I do sort of miss the days when you could launch something as a 4 or 6 issue miniseries, though, and then if it was a seller, critical darling, or was just plain fun, could backdoor that into a full title launch and do 24-48 issues pretty regularly.
Re-reading this thread has me really stoked on an Atoms comic. I hadn't thought of the whole shrinking thief villains concept. I like that a lot, as well as rekindling the various Atoms various rogues galleries and uniting them a bit - because if we've got a team of Atoms, then each should have a couple foes that form a group or agency or conspiracy. I'm thinking I'll research the various Atoms publication histories a bit and figure that out. Other things come to mind, too - Pratt's enemies being more street or gritty or paramilitary. Ray's enemies being more fantastical and silver age (and not casting away the cool Ray Palmer stuff that Jeff Lemire did in his Atom stories and Frankenstein). Ryan's enemies being the most youthful and relevant. Making sure to pay respects to the tones of the Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and Modern Age Atom stories. Making sure it stays kind of academic and cheeky and isn't just a "Challengers of the Unknown in the Microverse" comic book. Some good S.H.A.D.E. play could happen, as both Lemire's Frankenstein stuff as well as Morrison's Final Crisis stuff had links between Ray & Ryan and government multiversal operatives. And plenty of homage to the 60s Ray & Al Pratt "worlds unite" team-ups, too.