Tag Archives: politics

10 noir short stories

Posted on September 10, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Given the ongoing heated discussion over police reform and how to rethink public safety, I guess this is an appropriate occasion to highlight one of my favorite genres: crime fiction. As far as comic books go, although there were precedents, … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Abe Kanegson, Al Feldstein, Alan Moore, Bernie Krigstein, Bill Gaines, Carl Wessler, Cold War, Crime SuspenStories, David Baron, Frank Miller, George Evans, Greyshirt, Jack Kamen, Jack Oleck, Jamison, Jim Wroten, Johnny Craig, Johnny Dynamite, Jules Feiffer, Marie Severin, movies, noir, Pete Morisi, politics, Reed Crandall, Rick Veitch, Shock SuspenStories, Sin City, The Spirit, Todd Klein, Tomorrow Stories, Will Eisner | Leave a comment

Taking a break (August 2020)

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

The usual summer break… Regular posts will only return in September, but, since we are still living in unusual times, I’ll try to keep the weekly COMICS CAN BE AWESOME section going throughout August. After all, pulp fiction – from … Continue reading →

Posted in GOTHAM INTERLUDES | Tagged Alan Grant, Bill Oakley, Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, Joe Staton, Liam Sharp, politics, Sherilyn van Valkenburgh | Leave a comment

Expanding The War of the Worlds – part 2

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

If you read last week’s post, you know I’ve been discussing comics that expanded H.G. Wells’ classic novel The War of the Worlds. Today I want to start with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore’s and Kevin O’Neill’s fun … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Moore, Cold War, D'Israeli, Emma Beeby, H.G. Wells, horror, I.N.J. Culbard, Ian Edginton, Kevin O'Neill, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, politics, Scarlet Traces, science fiction, War of the Worlds | 2 Comments

Expanding The War of the Worlds – part 1

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

A couple of months ago, I recommended (re)visiting H.G. Well’s The War of the Worlds. This classic sci-fi horror novel became a massive influence on pop culture as the urtext for books, films, television shows, theatre plays, and video games about … Continue reading →

Posted in WEBS OF FICTION | Tagged Alan Davis, Amazing Adventures, Bill Mantlo, Cold War, Don McGregor, Fred van Lente, Gerry Conway, Greg Wright, H.G. Wells, horror, Howard Chaykin, James Robinson, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Killraven, Manuel Garcia, Mark Farmer, Neal Adams, P. Craig Russell, Paul Cornell, politics, Roy Thomas, science fiction, War of the Worlds | Leave a comment

1990s’ Batman comics reading guide – part 4

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

Batman #530 (Yep, I’m still posting about superheroes, even though the latest proto-apocalyptic events seem to have finally pushed the genre out of public consciousness, perhaps suitably.) After the success of 1993-1994’s Knightfall, the different Batman books kept a closely … Continue reading →

Posted in BATMAN COMICS FOR BEGINNERS | Tagged Alan Grant, Arcie Goodwin, Barry Kitson, Brian Stelfreeze, Chuck Dixon, Cindy Goff, Darren Vincenzo, Dave Taylor, David Roach, Deborah Pomerantz, Denny O'Neil, Doug Moench, Flint Henry, Frank Miller, GCPD, Gene Ha, Gotham City, Graham Nolan, Greg Land, Greg Wright, horror, Howard Porter, J.M. DeMatteis, Jennifer Graves, Jim Aparo, Jim Balent, John Ostrander, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Kelley Jones, Keri Kowalski, Mark Waid, Mary Mitchell, Matt Wagner, Mike Chiarello, Mike Mignola, Mike Wieringo, Paul Gulacy, Peter Krause, politics, reading order, Scott McDaniel, Scott Peterson, Todd McFarlane, Underworld Unleashed, Yancey Labat | 2 Comments

10 brilliant issues of Astro City – part 2

Posted on July 2, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

If you read the last post, you know what’s going on. Here are another five brilliant issues of Astro City: ‘Where the Action Is’ (Astro City (v2) #21) Another blatantly ‘meta’ issue, albeit with a more satirical bent. ‘Where … Continue reading →

Posted in SUPER POWERS | Tagged Astro City, Brent Anderson, Cold War, Dan Slott, Graham Nolan, Kurt Busiek, politics, Tom Peyer | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (22 June 2020)

Posted on June 22, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Readers of this blog know that I am a firm believer that, even in these agitated times, genre fiction remains an interesting way to conceptualize what is happening around us. For instance, if the first half of 2020 filled screens … Continue reading →

Posted in ART OF HORROR COMICS | Tagged Alfredo Elias, Bernard Baily, Bernie Wrightson, Carl Burgos, covers, horror, House of Secrets, Journey into Mystery, Mike Kaluta, movies, politics, Scary Tales, science fiction, Stan Goldberg, Swamp Thing, Weird Mysteries | Leave a comment

A couple of old-school detective novels

Posted on June 11, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Because I also like books without pictures, this week let’s switch gears for a bit and look at a couple of very cool non-comics detective novels: THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (Eric Ambler, 1939) “A Frenchman named Chamfort, who should have … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged books without pictures, Eric Ambler, espionage, noir, politics, Ross MacDonald | 1 Comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (8 June 2020)

Posted on June 8, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

One of the reasons this section of the blog went weekly a couple of months ago was as a way to encourage those who could to stay at home in order to help contain the covid-19 pandemic. Now is the … Continue reading →

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST | Tagged Artie Simek, Bill Everett, covers, Creepy Worlds, Dick Ayers, Gil Kane, horror, Ira Schnapp, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Mike Esposito, politics, Ross Andru, Stan Goldberg, Stan Lee, Star Spangled War Stories, Steve Ditko, Strange Adventures, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish | 2 Comments

Two-fisted fantasy comics

Posted on May 28, 2020 by I.M. Baytor

Lately I’ve been writing mostly about sci-fi for this section of the blog, so I think it’s time to shift our attention to another great adventure genre: fantasy. Fantasy is one of those umbrella genres that covers a massive spectrum … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Alan Grant, Alfonso Azpiri, Archer & Armstrong, Archie Goodwin, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Black Hawk, Clayton Henry, Cold War, Conan, Denny O'Neil, Doug Moench, Eliot Rahal, Emanuela Lupacchino, Fred van Lente, Gerry Conway, Gerry Finley-Day, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin, Jody Houser, John Buscema, John Jakes, John Romita, Ka-Zar, Kelvin Gosnell, Khari Evans, Len Wein, Mark Waid, Massimo Belardinelli, Pere Pérez, politics, Roy Thomas, Russ Heath, Savage Tales, science fiction, Stan Lee, Steve Gan, sword & sorcery | Leave a comment