeah. I mean, well, back to the scar in the car scene, I was like, that is that. That is Batman music. And I remember talking with Sam and Marcus about, like, we need Batman music. And they were like, we got it. And I was like, that is Batman. Yes.

Coy Johndro (53:45)

You found it. That's it.

Mike Palata (53:46)

You found the tone. You found whatever the rhythm is, the mix of gothic opera. You nailed it. And in the finale on the bridge, there's music that matches tonally what's happening in that scene. And I almost cry listening to when Spoiler when. And the baby is, like, so intense. Oh, my God.

Coy Johndro (54:10)

It actually had me in a different level of anxiety than reading it because there's something about, like, picturing it because you're being fed so much adrenaline auditorily, that, like, it gave me imagery that I was like, oh. And it was a really wonderful sensation.

Mike Palata (54:23)

And they really, like, with. With Jay's performance with it. It's his baby, you know, Jim Gordon's baby. And mixed with the music and being a. Again, like, it's so hacky. But being a dad myself and it being. And I. My kid's only two, and this being like I was. It felt very fresh.

Coy Johndro (54:42)

Yeah, man.

Mike Palata (54:43)

Felt very fresh for me, listening to a crying baby falling off of a bridge.

Coy Johndro (54:48)

Well, my last question, so we don't end on a flying baby falling off a bridge, is we're looking ahead to one of my favorite comics of all time. We're diving into the Long Halloween, and I adore how robust of a cast that is. Is there any moment you want to tease that you're Excited for people to discover that are long time long Halloween fans in this format.

Mike Palata (55:10)

Long Halloween is such a fun one because it really, it maps the progression or digression from the mafia and the crime lords and the organized crime within Gotham and they're being kind of of replaced by these costume criminals. And so you're gonna see a lot of the familiar villains that you know and love from, you know, Joker, Poison Ivy. There's so many fun characters on the way. And we got incredible performances from Michelle Lukes as Poison Ivy, Dan Kill as the Joker. We even have Kevin Smith as the Penguin, which.

Coy Johndro (56:01)

Dude the street cred of having one of the greatest nerds of all time, Kevin Smith, not only does he write comics, not only is he one of the greatest writer, filmmaker, actors of nerdery, but I feel like he's the one that made me accept there were more me's out there. Like Kevin Smith's movie single handedly told me it was going to be okay. So the fact that he's the Penguin, that's just like, that's an ouroboros of nerd dom that I love to see.

Mike Palata (56:25)

Kevin Smith getting him to. You know, Kevin's a director, obviously, he's a writer director. He even told us in the recording session at the very top, like, listen, man, I'm not. You see, what you see is what you get.

Coy Johndro (56:39)

I'm Silent Bob.

Mike Palata (56:40)

I'm Kevin. I'm Kevin. You get Kevin. So we're like, that's fine. You know, we're like, okay. And Fred Greenhalgh is right. Our director, like to his credit, got the Penguin out of Kevin and he did it through. There's a scene that we'll get to eventually where the Penguin is being choked up by Batman. And when he was delivering his lines, literally choking himself, he nailed the voice of the Penguin in that moment and, and Fred. And we were all like, do all the lines again. Choking yourself. Do that. And he did it and he was game for it and it was the best.

Coy Johndro (57:24)

I love that.

Mike Palata (57:25)

So yeah, Long Halloween, I think. What? Okay, so. But back to your question about what to look forward to that and other things and many other things. The Long Halloween has some incredible action scenes. And you know what the story is so well known for is delving into what makes the world's greatest detective. It is a murder mystery at its core. It's got a extremely robust cast of characters, like you said. But at its heart, it is this murder mystery that affects all of these people and how they all react to these murders. The serial killer who's striking on holidays. Yeah, it's a really fun story to track throughout Gotham and having Batman at the center of it and seeing him do his detective work and run himself ragged trying to solve this near, seemingly near impossible mystery is really, really fun.

