Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

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

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (18 March 2024)

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

You know what can be really awesome? Old pulpy, straight-to-the-point comic book covers:

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Alex Schomburg, Amazing Mystery Funnies, Billy the Kid, Boy Comics, Bruce Jones, Captain Science, Charles Biro, Chuck Cuidera, covers, Dick Giordano, Joe Orlando, John Giunta, Miss Fury, Paul Gustavson, Police Comics, Prize Comics, Reed Crandall, The Fly, Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones, Wally Wood | 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

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (11 March 2024)

Posted on March 11, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

This week’s reminder that comic book covers can be awesome is a tribute to superhero yarns, the most quintessential of the medium’s genres. Sure, superheroes have had their fair share of ventures into the big and small screens (from the … Continue reading →

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Alex Ross, All-Star Superman, Anthony Tollin, Artie Simek, Astro City, Authority, Avengers, Batgirl, Brian Bolland, Bryan Hitch, covers, Darwyn Cooke, Detective Comics, Dick Sprang, Doug Braithwaite, Frank Quitely, Howard Chaykin, Imperium, John Buscema, John Totleben, Justice League of America, Laura Martin, Miracleman, Paul Neary, Stan Goldberg, Suicide Squad, Todd Klein, Vince Colletta | Leave a comment

Runners-up for 2023’s book of the year

Posted on March 7, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

While ultimately no comic could top Shubeik Lubeik as Gotham Calling’s book of the year, there were strong contenders I left out but which I think deserve highlighting anyway… Now, I haven’t been reading as much as I used to, … Continue reading →

Posted in BOOKS OF THE YEAR | Tagged A Guest in the House, Annette Kwok, Arif Prianto, Benoit Dahan, Brad Simpson, Cyril Lieron, Daniel Clowes, Emily Carroll, Felipe Sobreiro, Gene Ha, Gospel, Hi-Fi, horror, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, Jock, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Local Man, Monica, Nicola Scott, Phil Jimenez, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Sherlock Holmes, Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, Wesley Wong, Will Morris, Wonder Woman | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (4 March 2024)

Posted on March 4, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

Just a nightmarish reminder that comic book covers can be awesome:

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Animal Man, Brian Bolland, Charles Burns, Dave McKean, Dreaming, Esao Andrews, Gus Ricca, Han Allred, House of Mystery, Jack Kirby, Knockabout, L. B. Cole, Madman, Mask, Men of War, Mike Allred, Pokketz, Punch Comics, Raw, Strange World of Your Dreams, Viktor Kalvachev | 2 Comments

The return of Batman’s loud kicks in the head

Posted on February 29, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

This is Gotham Calling’s 700th post! I like to mark these occasions with something special and it occurred to me that it’s been a while since my last post celebrating the Caped Crusader’s tendency to acrobatically kick – or sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in ART OF BATMAN COMICS | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (26 February 2024)

Posted on February 26, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

War and comics tend to be a generative combination. The former has triggered politically charged works, it has shaped the background of popular characters (especially superheroes), it has inspired bonkers tales that counterintuitively mix fun and horrific elements , and … Continue reading →

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged covers, Ira Schnapp, Irv Novick, Jack Adler, Jerry Grandenetti, Joe Kubert, Russ Heath, Star Spangled War Stories, World War II | 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

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (19 February 2024)

Posted on February 19, 2024 by I.M. Baytor

A reminder that comic book covers can be awesome… and also quite bizarre:

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Adventures into the Unknown, Bill Molno, Bill Savage, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, covers, Ira Schnapp, Jack Sparling, Joe Orlando, Jon D'Agostino, Luis Dominguez, Midnight Tales, Mystery in Space, Mystery Tales, Ogden Whitney, Ruben Moreira, Sid Greene, Sol Brodsky, Space Detective, Spy Cases, Stan Goldberg, Strange Adventures, Tales of the Unexpected, Unusual Tales, Vince Alascia, Wally Wood, Wayne Howard | Leave a comment