Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

AzBats’ X-mas spirit

Posted on December 23, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

During this time of year, I usually address the holiday spirit of Gotham and its citizens. This season, I was going to play with AzBats’ sunny disposition by cracking jokes about how all his favorite Christmas movies are probably rather … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Azrael, Christmas, movies | Leave a comment

Futuristic war comics

Posted on December 20, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

While Rogue One: A Star Wars Story delivers a pretty solid aliens-on-a-mission yarn, its unpretentious blend of dirty action and brazen fan service is bound to split the critical opinion. So far, the film has at least stirred up some … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Bad Company, Brett Ewins, Brian K. Vaughan, Dave Gibbons, Fiona Staples, Frank Miller, Jim McCarthy, Martha Washington, Matt Hollingsworth, movies, Peter Milligan, politics, Rufus Dayglo, science fiction, space opera, Star Wars, Steve Skroce, We Stand On Guard | Leave a comment

Doug Moench’s literary Batman

Posted on December 15, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Doug Moench is up there as one of the most prolific writers of Batman comics ever. From an unforgettable 1983 tale about tentacle sex until the 2009 mini-series Unseen – in which the Dark Knight battles the Invisible Man – … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Adrienne Roy, Alan Moore, Alfredo Alcala, Bob Smith, Cold War, Don Newton, Doug Moench, Gene Colan, Gerry Conway, Joey Cavalieri, Mike W. Barr, Paul Kupperberg, politics, Tom Mandrake | 3 Comments

Gotham City elections

Posted on December 12, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

For some reason, the electoral process has been on my mind. And so I turned, as I often do, to Batman comics in order to reassure myself that, as screwed up as politics appear to be at the moment in … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Gotham City, politics | Leave a comment

6 cool AzBats moments

Posted on December 8, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

One of the most infamous Batman eras was that time Jean Paul Valley – a university grad student brainwashed by a sect of the Knights Templar into becoming the assassin called Azrael – temporarily replaced Bruce Wayne as the Dark … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Azrael | 2 Comments

10 covers with seriously weird monsters

Posted on December 5, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

I’ve mentioned before how the Silver Age tended to produce strange, dream-like covers. There was a time when the best strategy to allure Batman readers seemed to be to give them colorful images that resembled the hallucinations of an euphoric … Continue reading →

Posted in COVERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged covers, Curt Swan, Dick Dillin, science fiction, Silver Age | Leave a comment

Fun Batman stories

Posted on December 1, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Despite being an unabashed fan of gritty film noir, moody gothic horror, and even some of the dark superhero sub-genre (so far, the Marvel Netflix shows have all kicked serious butt!), every so often I find myself ranting in this … Continue reading →

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged Adrienne Roy, Al Vey, Alan Davis, Archie Goodwin, Bob Haney, Carl Gafford, Carmine Infantino, Christmas, Dave Wood, Denny O'Neil, Dick Giordano, E.R. Cruz, Eric Jones, Jim Aparo, Kelley Puckett, Landry Q. Walker, Mike Carlin, Mike Parobeck, Mike W. Barr, Paul Neary, Rick Burchett, Sheldon Moldoff, Terry Beatty | Leave a comment

Alfred Pennyworth, passive-aggressive butler

Posted on November 24, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Batman Black & White (v2) #1 Legends of the Dark Knight #3 Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #5 The Dark Knight Returns #3

Posted in GOTHAM INTERLUDES | Tagged Alfred Pennyworth | Leave a comment

Even more over-the-top adventure comics

Posted on November 17, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

With half the nation still recovering from last week’s events, Gotham Calling would humbly like to draw readers’ attention to the fact that not everything is terrible and depressing in the world – through our latest celebration of non-Batman zany … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged Andrew Kreisberg, Andy Diggle, Aurora West, Battling Boy, Chrononauts, Dave McCaig, David Rubín, Gianluca Pagliarani, Helen Killer, Jeff Parker, JT Petty, Juan Jose Ryp, Leinil Yu, Mark Millar, Matthew JLD Rice, Mike Wolfer, Mysterius the Unfathomable, Paul Pope, science fiction, Sean Murphy, Silent Dragon, sword & sorcery, Tom Fowler, Warren Ellis, Wolfskin | Leave a comment

Seeking some consolation in comics (as usual)

Posted on November 10, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Last Tuesday’s election wasn’t the first time Hillary Rodham Clinton faced an extravagant creature with despotic tendencies. In 1999, back when she was First Lady of the United States, the White House received an uninvited guest: Supreme: The Return #1 … Continue reading →

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged politics, Supreme | 2 Comments