Tag Archives: Graham Nolan

On Santa Prisca

I’ve long been obsessed with the DCU’s fictitious geography and the way it condenses, combines, and caricatures cultural stereotypes – just like Gotham does for New York and other urban centers of the USA (over time, the city has become … Continue reading

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Blackgate Penitentiary

Prison stories are basically their own genre, what with the dangerous, claustrophobic environment, the parallel rules of life in a world of outlaws, full of both comradery and suspicion, and the occasional trope of elaborate escape plots (which are kind … Continue reading

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (5 July 2021)

Just another wonderfully over-the-top reminder that comics can be awesome… Hawkworld #21 The Avengers #72 Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #27

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A month of Batman moments – Day 8

Detective Comics #696

Posted in GOTHAM INTERLUDES | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

2020’s books of the year – part 1

A couple of years ago, I started picking a Gotham Calling Book of the Year, spotlighting recently published comics that best engaged with this blog’s passions. To compensate for the lengthy silence, though, this time around I’ll do a longer … Continue reading

Posted in BOOKS OF THE YEAR | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1990s’ Batman comics reading guide – part 5

Batman: Mr. Freeze By the late ‘90s, not only had the Batman family of books become a well-oiled machine, but three new awesome spin-offs joined the line: Nightwing, about Dick Grayson reinventing himself as a solo vigilante in the neighboring … Continue reading

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1990s’ Batman comics reading guide – part 4

Batman #530 (Yep, I’m still posting about superheroes, even though the latest proto-apocalyptic events seem to have finally pushed the genre out of public consciousness, perhaps suitably.) After the success of 1993-1994’s Knightfall, the different Batman books kept a closely … Continue reading

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

10 brilliant issues of Astro City – part 2

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 , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1990s’ Batman comics reading guide – part 3

Vengeance of Bane We’re back with another installment of the 1990s’ Batman comics reading guide! Sadly, in the meantime this feature has also become a tribute to the recently deceased group editor of these titles, Dennis O’Neil, whose vision was … Continue reading

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

3 symbolic backgrounds by Graham Nolan

When I wrote about Chuck Dixon’s grounded, no-frills approach to storytelling a while back, I briefly mentioned his productive collaborations with a couple of artists whose style also fits this description: Tom Lyle (who died shortly after that post) and … Continue reading

Posted in ART OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged , , | Leave a comment