Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

Spotlight on The Punisher – part 2

Posted on July 14, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

The thing about the Punisher is that he’s a fairly one-dimensional character, so every so often the folks at Marvel come up with a desperate attempt to make things more interesting. And while they may not always succeed from a … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Chuck Dixon, Daniel Way, Garth Ennis, Greg Rucka, Matt Fraction, Peter Milligan, Punisher, Steve Dillon | 1 Comment

Spotlight on The Punisher – part 1

Posted on July 7, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Having looked at DC’s most renowned leftist vigilante last week, today Gotham Calling turns to Marvel’s notorious right-wing anti-hero, the Punisher. While he is usually quite a one-note guy (wears a skull on his chest, kills criminals, that’s it), what … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Chuck Dixon, espionage, Frank Miller, Gerry Conway, Jo Duffy, Joe Kubert, John Buscema, Jorge Zaffino, Matt Fraction, Mike Baron, Mike Zeck, politics, Punisher, Rick Remender, Steven Grant | 2 Comments

Spotlight on Mike Grell’s Green Arrow

Posted on July 2, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Every once in a while, I like to shift gears and talk about comics set outside Gotham City that Batman fans should nevertheless enjoy because their genres (crime, superhero, fantastic adventure) are close to the mood of the Dark Knight. … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Andrea Sorrentino, Brad Meltzer, Chuck Dixon, Dan Jurgens, Denny O'Neil, Dick Giordano, Ed Hannigan, espionage, Green Arrow, Jeff Lemire, Julia Lacquement, Kevin Smith, Lurene Haines, Marcelo Maiolo, Mike Grell, Neal Adams, politics | 3 Comments

Batman comics and World War II

Posted on June 29, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Although nowadays movies set in World War II have become mostly synonymous with tearjerker melodramas or grim military epics, this wasn’t always the case. The gravitas of that conflict and the overwhelming consensus about who the heroes and villains … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Archie Goodwin, Bill Finger, Bob Haney, Bob Kane, Dick Sprang, Don Cameron, espionage, Gary Gianni, George Roussos, Jack Burnley, Jack Kirby, Joe Greene, Neal Adams, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

10 great Catwoman covers

Posted on June 25, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

The thing about Catwoman is that, even though she has starred in plenty of cool stories, she has often been settled with lame art. Notably, many of her covers are little more than anatomically dubious cheesecake… so I figured it was … Continue reading →

Posted in COVERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Adam Hughes, Catwoman, Charles Paris, covers, Darick Robertson, Darwyn Cooke, Giulia Brusco, Jack Burnley, Jae Lee, Jim Balent, Jock, June Chung, Rachel Dodson, rogues' gallery, Terry Dodson, Tim Sale, Tommy Lee Edwards | Leave a comment

On Barbara Gordon, Batgirl

Posted on June 22, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Leave it to comics to take a completely perfunctory and derivative concept and actually do loads of fascinating stuff with it. The best example I can think of is Batgirl, aka Barbara ‘Babs’ Gordon, who … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Alan Moore, Babs Tarr, Barbara Gordon, Barbara Randall, Batgirl, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Doug Moench, Frank Robbins, Gail Simone, Gardner Fox, Gene Colan, Gil Kane, Julie Schwartz, Karl Kesel, Kelley Puckett, Kevin Somers, Matt Haley, politics | Leave a comment

Alfred Hitchcock homages in Batman comics

Posted on June 18, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

The amazing thing about Alfred Hitchcock isn’t just that he directed what the latest Sight & Sound poll considers the greatest film of all time (Vertigo), or that on top of that he was behind numerous other classics, but that … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Alvaro Lopez, Brad Rader, David Lopez, Dean Haspiel, Doug Moench, Gabe Soria, horror, Jeromy Cox, Kelley Puckett, movies, Norm Breyfogle, Rick Burchett, Rick Taylor, Scott Peterson, Tim Harkins, Tom Mandrake, Will Pfeifer | Leave a comment

Balls-to-the-wall adventure comics – part 2

Posted on June 15, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five wild, no-holds-barred adventure comics: THE MIDAS FLESH Remember the Greek myth of King Midas, who turned everything he touched into gold? Well, imagine space rebels … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Austin Harrison, Braden Lamb, Brandon Seifert, horror, Jeff Stokely, John Burns, Lukas Ketner, Midas Flesh, Mike Raicht, Nelson Daniel, Nikolai Dante, Robbie Morrison, Ryan North, science fiction, Shelli Paroline, Simon Fraser, Simon Spurrier, Six-Gun Gorilla, space opera, Wild Blue Yonder, Witch Doctor, Zach Howard | Leave a comment

Balls-to-the-wall adventure comics – part 1

Posted on June 10, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Comics is a medium, not a genre. And as a medium, comics can be used to tell all kinds of mature stories, from powerful biographies (Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, Stitches) to fascinating historical and journalistic accounts (Brought to Light, Pyongyang, … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Atomic Robo, Bitch Planet, Brain Boy, Brian Clevinger, Casanova, Defoe, espionage, Fábio Moon, Fred van Lente, Gabriel Bá, horror, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Leigh Gallagher, Matt Fraction, Michael Chabon, Pat Mills, science fiction, Scott Weneger, sword & sorcery, Valentine de Landro | Leave a comment

3 more nods to the Batman TV show, by Klaus Janson

Posted on June 8, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Last month I pointed out how various Batman comics have featured nods to the 1960s’ Batman TV show. I spotlighted some of the most obvious ones, but of course there have been plenty more sprinkled here and there throughout the … Continue reading →

Posted in ART OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Batman TV series, Klaus Janson | Leave a comment