Steve Niles is probably the biggest name in horror comics at the moment. The man who brought us the gothic vampires of 30 Days of Night (now a big budget horror flick) is now launching his first big monthly title with DC, Simon Dark, starring ‘Gotham City’s other protector’.

First issues are often tricky but Niles draws you in with a grim action set-piece and high intrigue surrounding the mysterious central character who’s a patchwork anti-hero with echoes of Frankenstein’s monster and Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger. Strangely there’s no mention of the Batman, though you assume that if Dark is operating in Gotham it can’t be too long before the Dark Detective makes an appearance. Artist Scott Hampton draws on Gotham’s rich fictional history to instantly set the tone, creating a macabre atmosphere that really suits Niles’ writing. A strong start. (Henry Northmore)