Category Archives: WEBS OF FICTION

Anatomy of Batman #167

Batman comics have borrowed and blended different storytelling traditions from the get-go, but never was this more apparent than in the Silver Age, when writers constantly pillaged all sorts of books, films, and trends for inspiration (as opposed to more … Continue reading

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (7 August 2023)

Who would’ve thought that one of the most fun Batman movies ever would be The Flash? Don’t get me wrong, the latest big screen superhero extravaganza is veeeery hit-and-miss, but that only makes it the perfect capstone to decades of … Continue reading

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More Batman movies without Batman

Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 I was hoping to be back to longer posts this month, but it has been one hell of a year, so I’ll just stick to the regular COMICS CAN BE AWESOME section for a while … Continue reading

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Taking a break… (April 2023)

Yes, it’s time for another hiatus. As usual, the Monday reminders of comic-book awesomeness will continue, but the longer Thursday posts will probably only be back in the summer. In the meantime, I leave you with a little time capsule … Continue reading

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (9 May 2022)

Comics and cinema seem more intertwined than ever. Even setting aside the countless film adaptations of superhero franchises, the coolest movies in recent times have evoked many of the magical features of comic books. Thematically, last year’s The Worst Person … Continue reading

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If you like Barton Fink…

By 1991, Joel and Ethan Coen had done three very different pictures, but they all shared some connection to crime fiction, not to mention a fondness for labyrinthic plotting. With their next project, though, the Coen brothers truly defied everybody’s … Continue reading

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A few loose thoughts on Matt Reeves’ The Batman

So, I finally went to see The Batman… Overall, I thought the movie was a baffling mess, although not entirely without merit. I kept trying to like it, but it kept fighting back. I’m not going to write a cogent … Continue reading

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Another Watchmen sequel

The main reason The Ludocrats was Gotham Calling’s 2020 Book of the Year is that, by the time I did the list, I hadn’t yet read Portrait of a Drunk (a nihilistic piece of ribaldry that lives up to Seinfeld’s motto: … Continue reading

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Batman movies without Batman – part 2

If you’ve read last week’s post, you know I’ve been listing films that somehow feel like Batman movies, even though the Caped Crusader is nowhere to be found… Knives Out Many classic Batman comics used to be about fun mysteries … Continue reading

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Batman movies without Batman – part 1

The Dark Knight has starred in over a dozen theatrical films – plus a string of direct-to-video projects – and, in fact, his filmography has become a fascinating object in its own right. Not only are there extremely disparate takes … Continue reading

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