My favorite reading of the weekend wasn't the bizarre back and forth between a prominent comics blogger and a comics retailer. No, it was the writer's bible for Batman: The Animated Series, the early-'90s show against which all other superhero cartoons are compared.

Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Mitch Brian, the guidebook lays out the approach, structure and tone of the series, including the importance of setting, the role of humor and, perhaps most interestingly, the ban on Batman origin stories: "Nothing about his parents' murder, the film they saw at the movies before they were shot, the theatre usherette who happened to see them go into Crime Alley seconds before the gun went off, etc., etc. ... if you're thinking up stories along those lines, flush them."

(via Chris Sims)