Author Archives: I.M. Baytor

More cool film noir thrillers – part 1

Posted on June 27, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

The times are dark, so I suppose it makes sense to go back to my favorite type of cinema: film noir. Cinema Purgatorio #18 Aesthetically and ideologically, those stark, moody postwar thrillers about chain-smoking anti-heroes, doomed lovers, dirty cops, femmes … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Cold War, movies, noir, Peter Milligan, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (23 June 2025)

Posted on June 23, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

comics = awesome Vanguard Illustrated #1

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE | Tagged Brendan McCarthy, Freak Wave, Peter Milligan, Vanguard Illustrated | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (16 June 2025)

Posted on June 16, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

A material reminder that comics can be awesome… Babs #6

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged Andy Troy, Babs, Garth Ennis, Jacen Burrows, Rob Steen, sword & sorcery | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (9 June 2025)

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

Just an elegant reminder that comics can be awesome: Doctor Rigby: Tales from the Deep

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged Doctor Rigby, John Kissee | Leave a comment

More alternative Batmen

Posted on June 4, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

The Batman of Arkham This is Gotham Calling’s 800th post! Like a proper comic book nerd, I’m a sucker for these mini-benchmarks, so I can’t resist interrupting the blog’s (quasi-)hiatus and return to an old obsession: alternative Batmen. Basically, we’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Alan Grant, Batman's personality, Frank Cammuso, Gary Erskine, Gregg Hurwitz, J. Michael Straczynski, Jamal Igle, Knighted, Mark Teixeira, Paul Constant, Peter Krause, Simon Bisley, Tom Feister, Tom Peyer, Tom Scocca, Wrong Earth | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (2 June 2025)

Posted on June 2, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

A reminder in an age of monsters… Monsters

Posted in ART OF HORROR COMICS | Tagged Barry Windsor-Smith, Monsters | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (26 May 2025)

Posted on May 26, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

In another desperate attempt to keep things light in (increasingly) dark times, this week’s reminder that comics can be awesome is a tribute to X-Men covers with prominent butts. (Yes, it has come to this!)

Posted in AWESOME COVERS | Tagged Brandon Peterson, covers, Dan Adkins, Dan Panosian, Frank Giacoia, Gil Kane, Morrie Kuramoto, Sam Rosen, Stan Goldberg, X-Men | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (19 May 2025)

Posted on May 19, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

For this Monday’s reminder that comics can be awesome, here as tribute to Sheena the Jungle Queen’s covers from the 1940s:

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged covers, Jumbo Comics, Nick Cardy, Sheena | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (12 May 2025)

Posted on May 12, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

Between sponsoring genocide, ethnic cleansing, and running a concentration camp in El Salvador, how long until the current US administration and its supporters start to wonder if they’re the ‘baddies‘? In the meantime, for this week’s reminder that comic books … Continue reading →

Posted in HEADSHOTS | Tagged Commando, covers, Ken Barr, World War II | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (5 May 2025)

Posted on May 5, 2025 by I.M. Baytor

Gotham Calling is going back to comic book covers for a month… Let’s start with a trio of Secret Hearts issues from the 1950s and 1960s whose design includes both some neat mise-en-scène and even neater clothing:

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged Bernard Sachs, covers, Dick Giordano, Gaspar Saladino, Gil Kane, Ira Schnapp, Jay Scott Pike, Secret Hearts | Leave a comment