Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

The Dick Sprang challenge

Of Bob Kane’s various ghost artists, probably none was more defining than Dick Sprang, with his bold, clean-cut, upbeat, square-jawed, barrel-chested, Chester Gould-ish depiction of the Caped Crusader. But besides being  one of the most recognizable and stylish Batman artists … Continue reading

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Bruce Wayne’s political career

Despite spending much of his life terrorizing the criminal underworld or stuck in deathtraps while exchanging puns with a dude dressed as a question mark, Batman has found the time to take up a number of political jobs. With that … Continue reading

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Taking a break… (November 2015)

Detective Comics Annual #1

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Classic gothic horror films

If it’s true that Batman fans should enjoy other gothic comics, then of course the same goes for gothic movies. In the first film list I did for this blog, I suggested Dead of Night and The Unknown as examples … Continue reading

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On Jason Todd, Robin

One way to look at the second Robin, Jason Todd, is that he started out as a well-executed bad idea and ended up as a poorly executed great idea. Another way to look at the character is that DC at … Continue reading

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Lying in Batman’s arms

Last month, I suggested that this New Teen Titans cover, with Dick Grayson lying unconscious in some monster’s arms, was probably one of many movie poster homages done by Batman-related comics: Regardless of what truly inspired artist Jerry Bingham, however, … Continue reading

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Adolf Hitler in Batman comics

Comics love (to hate) Adolf Hitler. It’s not just Superman and Captain America – pretty much all the main superheroes have come across the Führer in one way or another. Hell, you don’t even have to be in the top-tier… … Continue reading

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Batman’s damn guns

Batman #301 We can all agree that Batman is not exactly a pacifist. After all, the Dark Knight does beat up crooks on a nightly basis and he has been known to resort to torture. However, there is a line, … Continue reading

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Covers with movie homages

Back when I listed 10 great Catwoman covers, I regrettably didn’t include this homage to the poster for the awesome crime movie Bullitt:           That image was part of a cool stunt DC pulled a few months ago, in which … Continue reading

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A symphony of kicks in the head

There is probably no cliché Batman fans hate more than ‘BIFF! ZAP! POW! COMICS ARE NOT JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE!’ It’s bad enough that you don’t realize comics haven’t been *just* for kids for a very looooong time… but do … Continue reading

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