Coy Johndro (58:25)

And if you've never read it this, I'm jealous. This is quite the way to experience it. I think it's going to be an incredible murder mystery for you for the first time. And if you have read it as many times as I have, I'm so excited to be experiencing it in a new way. And, and it's like rediscovering an old friend or like catching up after years away. It's so, so very special. So, as a Batman fan almost since birth, like myself, thank you so much for the hard work and care you put into this and every other story. DC High Volume Batman is so special to me. So excited to talk about it. Thanks for joining me today, man.

Mike Palata (58:58)

Thank you.

Coy Johndro (59:03)

Well, that is all the time we have for this month's special edition of DC High Volume Batman. I would like to thank Batman himself for joining us. Jason Spisak, thank you so much, man. And the great Mike Palata, without whom none of this would be possible. I would also like to thank you, dear listener, whether this was your first episode of DC High Volume Batman or you've been with us from the very beginning, thank you for listening. And likewise, whether you've ever read a comic in your life, life, or you live and breathe tales of the Dark Knight, thank you for loving on comic books and being with us here today. And in that same spirit of loving on comics, check out DC Universe Infinite. It is the online DC comic catalog where you can get literally tens of thousands of incredible stories, including Batman Year one, including the Long Halloween. And in that same spirit, I wanted to give you guys some recommendations.

Mike Palata (59:53)

Some.

Coy Johndro (59:53)

So if you like Batman Year one, I highly recommend Batman the Night. It is Chip Sadarsky writing it, an incredible writer and this artist, Carmine D. John Dominico is incredible on the pencils. Thank you for your incredible work. This is a prequel story that deals with training with Ra's al Ghul, that deals with the mental and physical fortitude of what it is to become Batman. It is truly sensational. I never thought anything would make me feel that Year one, what it's like to train to be Batman energy in a comic. And then this came out and I was really blown away. Highly recommend the Night. I would also recommend, if you're enjoying Year one, do check out Year Two, obviously immediately following the events of year one. Absolute powerhouse series that followed year one that I highly recommend. Lots of really iconic imagery that has lasted the the test of time. Lots of really impactful storytelling as well. And then then we've got the Long Halloween, which I want to give some special love to and ongoing right now that is following the Long Halloween. There is Batman, the Long Halloween, the Last Halloween. And this one is really bittersweet for me because we lost the incredible Tim Sale and his art is irreplaceable. His work is incredible. And they had been working, Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale had been working on a sequel to the Long Halloween. So the story you're listening to right now on DC High Volume was going to get a sequel and then we lost Tim Sale. And instead of letting that story go untold, a number of incredible all time great artists jumped in with Jeph Loeb. And each artist does a single issue telling that story that Jeff and Tim wanted to tell and it continues on this incredible legacy and is called the Last Halloween. And you can get a number of issues out right now. And as always, if you want to check out the comics we talked about here today, please check out the DC Universe Infinite app. It is DC Comics online comic book catalog filled with tens of thousands of comics. Also, be sure to check out your local comic book shop. And as ever, if you want to talk comics, if you want recommendations of comics, if you want to geek out about comics, hunt me down. I'm on YouTube and Instagram oyjondro. That's C O Y J A N D R E A U if you can't tell. I love talking about comics and I would be honored to join you in those conversations. Go read some comics and hunt me down. Let's talk about them. Thank you so much for joining me. I've been koi Johnreau. You've been awesome. We'll see you next time. Thank you for joining us. In this special episode of DC High Volume, Batman executive producers for Realm, Carly Milori and Roshan Singh Sambi. Executive producers for DC, Mike Palata and Victor Diaz, producer Adam Boffa, technical director Insung Huang engineers Jason Gambrell and Echo Mountain. Hosted by me, Koi Jondreau. Special thanks to Fred Greenhalgh, Kalin West, Olivia d' Arienzo, Sam Ewing and to comic books for existing sa.