Tag Archives: espionage

Batman comics and World War II

Posted on June 29, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Although nowadays movies set in World War II have become mostly synonymous with tearjerker melodramas or grim military epics, this wasn’t always the case. The gravitas of that conflict and the overwhelming consensus about who the heroes and villains … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Archie Goodwin, Bill Finger, Bob Haney, Bob Kane, Dick Sprang, Don Cameron, espionage, Gary Gianni, George Roussos, Jack Burnley, Jack Kirby, Joe Greene, Neal Adams, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

Balls-to-the-wall adventure comics – part 1

Posted on June 10, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Comics is a medium, not a genre. And as a medium, comics can be used to tell all kinds of mature stories, from powerful biographies (Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, Stitches) to fascinating historical and journalistic accounts (Brought to Light, Pyongyang, … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Atomic Robo, Bitch Planet, Brain Boy, Brian Clevinger, Casanova, Defoe, espionage, Fábio Moon, Fred van Lente, Gabriel Bá, horror, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Leigh Gallagher, Matt Fraction, Michael Chabon, Pat Mills, science fiction, Scott Weneger, sword & sorcery, Valentine de Landro | Leave a comment

Film noir detective stories – part 2

Posted on May 7, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are more film suggestions for fans of noir detective stories: DEAD RECKONING (1947) -Put Christmas in your eyes and keep your voice low. Tell me about paradise and … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Cold War, espionage, Graham Greene, movies, noir | Leave a comment

Imaginary Batman team-ups by Warren Ellis – part 2

Posted on April 6, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five appealing team-ups between Batman and Warren Ellis’ creations: LAZARUS CHURCHYARD With eighty percent of his body replaced with an intelligent evolving plastic, Lazarus Churchyard cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Amanda Conner, D'Israeli, Darick Robertson, espionage, Global Frequency, Gravel, horror, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jon J. Muth, Lazarus Churchyard, Mike Wolfer, science fiction, Steve Dillon, Transmetropolitan, Two-Step, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Imaginary Batman team-ups by Warren Ellis – part 1

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

Given how prolific a writer Warren Ellis is, it’s surprising how few Batman stories he has done… It’s not as if there isn’t a whole multiverse of high concepts out there with which he would surely have a blast. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Anna Mercury, Carla Speed McNeil, Desolation Jones, Doktor Sleepless, espionage, Frank Ironwide, J.H. Williams III, John McCrea, Mark Millar, science fiction, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Brian Azzarello’s off-the-wall Batman

Posted on March 10, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

Batman #620 Since 1939, there have been plenty of offbeat Batman writers, but I get a special kick out of the fact that Brian Azzarello has been allowed through the gates. After all, Azzarello seems mostly at home telling viciously … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITERS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Brian Azzarello, Clem Robins, Dave Johnson, Eduardo Risso, espionage, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jamie Delano, Jim Mahfood, Jordi Bernet, Julie Schwartz, Lee Bermejo, Marcelo Frusin, noir, Patricia Mulvihill, Rick Veitch, Tommy Lee Edwards | 2 Comments

Accessible superhero comics – part 2

Posted on February 16, 2015 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five brilliant, accessible superhero comics: The One In the mid-80s, with Reagan still churning out his initial rhetoric of Cold War escalation, and just before Watchmen … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Moore, Brett Lewis, Cold War, Dave Stewart, espionage, Gabriel Bá, Gene Ha, Gerard Way, Grant Morrison, John Paul Leon, Kevin Cannon, Paul Di Filippo, Rick Veitch, science fiction, Steve Yeowell, The One, Top 10, Umbrella Academy, Winter Men, Zander Cannon, Zenith | Leave a comment

Batman and fascism

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

Some people apply the label ‘fascist’ to a specific early 20th century ideology, and perhaps to some later derivative political projects. Others use the term more loosely, applying it to people who come across as authoritarian, unapologetically violent, and/or intolerant … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Batman's personality, Bob Haney, Christopher Nolan, espionage, Frank Miller, Howard Chaykin, Jim Aparo, Paul Pope, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

Non-Batman crime comics – part 2

Posted on December 11, 2014 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another 5 non-superhero crime comics for fans of Batman’s noirish side: Human Target Christopher Chance is a body guard who impersonates his clients, using his skills to … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Cameron Stewart, Cliff Chiang, Darwyn Cooke, David Lapham, Edvin Biukovic, espionage, Frank Miller, Giulia Brusco, Human Target, Jason Aaron, Javier Pulido, noir, Parker, Peter Milligan, R.M. Guéra, Richard Stark, Scalped, Sin City, Stray Bullets | Leave a comment

Batman comics and the late Cold War – part 2

Posted on October 6, 2014 by I.M. Baytor

When people think of the end of the Cold War, they think of the fall of the Berlin Wall or of Boris Yeltsin standing on a tank in the Red Square. Me, I think of the Dark Knight fighting a … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Cold War, Doug Moench, espionage, Jim Aparo, Jim Starlin, Marv Wolfman, Mike Mignola, Paul Gulacy, Paul Kupperberg, politics | Leave a comment