Tag Archives: politics

Some thoughts on 21st-century spy shows

Posted on April 17, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Secret agents and international intrigue have really come back with a vengeance in the past decade or so. The War on Terror and, later, the renewed tension between the West and Russia seem to have stimulated the public’s appetite for … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Citadel, Claudia Giuliani, Dearbhla Kelly, espionage, Francesco Segala, Homeland, James Bond, Killing Eve, movies, Philip Kennedy Johnson, politics, science fiction, Slow Horses, The Bureau, The Diplomat | Leave a comment

Spotlight on the Unknown Soldier, 1997

Posted on March 20, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

After being absent from the stands for about eight years, in 1997 the spy/war comic Unknown Soldier got the Vertigo treatment. By then, the Vertigo imprint had come to specialize in getting edgy (usually British) creators to reimagine third-tier DC … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Axel Alonso, Cold War, espionage, Garth Ennis, James Sinclair, Killian Plunkett, politics, Tim Bradstreet, Unknown Soldier, World War II | Leave a comment

Just a few loose thoughts on interplanetary wars

Posted on March 14, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Last week I went to see Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve’s epic about Afghanistan on an alien planet, which overcomes *some* of my reservations about the previous film. While the screen is once again filled with masses of anonymous blind … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Hebden, Alien, Angry Planet, Dan Dare, Dave Gibbons, Dune, Gerry Finley-Day, Massimo Belardinelli, movies, Peter Milligan, politics, Rogue Trooper, science fiction, Star Wars, Trigan Empire | Leave a comment

Frank Miller’s objectivist Superman

Posted on February 22, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

As much as Frank Miller milked Superman’s symbolic potential, I also appreciate how much his comics simultaneously ‘humanized’ the character as well. Miller’s interpretation of the Man of Steel may be eccentric, but his Superman is an actual individual and … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF SUPERMAN COMICS | Tagged Andy Kubert, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, John Romita Jr, Mark Waid, politics | Leave a comment

Gotham Calling’s 120 Cold War movies – part 12

Posted on February 15, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

We’ve arrived at the end of Gotham Calling’s long-running Cold War cinema retrospective… And if you think depictions of the conflict were winding down in the final years, you’re in for a surprise. This is probably the bloodiest – and … Continue reading →

Posted in COLD WAR CINEMA | Tagged Cold War, espionage, horror, movies, politics, science fiction, Vietnam | Leave a comment

Frank Miller’s symbolic Superman

Posted on February 8, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Although Frank Miller is best known for his world-shattering – and controversial – takes on Batman since the 1980s, he has been doing comics about Superman for just as long… and his approach to the Man of Steel is actually … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF SUPERMAN COMICS | Tagged Brian Azzarello, Cold War, Frank Miller, Fred van Lente, politics, Ryan Dunlavey | Leave a comment

Gotham Calling’s 120 Cold War movies – part 11

Posted on February 1, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

We are now entering the final stage of Gotham Calling’s mega-list of Cold War cinema… and we are firmly in Reaganite territory, including an obsession with foreign intervention along with a vigorous resurgence of nuclear panic. 101. Threads (UK, 1984) … Continue reading →

Posted in COLD WAR CINEMA | Tagged Cold War, espionage, horror, movies, politics, science fiction, Vietnam | Leave a comment

Spotlight on Slam Bradley

Posted on January 25, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

The Dark Knight isn’t the only detective in Batman comics. In fact, having finally read last year’s six-part mini-series Gotham City: Year One, my mind has been on the astounding significance gained by one of the oldest detectives around: Slam … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Adam Hughes, Clayton Cowles, Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, Eric Gapstur, Gotham City, Greg Capullo, Howard Sherman, Jerry Siege, Jim Aparo, Joe Shuster, Jordie Bellaire, Len Wein, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Mike W. Barr, noir, Paul Gulacy, Phil Hester, politics, Scott Snyder, Slam Bradley, Tom King | Leave a comment

Gotham Calling’s 120 Cold War movies – part 10

Posted on January 18, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

The previous post in Gotham Calling’s tour of Cold War cinema had plenty of films about the conflict’s expansion to the Third World. Today’s installment extends the same motif, but it also gradually engages with one of the consequences of … Continue reading →

Posted in COLD WAR CINEMA | Tagged Cold War, movies, politics, science fiction, Vietnam | Leave a comment

Gotham Calling’s 120 Cold War movies – part 9

Posted on January 3, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

This is the latest installment of Gotham Calling’s 12-part journey through Cold War cinema (if you’re only joining us now, you can find the previous installments here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). It’s also probably the most … Continue reading →

Posted in COLD WAR CINEMA | Tagged Cold War, espionage, movies, politics, science fiction, Vietnam | Leave a comment