Category Archives: GOTHAM CITIZENS

6 Batman breakups

Posted on February 9, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

With Valentine’s Day around the corner and all the schmaltzy faux-romantic mood in the air, I guess this is the time to have a look at half a dozen times when Bruce Wayne said goodbye to the women in his … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Batman's personality, Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett, Todd McFarlane | Leave a comment

On The Outsiders

Posted on February 2, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

Between all those Robins and Batgirls, Batman does seem to have a thing for sidekicks. In the 1980s, the Dark Knight took this to the extreme when he brought in all the weirdos he could find and put together his … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Adrienne Roy, Alan Davis, Cold War, Jim Aparo, Mike W. Barr, Outsiders, politics | 1 Comment

6 villains you definitely won’t find in Batman v Superman

Posted on January 19, 2016 by I.M. Baytor

This is Gotham Calling’s 100th post, so I’m celebrating by focusing on one of my favorite aspects of Batman lore, namely the unbelievable amount of obscure, silly villains the Caped Crusader has faced over the years. In Gotham City, it … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Bill Finger, Carmine Infantino, Charles Paris, David Vern, Denny O'Neil, Dick Giordano, Eric Jones, Gardner Fox, Joe Giella, Landry Q. Walker, Michael Gilbert, Neal Adams, Sheldon Moldoff, villains | Leave a comment

5 kickass Jason Todd moments

Posted on December 28, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

The world of superheroes can sometimes be seriously dark and sick (as anyone who watched the first season of Jessica Jones can attest). A couple of months ago, I mentioned how the version of Jason Todd, the second Robin, introduced … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Jason Todd, Jim Starlin, Robin | 2 Comments

Batman’s X-mas spirit

Posted on December 22, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

By all accounts, the Dark Knight should seriously hate Christmas. It’s bad enough having to put up with that annoying alternative version of ‘Jingle Bells,’ but the worse part is that, as eccentric as Gotham City’s criminals tend to be, … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Batman's personality, Christmas, Gotham City | Leave a comment

Batman, the urban legend?

Posted on December 1, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

There have been many wrongheaded decisions in the history of Batman comics (often involving the use of guns). A particularly puzzling one was the notion, in vogue in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that the Dark Knight is perceived … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Batman's personality, Charles Paris, David Vern, Dick Sprang, Ed Brubaker, Gotham City | 2 Comments

On Jason Todd, Robin

Posted on October 20, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

One way to look at the second Robin, Jason Todd, is that he started out as a well-executed bad idea and ended up as a poorly executed great idea. Another way to look at the character is that DC at … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Denny O'Neil, Doug Moench, Jason Todd, Jim Starlin, Mark Waid, Max Allan Collins, Mike W. Barr, Robin | Leave a comment

On Barbara Gordon, Batgirl

Posted on June 22, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Leave it to comics to take a completely perfunctory and derivative concept and actually do loads of fascinating stuff with it. The best example I can think of is Batgirl, aka Barbara ‘Babs’ Gordon, who … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Alan Moore, Babs Tarr, Barbara Gordon, Barbara Randall, Batgirl, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Doug Moench, Frank Robbins, Gail Simone, Gardner Fox, Gene Colan, Gil Kane, Julie Schwartz, Karl Kesel, Kelley Puckett, Kevin Somers, Matt Haley, politics | Leave a comment

On Dick Grayson, the Teen Wonder

Posted on June 2, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If Dick Grayson’s childhood was pretty unusual, his adolescence was totally out there. While Detective Comics didn’t promote him from Boy Wonder to Teen Wonder until 1970, in the mid-60s Robin became a founding member of the Teen Titans: … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Bob Haney, Cold War, Denny O'Neil, Dick Grayson, Elliot S! Maggin, Frank Robbins, George Pérez, Marv Wolfman, Mike Friedrich, politics, Robin | Leave a comment

On Dick Grayson, the Boy Wonder

Posted on May 26, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Although the idea of Batman running around with an unarmed kid dressed in bright colors whom he takes to gun fights with psychopathic terrorists may strike some as, at the very least, child neglect, it’s an idea that has stuck … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM CITIZENS | Tagged Batman's personality, Dick Grayson, Julie Schwartz, Robin | Leave a comment