Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

Other detectives in Gotham City

Posted on April 4, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Back in January, I wrote about Slam Bradley, one of several detectives who share Gotham with the Dark Knight. I don’t mean police detectives – I’m talking about the many private investigators whose cases have brought them into contact with … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Alan Grant, Joe Potato, Kelley Puckett, Norm Breyfogle | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (1 April 2024)

Posted on April 1, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

The subgenre of super-spies seems especially suited for comic books, where there are no budget constraints in terms of depicting gonzo gadgets and glamorous globetrotting, so it’s no wonder we’ve gotten such a long history of James Bond comics, not … Continue reading →

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Annie Wu, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Black Widow, covers, espionage, Frank Miller, Junggeun Yoon, Phil Noto | Leave a comment

Catching up with crime movies

Posted on March 28, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

I had a blast putting together Gotham Calling’s list of top Cold War movies, as I got to dig into cinema history and unearth a slew of gems from the mid-to-late 20th century that approached geopolitics through diverse (and sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Luc Jacamon, Matz, movies | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (25 March 2024)

Posted on March 25, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

A reminder that the covers of Batman comics can be awesome… and fun!

Posted in COVERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Carlos Pacheco, covers, Curt Swan, Dan Davis, Darwyn Cooke, Fred Ray, Gaspar Saladino, Ira Schnapp, Jerry Robinson, Jesús Merino, Jim Aparo, Joe Giella, Justice League of America, Laura Martin, Mike Parobeck, Mike Sekowsky, Murphy Anderson, Rick Burchett, Rick Taylor, Tatjana Wood, Win Mortimer | Leave a comment

Spotlight on the Unknown Soldier, 1997

Posted on March 20, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

After being absent from the stands for about eight years, in 1997 the spy/war comic Unknown Soldier got the Vertigo treatment. By then, the Vertigo imprint had come to specialize in getting edgy (usually British) creators to reimagine third-tier DC … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Axel Alonso, Cold War, espionage, Garth Ennis, James Sinclair, Killian Plunkett, politics, Tim Bradstreet, Unknown Soldier, World War II | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (18 March 2024)

Posted on March 18, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

You know what can be really awesome? Old pulpy, straight-to-the-point comic book covers:

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged Alex Schomburg, Amazing Mystery Funnies, Billy the Kid, Boy Comics, Bruce Jones, Captain Science, Charles Biro, Chuck Cuidera, covers, Dick Giordano, Joe Orlando, John Giunta, Miss Fury, Paul Gustavson, Police Comics, Prize Comics, Reed Crandall, The Fly, Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones, Wally Wood | Leave a comment

Just a few loose thoughts on interplanetary wars

Posted on March 14, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Last week I went to see Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve’s epic about Afghanistan on an alien planet, which overcomes *some* of my reservations about the previous film. While the screen is once again filled with masses of anonymous blind … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Hebden, Alien, Angry Planet, Dan Dare, Dave Gibbons, Dune, Gerry Finley-Day, Massimo Belardinelli, movies, Peter Milligan, politics, Rogue Trooper, science fiction, Star Wars, Trigan Empire | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (11 March 2024)

Posted on March 11, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

This week’s reminder that comic book covers can be awesome is a tribute to superhero yarns, the most quintessential of the medium’s genres. Sure, superheroes have had their fair share of ventures into the big and small screens (from the … Continue reading →

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Alex Ross, All-Star Superman, Anthony Tollin, Artie Simek, Astro City, Authority, Avengers, Batgirl, Brian Bolland, Bryan Hitch, covers, Darwyn Cooke, Detective Comics, Dick Sprang, Doug Braithwaite, Frank Quitely, Howard Chaykin, Imperium, John Buscema, John Totleben, Justice League of America, Laura Martin, Miracleman, Paul Neary, Stan Goldberg, Suicide Squad, Todd Klein, Vince Colletta | Leave a comment

Runners-up for 2023’s book of the year

Posted on March 7, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

While ultimately no comic could top Shubeik Lubeik as Gotham Calling’s book of the year, there were strong contenders I left out but which I think deserve highlighting anyway… Now, I haven’t been reading as much as I used to, … Continue reading →

Posted in BOOKS OF THE YEAR | Tagged A Guest in the House, Annette Kwok, Arif Prianto, Benoit Dahan, Brad Simpson, Cyril Lieron, Daniel Clowes, Emily Carroll, Felipe Sobreiro, Gene Ha, Gospel, Hi-Fi, horror, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, Jock, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Local Man, Monica, Nicola Scott, Phil Jimenez, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Sherlock Holmes, Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, Wesley Wong, Will Morris, Wonder Woman | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (4 March 2024)

Posted on March 4, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Just a nightmarish reminder that comic book covers can be awesome:

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Animal Man, Brian Bolland, Charles Burns, Dave McKean, Dreaming, Esao Andrews, Gus Ricca, Han Allred, House of Mystery, Jack Kirby, Knockabout, L. B. Cole, Madman, Mask, Men of War, Mike Allred, Pokketz, Punch Comics, Raw, Strange World of Your Dreams, Viktor Kalvachev | 3 Comments