Tag Archives: espionage

On World War II adventure movies

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

Writing about The Unknown Soldier last week made me think that I should expand a bit more on the specific genre that is World War II adventure. In fact, I want to go straight to the source and actually talk … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, espionage, Graham Greene, movies, noir, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

Spotlight on The Unknown Soldier, 1977-1980

Posted on March 18, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

When I last wrote about The Unknown Soldier – DC’s cult comic about the top US secret agent in World War II – I mentioned how David Michelinie briefly turned the series into a vicious anti-war parable, casting the hero … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Bob Haney, Cold War, Dick Ayers, Erick Santos, Esphidy, espionage, Gerry Talaoc, Jean Simek, Jerry Serpe, Joe Kubert, Milt Snappin, politics, Romeo Tanghal, Unknown Soldier, World War II | Leave a comment

Gotham books for the current times

Posted on March 12, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, I keep hearing people claiming that this all feels like a movie. They’re probably thinking of medical disaster dramas like 1995’s Outbreak or 2011’s Contagion (Jason Read wrote a few insightful remarks about … Continue reading →

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged Alan Grant, Arkham Asylum, Chuck Dixon, Dan Slott, Denny O'Neil, Dick Giordano, Doug Moench, espionage, Gary Frank, Gotham City, Greg Land, horror, Jennifer Graves, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Kelley Jones, Lee Loughridge, Matt Haley, politics, Ryan Sook, Steffano Raffaele, Tommy Lee Edwards | Leave a comment

On John le Carré’s Circus novels

Posted on January 29, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

I won’t drift too far away and too often, but this year I want to widen the blog’s scope every once in a while. With that in mind, let’s shift gears for a bit and talk about John le Carré’s … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged books without pictures, Cold War, espionage, John le Carré, noir, politics | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Fury: My War Gone By

Posted on November 26, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

2012’s limited series Fury: My War Gone By is the kind of idiosyncratic, fascinating beast you get in the field of comics, bizarrely merging auteurism-ran-loose with a popular corporate franchise in the form of provocative historical fiction. It’s not just … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Cold War, Dave Johnson, espionage, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Kathryn Immonen, Lee Loughridge, Nick Fury, politics, Punisher, Rich Ellis | Leave a comment

New Gotham Calling Manifesto

Posted on September 23, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

With over eight decades of material to delve into, the world of Batman comics is a gift that keeps on giving. From vampire film stars to old-school cops putting up with costumed crooks, from idiosyncratic creators to interesting artistic choices, … Continue reading →

Posted in MANIFESTO | Tagged espionage | 2 Comments

Alternative Batmen

Posted on September 11, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

The Dark Knight and his supporting cast have become so deeply familiar to comic book readers – and to consumers of pop culture in general – that sometimes the mere gesture of recontextualizing their imagery is enough to generate … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Alex Ross, Astro City, Brent Anderson, Brian Thies, Butch Guice, CAFU, Christos Gage, Clay Mann, Diego Bernard, Doug Braithwaite, espionage, Juan Jose Ryp, Khari Evans, Kurt Busiek, martial arts, Matt Kindt, Ninja-K, Ninjak, Raúl Allén, Roberto De La Torre, science fiction, Stephen Segovia, Tomás Giorello, Ulises Arreola | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Fury: Peacemaker

Posted on July 30, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

We kicked off this year’s Spy Fiction Month with a comic set in World War II and we’ll finish with one as well. Like I mentioned last week, in 2001 Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson reinvented Marvel’s war-hero-turned-super-spy Nick Fury … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Darick Robertson, espionage, Garth Ennis, Jimmy Palmiotti, Nick Fury, politics, Raúl Treviño, Rodney Ramos, World War II | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Fury MAX

Posted on July 24, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Way before Samuel L. Jackson embodied the role, Colonel Nick Fury was already a household name for Marvel fans, having starred in a string of seminal psychedelic spy comics by Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko back in the 1960s… Strange … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Axel Alonso, Bill Jemas, Cold War, D.G. Chichester, Darick Robertson, espionage, Garth Ennis, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Quesada, Nick Fury, politics | Leave a comment

A couple of excellent spy novels

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

Shifting gears for a bit, today let’s talk about a couple of cool books without drawings that came out almost a decade ago… OUR KIND OF TRAITOR (John le Carré, 2010) “At seven o’clock of a Caribbean morning, on the … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged books without pictures, espionage, Greg Rucka, John le Carré, politics, Queen & Country | Leave a comment