-
Recent Posts
Categories
- ART OF BATMAN COMICS (35)
- ART OF HORROR COMICS (29)
- AWESOME COVERS (59)
- BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS (34)
- BOOKS OF THE YEAR (16)
- COLD WAR CINEMA (12)
- COVERS OF BATMAN COMICS (51)
- FANTASTIC ADVENTURES (49)
- GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS (75)
- GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE (17)
- GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST (68)
- GOTHAM CITIZENS (35)
- GOTHAM INTERLUDES (82)
- HARDBOILED CRIME (36)
- MANIFESTO (3)
- POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS (21)
- SPYCRAFT & WARFARE (41)
- SUPER POWERS (15)
- WEBS OF FICTION (52)
- WILD WEST (7)
- WRITERS OF BATMAN COMICS (20)
- WRITERS OF SUPERMAN COMICS (4)
Drop me a line at
imbaytor@yahoo.com
Author Archives: I.M. Baytor
Gotham’s hyper-organized crime
The thing about Gotham City is that it doesn’t just have organized crime, it has hyper-organized crime. It’s like there’s a whole parallel system operating within the city. To be sure, the gangland bosses keep changing, and each one is … Continue reading
Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS
Tagged Garth Ennis, Gotham City, Grant Morrison, John McCrea, Pat Mills
Leave a comment
Cool Catwoman stories
From straight-up baddie to crimefighting partner, (anti-)heroine, love interest, sex object, feminist role model, femme fatale, damsel in distress, dominatrix, thief, spy, killer, prostitute, mother, you name it – Catwoman has been around almost as long as Batman and, more … Continue reading
Neal Adams’ gothic Batman
Voted number one Batman artist by last year’s Comics Should Be Good poll, Neal Adams is God’s (or Satan’s, if you prefer) gift to fans who like their Batman stories devilishly creepy, diabolically vibrant, and moody as hell. Adams’ quintessential … Continue reading
Accessible superhero comics – part 2
If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five brilliant, accessible superhero comics: The One In the mid-80s, with Reagan still churning out his initial rhetoric of Cold War escalation, and just before Watchmen … Continue reading
Posted in SUPER POWERS
Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Moore, Brett Lewis, Cold War, Dave Stewart, espionage, Gabriel Bá, Gene Ha, Gerard Way, Grant Morrison, John Paul Leon, Kevin Cannon, Paul Di Filippo, Rick Veitch, science fiction, Steve Yeowell, The One, Top 10, Umbrella Academy, Winter Men, Zander Cannon, Zenith
Leave a comment
People you should know in Gotham City
If you want to be a villain in Gotham City – an unwise but surprisingly frequent career move – there are some people you just have to know. Once you’ve figured out your villainous name and shtick, you’ll want to … Continue reading
Smells Like Will Eisner’s Spirit
Detective Comics #600 In terms of stylish, offbeat crime stories featuring a masked vigilante and a pipe-smoking, irresponsibly lenient police commissioner, it’s hard to beat Batman comics. However, while The Spirit didn’t have such an engaging protagonist, such a fascinating … Continue reading
Posted in WEBS OF FICTION
Tagged Chuck Dixon, Dan Adkins, Darwyn Cooke, Denny O'Neil, Denys Cowan, Don Newton, Doug Moench, Gerry Conway, noir, The Spirit, Will Eisner
Leave a comment
Gunning for Batman – part 2
While Batman getting shot at may by itself generate some kick-ass covers, over the years several artists have gone out of their way to make such a premise even more rock and roll. A recurrent strategy has been to come … Continue reading
Gunning for Batman – part 1
In the past, I have expressed my passion for covers that feature the Joker at his most creepy and surreal, as well as covers with some kind of visual twist involving their logo. But just in case you think I’m … Continue reading
Batman and fascism
Some people apply the label ‘fascist’ to a specific early 20th century ideology, and perhaps to some later derivative political projects. Others use the term more loosely, applying it to people who come across as authoritarian, unapologetically violent, and/or intolerant … Continue reading