There are no fewer than four comics which currently feature Spider-Man in the UK but The Astonishing Spider-Man is the one of most interest for the more mature comic collector. It's a great time to be a Spider-Man fan with the third film on the way and The Astonishing Spider-Man enjoying something of a creative high. 'Sins Past', a superb story by J Michael Straczynski, has just reached it conclusion, a tale full of twists and turns, featuring revelations about Peter Parker's deceased ex-girlfreind Gwen Stacey and a stunning reappearance for the ultimate Spider-Man villain, the Green Goblin. All that, and there have been some great reprints of vintage strips featuring Rhino, Venom and Carnage - all classic villains.

Spider-Man was always the superhero I loved most as a kid and I freely admit to loving the Nicholas Hammond television series. Thanks to strong sales and the continued popularity of the lead character, Panini will make The Astonishing Spiderman fortnightly from 19 April, following its landmark 150th issue, and will restart with #1 of a new volume -- so it's a great time for new readers to come on board.

There are also lots of other Panini titles featuring classic Marvel superheoes. The best of the rest is probably The Fantastic Four title and the new Marvel Legends is also worth a look.

Panini used to do a Batman Legends comic, of course, but the baton has now passed to Titan, who have also just launched Superman Legends. These titles further expand the Titan comics range, which now includes Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Simpsons Comics and Star Wars.

The quality of printing of both the Batman and Superman titles is superb and each issue is crammed with no fewer than three brand new (to the UK) strips. Batman was another character I watched as I child in the form of repeats of the classic Adam West series and it's great to re-connect with the character now. The most notable story for me in the new comic so far has been 'All Star Batman & Robin - The Boy Wonder' which presents a radical new take on Batman's meeting with Robin, free from existing continuity.

Superman Legends continues the high standards set by Batman Legends, and there's a Justice League Legends title to follow in the next few months. I caught up with Titan's Ned Hartley, editor of both Batman and Superman, to find out more...

DOWN THE TUBES: How did you get involved with publishing in general and Titan in particular?

NED HARTLEY: My relationship with the Titan Entertainment Group started when I started working in the London store of Forbidden Planet (the Titan-owned chain of specialty comics and collectables shops). While I was working in the shop I heard about the internal opening as an editorial assistant in the Titan Magazines editorial department. What I lacked in editorial experience I made up for in geeky... I mean specialist... knowledge!

As an editorial assistant I did everything from open envelopes to write the letters column to Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine. Three years later -- I get to work on Batman and Superman comics!

DTT: Were you a comics reader yourself?

Ned: Oh God yes, of course I still am. The best thing about working in a comic shop is that you get samples of almost all the new comics in a week early. So every Thursday lunch time all the staff sit in the staff room and go through all the new comics. The best thing about being a comic book editor is that you get to read comics at your desk and it counts as doing work!

DTT: For years people were saying that British comics were dead but now Titan seem to be leading a revival. Is it an exciting time to be around?

Ned: It’s an absolutely fantastic time to be a comics editor. What's very interesting is how different the US and the British comics scene is. In this country, everything is geared to the newsstand, and is pitched at a younger audience, which I think is much healthier than the US model, where everything is pitched at the specialty comic shop. Kids need to keep reading comics! It’s such a rewarding experience to produce a comic and think "This is something that I would have absolutely loved when I was ten!" What is really interesting is where UK comics are going to go from here..

DTT: Batman and Superman each have the luxury of three stories per issue. Any chance of running some of the older strips to complement the excellent new stuff?

Ned: I’m open to absolutely anything, but we wanted to start with the more up to date stuff to really grab new readers.

Of course, not every story is going to please every reader, but we were looking for stories to give the comic a modern feel. However, I read all the emails and letters that are sent in to Batman Legends, so if I get a barrage of emails demanding any particular story then of course I’m going to acquiesce.

DTT: One of the stories in Batman Legends leads into the new Superman title. Are more crossovers planned?

Ned: Not at the moment, but I would really like to do something like that again. I’m very aware of the fact that every time we do a crossover like that I am pushing Batman Legends readers to buy Superman Legends and vice versa. As a long time comics reader I know how annoying it can be when you’re forced to buy a comic that you wouldn’t normally buy, but how rewarding it can be when a big crossover event comes together.

DTT: What can we expect from Justice League Legends?

Ned: I’ve got to be honest, I’m really excited about this one. Justice League Legends is going to be such a fun title to work on -- pretty much every DC superhero is going to be in there sooner or later! For the main strip the recent Brad Meltzer/Ed Benes run on Justice League of America has been fantastic, so we’re going to have to reprint that, and I’m a huge Alex Ross fan, so Justice is going to have to be in there as well.

The great thing about the Justice League is that it has so many "name" characters that we’ve got so many different mix and match options open to us for third strip. We’re going to start with Green Lantern, but after that we can go absolutely anywhere!

DTT: And any more DC-based new titles beyond that?

Ned: Ask me again in three months... Seriously!

DTT: Given that you are reprinting American material, is there anything you do in the presentation of the comics to make the package attractive to a British audience?

Ned: I think our "Legends" titles present a very attractive package: you get three US comics for less than the price of two US ones. We really love adding our own sections like merchandise pages, letters columns, introductions and interviews, and I think that definitely adds something to the comic. Plus I really love the card coverstock! For me that really makes the comic!

DTT: What age range to you think your titles appeal to?

Ned: I think the reason that these stories are so great, is that they can appeal from anyone from 8 to 80. One of the reasons that people like Grant Morrison and Jeph Loeb are so great is that they have this deceptively simple writing style that manages to convey so much while saying so little. When the first issue of Batman Legends came in I had a look around the office and saw that loads of non-comics readers had an issue on their desks to take home. That made me feel pretty good!

DTT: Thanks, Ned!

With thanks to Ned Hartley. Batman Legends and Superman Legends are now on sale in all good newsagents (and some run by supervillains). Both titles are also available on subscription from www.titanmagazines.co.uk