Tag Archives: espionage

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

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

Film noir detective stories – part 2

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

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are more film suggestions for fans of noir detective stories: DEAD RECKONING (1947) -Put Christmas in your eyes and keep your voice low. Tell me about paradise and … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Cold War, espionage, Graham Greene, movies, noir | Leave a comment

Imaginary Batman team-ups by Warren Ellis – part 2

Posted on April 6, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five appealing team-ups between Batman and Warren Ellis’ creations: LAZARUS CHURCHYARD With eighty percent of his body replaced with an intelligent evolving plastic, Lazarus Churchyard cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Amanda Conner, D'Israeli, Darick Robertson, espionage, Global Frequency, Gravel, horror, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jon J. Muth, Lazarus Churchyard, Mike Wolfer, science fiction, Steve Dillon, Transmetropolitan, Two-Step, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Imaginary Batman team-ups by Warren Ellis – part 1

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

Given how prolific a writer Warren Ellis is, it’s surprising how few Batman stories he has done… It’s not as if there isn’t a whole multiverse of high concepts out there with which he would surely have a blast. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Anna Mercury, Carla Speed McNeil, Desolation Jones, Doktor Sleepless, espionage, Frank Ironwide, J.H. Williams III, John McCrea, Mark Millar, science fiction, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Brian Azzarello’s off-the-wall Batman

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

Batman #620 Since 1939, there have been plenty of offbeat Batman writers, but I get a special kick out of the fact that Brian Azzarello has been allowed through the gates. After all, Azzarello seems mostly at home telling viciously … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Brian Azzarello, Clem Robins, Dave Johnson, Eduardo Risso, espionage, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jamie Delano, Jim Mahfood, Jordi Bernet, Julie Schwartz, Lee Bermejo, Marcelo Frusin, noir, Patricia Mulvihill, Rick Veitch, Tommy Lee Edwards | 2 Comments

Accessible superhero comics – part 2

Posted on February 16, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

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

Batman and fascism

Posted on January 20, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

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 →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Batman's personality, Bob Haney, Christopher Nolan, espionage, Frank Miller, Howard Chaykin, Jim Aparo, Paul Pope, politics, World War II | Leave a comment