I respectfully disagree. A small, well-written, self-contained story can hook a new reader. So can a short (2-3 issues, max) arc that does not cross over with a million other stories. Perhaps when you think of new readers you're thinking primarily of adult comic geeks with sophisticated tastes and mature desires. …

So, DC, realizing that the key to increasing readership is to offer easy access points to new readers, has decided to start fresh by mixing multiple confusing chronologies together. That makes perfect sense.

"Another Paradise Lost"

When I was about 7 or 8, I had a reprint of the Golden Age comic in which the character appeared. It was clear to me that "Gay" was an adjective by then, but I had no idea of what it could mean besides "happy." But clearly, if it's applied to a comic book character, it must be something cool, right? So, as my…

I stumbled on his cabin months ago,

One that terrified me—and still does—is "Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson. It's epistolary/journalistic in style and narrated by a mutant child kept chained in a basement. Give it a read here:

Oh, and one other thing about Jonson...he tended to pooh-pooh alchemy and the like, so seeing him get caught up with something even more mystical would be hilarious.

Um, interesting, I guess. But what would make it MORE interesting would be the following details:

FrankN.Stein. I get it.

Really nice use of epistolary style. I couldn't help thinking of "Flowers for Algernon."

My senior thesis back at MIT

I'm an English teacher. I'll have to present this thesis when we do Gatsby later this year.

Thank you for bringing this important message. I'm sure the mainstream media will never let it be heard, so it's good that we have io9 to share the truth!

The cat showed up the night he killed his wife.

The perfect Superman movie—at least in my mind—would have Lois Lane as the main character, slowly discovering that a series of miraculous occurrences have been the work of strange visitor from another planet. Telling the story that way would allow everyone to "discover" Superman right along with her.

My thought on the HG movie: what was funny wasn't new, and what was new wasn't funny.

One historical note I was expecting to hear something about was Milton's Areopagitica. Milton objected to regulation put in place by the Roundheads—even though he was one—that would have increased government regulation for all published works. He made a long and passionate defense of the right to print a variety of…

The Pride of Life

Only six words opened the portal.

Yeah, that would be an important point to include. Still, though, I appreciate the lack of editorializing.