Category Archives: HARDBOILED CRIME

Classic hardboiled crime novels

Posted on March 9, 2017 by I.M. Baytor

If, like me, you dig pretty much everything noirish (even if it’s a highly derivative mash-up of familiar tropes, a weirdly pretentious cheapie about an incompetent hitman, a sleazy erotic thriller with contradictory gender politics, or a mystical, sluggishly paced … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged books without pictures, noir | Leave a comment

Spotlight on The Shadow Strikes!

Posted on July 28, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

The mid-to-late ‘80s were the true golden age of comic books. For a few years, the industry was set on trying out all kinds of ideas and outright bombarding readers with one memorable comic after another, featuring both new and … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Anthony Tollin, Dave Stevens, David Cody Weiss, Denny O'Neil, Eduardo Barreto, Garth Ennis, Gary Gianni, Gerard Jones, Gerry Fernandez, Matt Wagner, Mike W. Barr, Milton Caniff, Noel Sickle, noir, politics, Rod Whigham, The Shadow | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Greyshirt

Posted on July 21, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last posts, you know that this month I’ve been discussing eccentric vigilante comics. Hence Greyshirt. I have little doubt that the seeds for Greyshirt grew from Alan Moore’s contributions to The Spirit: The New Adventures, in … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Greyshirt, Melinda Gebbie, noir, Rick Veitch, Steve Moore, The Spirit, Will Eisner | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Foolkiller

Posted on July 14, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

As I explained last week, this month is all about vigilantes operating outside of Gotham City. Last July, I addressed obvious series about street justice like The Punisher and Vigilante, but this time around I’m focusing on more off-kilter comics. … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Foolkiller, Greg Wright, J.J. Birch, Jack Abel, politics, Punisher, Steve Gerber, Tony DeZuniga, Val Mayerick, Vince Giarrano | Leave a comment

10 times the Punisher made love, not war

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

I finished watching the second season of Daredevil last night. I thought the first one was good (if overpraised), but this one is much stronger. Although outstandingly well-acted and full of neat visual touches, the previous season wasn’t very dynamic… … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Daredevil, Punisher | 1 Comment

Spotlight on The Punisher MAX

Posted on July 30, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

What if The Punisher comics were much darker, more gruesomely violent, and aimed at a mature audience? That’s the premise of The Punisher MAX, Garth Ennis’ grim reimagining of Frank Castle’s war on crime. If Garth Ennis’ previous work with … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Andy Diggle, Darick Robertson, Duane Swierczynski, espionage, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Jason Aaron, John Severin, Lewis LaRosa, Paul Mounts, politics, Punisher, Rob Williams, Steve Dillon, Stuart Moore, Tim Bradstreet, Tom Palmer, World War II | 2 Comments

Spotlight on Vigilante

Posted on July 21, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Vigilante #8 Vigilante was a train wreck of a comic – a baffling, mesmerizing, kamikaze train wreck of a comic. Published between 1983 and 1988, this was DC’s answer to the Punisher, only grittier and more depressing, spiraling as it … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Alan Moore, Denys Cowan, George Pérez, Marv Wolfman, Mike Gold, Paul Kupperberg, Steve Erwin, Tod Smith, Trevor von Eeden, Vigilante | 1 Comment

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