Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

Trashy, thrilling sci-fi war comics

Posted on February 13, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Last month, I wrote about the remarkable ending of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but that was not the only cool sci-fi/fantasy series to wrap up in 2019. Rick Remender’s and Matteo Scalera’s Black Science finished its blustery, dreamlike barrage … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Grant, Alfonso Azpiri, Annie Parkhouse, Ant Wars, Black Science, Bloody Mary, Brian K. Vaughan, Carlos Ezquerra, Cliff Chiang, Cold War, Dean White, Dee Cunniffe, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Gerry Finley-Day, horror, James Robinson, John Workman, José Luis Ferrer, Lozano, Luis Bermejo, Matt Wagner, Matt Wilson, Matteo Scalera, Moreno Dinisio, Paper Girls, Peña, politics, Rachelle Menashe, Rick Remender, Robocop, science fiction, Steve Oliff, Terminator, Walt Simonson | Leave a comment

3 symbolic backgrounds by Graham Nolan

Posted on February 6, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

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 Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan, Scott McCloud | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (February 2020)

Posted on February 3, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Lowering the level again, here is another monthly reminder that comics can be awesome…

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged Carl Burgos, Carmine Infantino, covers, Dick Dillin, From Beyond the Unknown, Gaspar Saladino, George Roussos, House of Mystery, Ira Schnapp, Joe Kubert, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Sheldon Moldoff, Sol Brodsky, Stan Goldberg, Strange Adventures, Weird War Tales | Leave a comment

On John le Carré’s Circus novels

Posted on January 29, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

I won’t drift too far away and too often, but this year I want to widen the blog’s scope every once in a while. With that in mind, let’s shift gears for a bit and talk about John le Carré’s … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged books without pictures, Cold War, espionage, John le Carré, noir, politics | 2 Comments

On the periphery of Batman’s rogues’ gallery

Posted on January 23, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

This is Gotham Calling’s 300th post! I usually take these occasions to celebrate the richness and weirdness of Batman’s extensive rogues’ gallery, which includes all sorts of odd criminals, ranging from iconic characters like the Joker and the Penguin all … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Adrienne Roy, Alan Grant, Batman's personality, Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Calendar Man, Chuck Dixon, Crazy-Quilt, Doug Moench, France Herron, Gene Colan, George Roussos, Grant Morrison, Jack Kirby, Jerry Robinson, Jim Mooney, Joe Giella, Kevin Smith, Len Wein, Mike Deodato, Mikel Janín, Pat Broderick, Paul Dini, Rick Hoberg, Robert Kanigher, Ryan Benjamin, Scott Snyder, Sheldon Moldoff, Silver Age, Tim Sale, Tom King, Tony Daniel, villains, Walt Simonson | 2 Comments

15 Non-Batman covers by Marshall Rogers

Posted on January 16, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

I’ve talked before on this blog about how Marshall Rogers drew some of the most iconic Batman comics… Now that Gotham Calling has a broader focus, however, I’ve decided to encorage you to bask in fifteen slick, wonderfully designed covers … Continue reading →

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged covers, Marshall Rogers | Leave a comment

2019’s book of the year

Posted on January 9, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Gotham Calling’s 2019 book of the year is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest. There were other strong contenders, most notably the first volume of Chris Ware’s Rusty Brown, with its geometric … Continue reading →

Posted in BOOKS OF THE YEAR | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Moore, Ben Dimagmaliw, Chris Ware, Damon Lindelof, James Bond, Kevin O'Neill, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Todd Klein | 4 Comments

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (January 2020)

Posted on January 3, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

This year, Gotham Calling will continue to celebrate comics’ potential for awesomeness at the beginning of every month. To shake things up, however, instead of three jaw-dropping splash pages at a time, we’ll spotlight five kickass covers. To be sure, … Continue reading →

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged 2000 AD, Brian Bolland, covers, From Beyond the Unknown, Joe Orlando, Luis Dominguez, Nick Cardy, science fiction, Space Adventures, Steve Ditko, Weird Fantasy, Weird Mystery Tales | Leave a comment

Have a Gotham 2020

Posted on January 1, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE | Tagged 2020 Visions, covers, John Eder | Leave a comment

Spotlight on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – part 2

Posted on December 26, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. This time around, let’s look at the set of volumes of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen dealing with the last hundred-years-or-so, starting with the bleak Century trilogy. Century: 1910 … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Alan Moore, Ben Dimagmaliw, Kevin O'Neill, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, movies, politics, science fiction, World War II | Leave a comment