Tag Archives: politics

Christopher Nolan comedies – part 2

Posted on September 10, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are a bunch of humorous works to go with each of Christopher Nolan’s serious thrillers: The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Batman Returns (1992) Nolan’s conclusion to his Batman … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More cool westerns

Posted on March 25, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

Back to cinema this week… and back to the Old West. Not the wokest of genres, westerns nevertheless often provide great fodder for thinking about history and politics (especially in America), along with the obvious thrills. Take gender dynamics, for … Continue reading →

Posted in WILD WEST | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Amazing crime films from around the world

Posted on February 11, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

I may not need to tell you that eminently quotable gangster flicks like The Godfather and Pulp Fiction are rightly acclaimed as peaks in crime cinema (hell, peaks in film history), as are Goodfellas and, in fact, most Scorsese pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

2025’s books of the year – part 5

Posted on February 5, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

As the countdown of my favorite graphic novels of 2025 reaches the top five, we are now in that stage where almost every pick had a fair shot at being Gotham Calling’s book of the year. I probably spent more … Continue reading →

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

2025’s books of the year – part 4

Posted on January 28, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

When considering candidates for Gotham Calling’s book of the year, I tend to gravitate towards graphic novels that more or less stand on their own, providing such a satisfying read that I can recommend them as isolated objects. For instance, … Continue reading →

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

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (26 January 2026)

Posted on January 26, 2026 by I.M. Baytor

Scott Adams is dead, yet neo-fascism is alive. And here is another reminder that comic book covers can be awesome… and eerie:

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

A dozen swinging sixties’ super-spies – part 2

Posted on December 18, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

If you’ve read last week’s post, you know what’s going on. Basically, these were the cinematic cousins of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., back in the 1960s: OSS 117: Mission for a Killer (1965) We’ll start with yet another bonkers … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading 1930s’ thrillers

Posted on November 6, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

I planned to post the second part of the 2000s’ Batman comics reading guide, but life keeps getting in the way and taking me down other paths… So I ended up in a very different place, with this post recommending … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A dozen great movies about antifascist resistance, just because

Posted on October 9, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

For some reason, I decided to do a list of films about antifascist resistance. Even setting aside intelligent Andor-like sci-fi allegories, or movies about organized resistance to the current rise of authoritarianism (like the wild One Battle After Another), there … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More global film noirs

Posted on August 28, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

Once again, I’m complementing the latest lists of film noir gems with a handful of foreign-language recommendations that are just as good as – or, in some cases, much better than – their counterparts from the USA and the UK. … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment