Tag Archives: politics

On The Outsiders

Posted on February 2, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Between all those Robins and Batgirls, Batman does seem to have a thing for sidekicks. In the 1980s, the Dark Knight took this to the extreme when he brought in all the weirdos he could find and put together his … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Adrienne Roy, Alan Davis, Cold War, Jim Aparo, Mike W. Barr, Outsiders, politics | 1 Comment

Bruce Wayne’s political career

Posted on November 18, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Despite spending much of his life terrorizing the criminal underworld or stuck in deathtraps while exchanging puns with a dude dressed as a question mark, Batman has found the time to take up a number of political jobs. With that … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Batman's personality, Bob Haney, politics | Leave a comment

Adolf Hitler in Batman comics

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

Comics love (to hate) Adolf Hitler. It’s not just Superman and Captain America – pretty much all the main superheroes have come across the Führer in one way or another. Hell, you don’t even have to be in the top-tier… … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Adolf Hitler, Alan Davis, Bob Haney, Bob Layton, Dick Dillin, Dick Giordano, Grant Morrison, Jim Aparo, Joe Staton, Len Wein, Mike W. Barr, Paul Levitz, politics, Roy Thomas, Steve Yeowell, World War II | Leave a comment

Batman’s damn guns

Posted on September 29, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Batman #301 We can all agree that Batman is not exactly a pacifist. After all, the Dark Knight does beat up crooks on a nightly basis and he has been known to resort to torture. However, there is a line, … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Batman: The Animated Series, Batman's personality, Bob Haney, David V. Reed, Frank Miller, guns, Jim Aparo, Jim Starlin, Mike W. Barr, politics | 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 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

On Barbara Gordon, Batgirl

Posted on June 22, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Leave it to comics to take a completely perfunctory and derivative concept and actually do loads of fascinating stuff with it. The best example I can think of is Batgirl, aka Barbara ‘Babs’ Gordon, who … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Alan Moore, Babs Tarr, Barbara Gordon, Barbara Randall, Batgirl, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Doug Moench, Frank Robbins, Gail Simone, Gardner Fox, Gene Colan, Gil Kane, Julie Schwartz, Karl Kesel, Kelley Puckett, Kevin Somers, Matt Haley, politics | Leave a comment

On Dick Grayson, the Teen Wonder

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

If Dick Grayson’s childhood was pretty unusual, his adolescence was totally out there. While Detective Comics didn’t promote him from Boy Wonder to Teen Wonder until 1970, in the mid-60s Robin became a founding member of the Teen Titans: … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Bob Haney, Cold War, Denny O'Neil, Dick Grayson, Elliot S! Maggin, Frank Robbins, George Pérez, Marv Wolfman, Mike Friedrich, politics, Robin | Leave a comment