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Batman

In some comic books cities are represented as nondescript block buildings in the background not meant to distract from the superhero brawls happening in their streets; but in many, the city is an integral part of the story. Readers may only be given a glimpse or a bird’s eye view of a metropolis, but that city can extend itself for countless miles in the reader’s mind. That is the power of the comic book—to use both images and words to create surreal worlds that feel more real and more tactile.

Perhaps the comic most singularly about the city is a strange series called Mister X. Created by Dean Motter in 1983, Mister X is a bizarre tale of an architect driven mad by his radical “psychetecture” architectural style. The story is set in the gorgeous Radiant City metropolis, with fanastical art deco-esque skyscrapers. There is also some great Vorticist-like design.

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