Tag Archives: politics

Top 12 foreign-language film noirs

Posted on October 21, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

When I ranked my top 50 noir thrillers last month, I only included movies spoken in English. It was an easy way to curb the size of the list. However, this type of gritty, atmospheric crime stories has found an … Continue reading →

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

On Dynamite’s James Bond – part 1

Posted on September 23, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

After much delay, the latest James Bond movie is finally coming out next week. Hopefully, No Time to Die will bring the kind of super-spy thrills Black Widow kept threatening to deliver but never really did. In fact, aside from … Continue reading →

Posted in SPYCRAFT & WARFARE | Tagged Ales Kot, Andy Diggle, Benjamin Percy, Black Widow, Brent Peeples, Chris Blythe, Christos Gage, Danny Lore, Declan Shalvey, Eric Gapstur, Erica D'Urso, espionage, Heather Moore, James Bond, Jason Masters, Jody Houser, Kieron Gillen, Luca Casalanguida, movies, politics, Vita Ayala, Warren Ellis | Leave a comment

Gotham Calling’s top 50 film noir

Posted on September 15, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

Today is Gotham Calling’s seventh anniversary! I usually mark these occasions with a compilation of fifty images from Batman comics, showcasing the Dark Knight kicking people in the head or breaking through windows. Since the blog’s identity has been shifting … Continue reading →

Posted in HARDBOILED CRIME | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Cold War, Frank Miller, Graham Greene, movies, noir, politics, The Spirit, World War II | 4 Comments

On Batman’s sexuality

Posted on September 2, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

The announcement, last month, that Robin (or at least one of several Robins, Tim Drake) is bisexual predictably revived old discussions about the Dynamic Duo’s sexuality, so I figured I’d put together a few loose thoughts to add … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's personality, Chuck Dixon, David V. Reed, David Vern, Grant Morrison, James Bond, Julius Schwartz, politics, Robin, Will Pfeifer | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (23 August 2021)

Posted on August 23, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

A tongue-in-cheek (and somewhat topical) reminder that comics can be awesome… Captain Midnight (v2) #1

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged Captain Midnight, Ego, Fernando Dagnino, Joshua Williamson, Nate Piekos, politics, World War II | Leave a comment

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (9 August 2021)

Posted on August 9, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

A reminder that comics can be awesome, bringing to mind events from early 2021… JLA: Incarnations #2

Posted in GLIMPSES INTO AWESOMENESS | Tagged JLA, John Kalisz, John Ostrander, Ken Lopez, politics, Prentis Rollins, Val Semeiks | 1 Comment

Another 12 cool sci-fi short stories

Posted on July 15, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

This year there was no entry into Gotham Calling’s winter tradition of spotlighting sci-fi war comics. I’ll compensate with yet another list of short stories that similarly treat science fiction, not so much as a challenging, head-scratching experience, but as … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged 2000 AD, Al Feldstein, Alan Moore, Bernie Krigstein, Bill Gaines, Christian Gossett, Cold War, David Lloyd, Del Close, Dezi Sienty, Edmond Hamilton, Epic Illustrated, Frank Frazetta, Gardner Fox, Geoff Johns, Harvey Kurtzman, Howard Nostrand, Jack Potter, Jerry Grandenetti, Jim Wroten, Joe Giella, John Higgins, John Ostrander, Jordie Bellaire, Lee Mars, Marie Severin, Martin DeMuth, Metal Hurlant, Mystery in Space, Nat Barnett, noir, politics, science fiction, Sid Greene, Snakebite, Steve Craddock, Strange Adventures, The Spirit, Time Warp, Tom Fowler, Tom King, Wasteland, Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Will Eisner, Witches Tales | Leave a comment

Gotham City’s sex workers – part 2

Posted on July 1, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

If you read last week’s post (or just this post’s title, really), you know I’ve been looking at some of the many, many depictions of sex workers in Batman comics. This week, let’s focus on the sinuous paths of two … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Catwoman, Darwyn Cooke, Doug Moench, Ed Brubaker, Frank Miller, Holly Robinson, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Mindy Newell, politics, sex workers | Leave a comment

Gotham City’s sex workers – part 1

Posted on June 24, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

Detective Comics #464 While City on a Hill has been doing its damned finest to emulate The Wire (albeit in Boston), in recent years the show that came the closest to recapturing that kind of TV magic was The Deuce, … Continue reading →

Posted in POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS | Tagged Alan Davis, Batman's personality, Catwoman, David Mazzucchelli, Frank Miller, Gotham City, J.J. Birch, Jason Todd, Jim Starlin, Mike W. Barr, Mindy Newell, politics, sex workers | Leave a comment

A couple of mind-bending novels

Posted on June 17, 2021 by I.M. Baytor

It’s been a while since I’ve discussed books without pictures in this blog… And since the world seems to be struggling to return to a form of normality these days, let’s have a look at a couple of remarkable novels … Continue reading →

Posted in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES | Tagged Angela Carter, books without pictures, China Miéville, Cold War, politics, science fiction, The City & The City, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, The War of Dreams | Leave a comment