Newsarama’s Steve Ekstrom has an interview up with Steve Niles wherein the two Steves talk about “Gotham After Midnight,” Steve’s first big, mainstream DC project. Steve discusses his approach to the 12 issue Batman maxi series, the story’s place in DC’s continuity, working with Kelley Jones and more

SN: Yes, a different villain per book—and you can probably figure that each two to three issues may even have a slight mini-arc to them with one overriding story over the entire 12 issues. I really want this to be the kind of Batman book that, if by some chance somebody who isn’t that familiar with the character in the comics wants to pick up a Batman comic, these folks could pick up issue #3 and get a story. And then, hopefully, they’ll want to go back and get #1 and 2 and then go back and get #4 when it comes out.

You know, when I was a little kid, I didn’t know comics came out every week—so, it was like whenever I could beg my parents to take me somewhere with a spinner rack. I’d usually grab one of those old giant-sized editions of Batman that I’d keep rolled up in my hand for the next two months and I’d read it over and over. Those old stories were so re-readable because there was so much going on in them!

NRAMA: You don’t think comics are as re-readable today?

SN: [pause] How do I put this without coming off wrong…I just feel like some of the current attitudes for writing comics are a little more geared towards the writing of something like a television show like Lost than actual comic books themselves. Lost, to me, is a soap opera—and in soap operas they stretch things out.

NRAMA: You mean the trend of decompression and storytelling…

SN: Exactly. You know like when soap operas can delay two people’s lips touching for a week.

The complete interview is available here.