Tag Archives: politics

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

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (22 June 2020)

Posted on June 22, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Readers of this blog know that I am a firm believer that, even in these agitated times, genre fiction remains an interesting way to conceptualize what is happening around us. For instance, if the first half of 2020 filled screens … Continue reading →

Posted in ART OF HORROR COMICS | Tagged Alfredo Elias, Bernard Baily, Bernie Wrightson, Carl Burgos, covers, horror, House of Secrets, Journey into Mystery, Mike Kaluta, movies, politics, Scary Tales, science fiction, Stan Goldberg, Swamp Thing, Weird Mysteries | Leave a comment

A couple of old-school detective novels

Posted on June 11, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Because I also like books without pictures, this week let’s switch gears for a bit and look at a couple of very cool non-comics detective novels: THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (Eric Ambler, 1939) “A Frenchman named Chamfort, who should have … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged books without pictures, Eric Ambler, espionage, noir, politics, Ross MacDonald | 1 Comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (8 June 2020)

Posted on June 8, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

One of the reasons this section of the blog went weekly a couple of months ago was as a way to encourage those who could to stay at home in order to help contain the covid-19 pandemic. Now is the … Continue reading →

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged Artie Simek, Bill Everett, covers, Creepy Worlds, Dick Ayers, Gil Kane, horror, Ira Schnapp, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Mike Esposito, politics, Ross Andru, Stan Goldberg, Stan Lee, Star Spangled War Stories, Steve Ditko, Strange Adventures, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish | 2 Comments

Two-fisted fantasy comics

Posted on May 28, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Lately I’ve been writing mostly about sci-fi for this section of the blog, so I think it’s time to shift our attention to another great adventure genre: fantasy. Fantasy is one of those umbrella genres that covers a massive spectrum … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Grant, Alfonso Azpiri, Archer & Armstrong, Archie Goodwin, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Black Hawk, Clayton Henry, Cold War, Conan, Denny O'Neil, Doug Moench, Eliot Rahal, Emanuela Lupacchino, Fred van Lente, Gerry Conway, Gerry Finley-Day, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin, Jody Houser, John Buscema, John Jakes, John Romita, Ka-Zar, Kelvin Gosnell, Khari Evans, Len Wein, Mark Waid, Massimo Belardinelli, Pere Pérez, politics, Roy Thomas, Russ Heath, Savage Tales, science fiction, Stan Lee, Steve Gan, sword & sorcery | Leave a comment

A couple of classic science fiction novels

Posted on May 7, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

We are living in sci-fi times – not in the sense that what we are living is fictional, but in the sense that lately reality has been enacting so many tropes of science fiction that it feels like we have … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged books without pictures, H.G. Wells, horror, Left Hand of Darkness, politics, science fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin, War of the Worlds | Leave a comment

Steve Gerber’s twisted Superman

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

With his propensity for heady digressions, offbeat satire, and countercultural sensibility, Steve Gerber was one of the most fascinating American writers in mainstream comics. While he didn’t exactly deconstruct superheroes in the radical form that some of his successors would … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF SUPERMAN COMICS | Tagged Bryan Hitch, Chris Chuckry, Cold War, Doug Wheatley, Gene Colan, Greg Adams, horror, John Byrne, Mark Bright, politics, Rick Veitch, science fiction, Steve Gerber, Tom Ziuko, Tony DeZuniga, Val Mayerick | Leave a comment

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