Tag Archives: politics

A couple of grim sci-fi novels

Posted on April 14, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

Gotham Calling is still primarily a blog about comics, but I’m also enjoying posting about other books on my bedside table. They’re genre narratives as well – and many of their themes and concepts overlap with those of the comics … Continue reading →

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Spotlight on Spirou & Fantasio, 1946-1957

Posted on March 30, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

Since I did a couple of posts about The Adventures of Tintin a while back, I guess it was a matter of time before I got around to writing about Spirou & Fantasio, the other major classic series of Belgian … Continue reading →

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Another couple of British spy novels

Posted on March 8, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

Along with Eurocomics and old TV shows, I also like to use Gotham Calling to highlight cool spy novels. Here are a couple of British contributions to the genre that should please any self-respecting afficionados: BERLIN GAME (Len Deighton, 1983) … Continue reading →

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Spotlight on Lucky Luke, 1949-1958 – part 2

Posted on February 23, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

Last week, I mentioned that humor played a key role in Lucky Luke from the very beginning. Today, I want to take a closer look at the types of humor developed in the series’ earliest years… The Bluefeet are Coming! … Continue reading →

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A couple of very cool space adventure novels

Posted on February 9, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

So, I finally started watching Andor and it’s as neat as I’d heard. It’s Star Wars as a taut cyberpunk heist, compelingly acted and with enough of a distinct vibe to feel more satisfying than the endless retread of the … Continue reading →

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Catching up with war comics

Posted on January 18, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

Every once in a while, Dead Reckoning – an imprint of the U.S. Naval Institute’s book-publishing division – sends me graphic novels to review in Gotham Calling. Last year they sent me The Lions of Leningrad and The Stretcher Bearers, … Continue reading →

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On Santa Prisca

Posted on January 5, 2023 by I.M. Baytor

I’ve long been obsessed with the DCU’s fictitious geography and the way it condenses, combines, and caricatures cultural stereotypes – just like Gotham does for New York and other urban centers of the USA (over time, the city has become … Continue reading →

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A couple of 21st-century spy novels

Posted on October 26, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

Another post based on my summer reads… Besides science fiction, as always I also spent part of my break reading spy yarns. The last time I wrote about this type of books in the blog I focused on a couple … Continue reading →

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If you like The Big Lebowski…

Posted on October 12, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these! After the critically acclaimed maturity and sensitivity of Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen pulled yet another switch by delivering a stoner crime comedy packed with profanity (it was as if … Continue reading →

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A couple of deservedly acclaimed futuristic novels

Posted on September 28, 2022 by I.M. Baytor

Another post about science fiction, but this one looking beyond comic books… Reading old novels set in the future can be fun in different ways. On the one hand, it’s fascinating to see how other eras imagined (accurately or not) … Continue reading →

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