Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

Places to visit in Gotham City

Posted on May 30, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If you happen to be passing by Gotham City and are only around for a day or a night, make sure you use your time wisely. There are plenty of monuments worth checking out, but among the most original ones … Continue reading →

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More brilliant sci-fi short stories

Posted on May 23, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone has started off on the wrong foot. It’s not just that most episodes so far have been weaker than 90% of Rod Serling’s original series  (or, at least, 90% of the first three seasons, since … Continue reading →

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3 gleeful Dark Knights, by Frank Miller

Posted on May 15, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Frank Miller’s 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns was, more than any other book, largely responsible for the grimmer tone of Batman stories in subsequent years. Its legacy is still felt today – not just in the overall atmosphere of … Continue reading →

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The despicable pre-Crisis Man-Bat

Posted on May 8, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Man-Bat isn’t one of the most inspired concepts in Batman comics. Taking to the extreme the notion that great villains are an inversion of the heroes, Man-Bat’s name is a literal reversal of Batman’s… As for his origin, it’s just … Continue reading →

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (May 2019)

Posted on May 3, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

While I hope superheroes don’t become as hegemonic in film as they did in comic books, Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame is further proof that this genre can make for great cinema that is both fun to watch and … Continue reading →

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Two-fisted cyberpunk comics

Posted on April 25, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Every once in a while, the zeitgeist hits the world of cinema with just the right creative force for it to spit out a bunch of simultaneous gems with a similar mood. For example, 1981 was clearly one of the … Continue reading →

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On covers featuring Cassandra Cain as Batgirl

Posted on April 19, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

This week has been all about celebrating my favorite features of the first eighty years of Batman comics. I’ll finish with one that I don’t think has gotten enough attention, at least not in recent times… I’m referring to all … Continue reading →

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On prison breaks

Posted on April 18, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

Part of the general appeal of superhero comics is seeing how different creators face the challenges posed by the tight formulas. Some writers and artists manage to work their way around genre restrictions, others hang an amusing lampshade on them, … Continue reading →

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On the Joker’s broken reflection

Posted on April 17, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last posts, you know what’s going on. Each day this week I’m focusing on a specific aspect of Batman comics that really appeals to me. As any fan of this blog can tell, I love finding … Continue reading →

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On giant cash registers

Posted on April 16, 2019 by I.M. Baytor

To celebrate eighty years of stories featuring the Caped Crusader, each day of this week I’ll be highlighting something I find especially neat about Batman comics.  Today, let’s look at over-the-top action scenes set among giant props. Batman #185 Batman … Continue reading →

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