52/1: The varieties of horror

I’d like to clear up a bit of a myth — you can actually follow either Animal Man or Swamp Thing without reading the other. Writers Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder have clearly spent the first year of the two titles building a common world with a number of common elements and themes, but they … Continue reading

52/1: The Bat

One year into DC’s reboot of their primary continuity, known as the New 52, Idler comics writer Matt Santori-Griffith and co-editor Gavin Craig are taking stock of some of the high points. This week, at Gavin’s insistence, they’re starting things off by talking about Batman and Batman and Robin. — Matt: Jumping right in, have … Continue reading

Bogey men

When I was a little kid, probably about six or seven years old, I had this recurring nightmare: A tall thin man would float outside my second floor bedroom window. He was always dressed in a black business suit, and had a gaunt profile with thinning white hair. I could never quite make out his features through the … Continue reading