Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (25 March 2024)

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

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Spotlight on the Unknown Soldier, 1997

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

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (18 March 2024)

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

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Just a few loose thoughts on interplanetary wars

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

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (11 March 2024)

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

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Runners-up for 2023’s book of the year

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

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (4 March 2024)

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

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The return of Batman’s loud kicks in the head

This is Gotham Calling’s 700th post! I like to mark these occasions with something special and it occurred to me that it’s been a while since my last post celebrating the Caped Crusader’s tendency to acrobatically kick – or sometimes … Continue reading

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (26 February 2024)

War and comics tend to be a generative combination. The former has triggered politically charged works, it has shaped the background of popular characters (especially superheroes), it has inspired bonkers tales that counterintuitively mix fun and horrific elements , and … Continue reading

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Frank Miller’s objectivist Superman

As much as Frank Miller milked Superman’s symbolic potential, I also appreciate how much his comics simultaneously ‘humanized’ the character as well. Miller’s interpretation of the Man of Steel may be eccentric, but his Superman is an actual individual and … Continue reading

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