Category Archives: SUPER POWERS

Explaining super-powers

Posted on September 26, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

One of the main joys in superhero narratives is, once a character’s power set has been established, to see it put to different uses. In a genre that’s often close to speculative sci-fi, there is something particularly gratifying when writers … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Chris Moeller, Global Frequency, Irredeemable, Mark Waid, Ruins, science fiction, Stormwatch, Terese Nielsen, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Anatomy of World’s Finest Comics #191

Posted on June 9, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

When it comes to superhero comics – and Batman stories in particular – there tends to be a division among fans between those who privilege more lighthearted fantasy and those who favor grim-and-gritty aesthetics or narratives with literary affectations. I … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Cary Bates, Curt Swan, Krypton, Mike Esposito, Mort Weisinger, politics, Ross Andru, Silver Age, World's Finest | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (23 May 2022)

Posted on May 23, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

I had heard (perhaps misheard) that the Doctor Strange sequel was going to be the MCU’s first proper entry into the subgenre of superhero horror. While Marvel comics had inspired a number of similar hybrid projects across time, from Ang … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Adventures into the Unknown, Artie Simek, Bill Everett, covers, Dick Ayers, Gil Kane, Harry Anderson, horror, Howard Purcell, Ira Schnapp, Jack Kirby, Joe Giella, Joe Sinnott, Lee Elias, Leonard Starr, Marvel Tales, movies, Murphy Anderson, My Greatest Adventure, Mystery in Space, Mystery Tales, Ogden Whitney, Sam Raimi, Stan Goldberg, Stan Lee, Star Spangled Comics, Strange Adventures, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, Tales of the Unexpected | Leave a comment

Neat Marvel comics cashing in on movies

Posted on May 19, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

In the last decades superheroes have successfully broken into film and TV/streaming with impressive results, to the point where we’re now spoiled (i.e. overwhelmed) with productions for all tastes. From a comic book reader perspective, there have been … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Ant-Man, Black Widow, Chris Bachalo, Doctor Strange, Elena Casagrande, Israel Silva, Jason Aaron, Javier Garrón, Jordie Bellaire, Kelly Thompson, Mark Waid, movies, science fiction, Wasp | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (27 December 2021)

Posted on December 27, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

It turned out Spider-Man: No Way Home was the final positive surprise of 2021. After the disappointment of the tired, hacky Black Widow and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, we’re finally back on track with a … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged 1963, Alan Moore, Astro City, Calendar Man, Carmen Carnero, Chuck Dixon, Dave Gibbons, Don Simpson, Glenn Whitmore, Joe Staton, John Costanza, John Roshell, Kurt Busiek, movies, Peter Pantazis, politics, Rick Veitch, Spider-Man, Stephen Bissette | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (18 January 2021)

Posted on January 18, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

2017’s Wonder Woman film was a bit of a mess, though not without redeeming features. It had a hackneyed, ill-knitted script (or one whose coherence was botched in the editing table) that introduced a bunch of characters and then did … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Bruce Patterson, Daniel Warren Johnson, Geoff Johns, George Pérez, Jared K. Fletcher, John Costanza, Matthew Wilson, Mike Spicer, movies, politics, Tatjana Wood, Tony Akins, Wonder Woman | Leave a comment

10 brilliant issues of Astro City – part 2

Posted on July 2, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five brilliant issues of Astro City: ‘Where the Action Is’ (Astro City (v2) #21) Another blatantly ‘meta’ issue, albeit with a more satirical bent. ‘Where … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Astro City, Brent Anderson, Cold War, Dan Slott, Graham Nolan, Kurt Busiek, politics, Tom Peyer | Leave a comment

10 brilliant issues of Astro City – part 1

Posted on June 25, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

I’ve mentioned before that Astro City is one of the most accomplished superhero comics in recent memory. This anthology series takes place in its own autonomous universe, providing us with fresh ways to look at all the archetypes developed by … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Alex Ross, Alex Sinclair, Astro City, Brent Anderson, Kurt Busiek, Richard Starkings, science fiction, Steve Buccelatto, Wendy Broome | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Imperium

Posted on February 26, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

A while ago, I did a post about violent superhero movies that explore how scary it would be if there were actual super-beings around, especially ones less bound by old-fashioned morals than your regular mainstream heroes… This line of speculation … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Adam Pollina, Andrew Dalhouse, Brian Reber, CAFU, Dave Sharpe, Doug Braithwaite, Imperium, Joshua Dysart, Juan Jose Ryp, Khari Evans, Matt Kindt, politics, science fiction, Scot Eaton, Ulises Arreola | Leave a comment

Superhero horror movies

Posted on October 17, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Writing about Todd Phillips’ Joker last week got me thinking about the fact that, by now, taking superhero iconography and filming it like a horror movie has become a proper subgenre onto itself. I’m not just talking about the occasional … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Dave McKean, David S. Goyer, Duncan Fegredo, Gene Colan, Grant Morrison, horror, Jae Lee, James O’Barr, Jamie Delano, Marv Wolfman, movies, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, Sam Raimi, Steve Pugh, Tim Burton | Leave a comment