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[QUOTE=phonogram12;4466526]This is such a waste of time. If there's one thing I've learned from reading comics for over 40 years now is that writers hate having their hands tied and being told exactly how to write things. They will either forget certain aspects of it, decide to ignore it altogether, or have to find some convoluted way to fit their idea in the story they want to write, which will only confuse things more.[/QUOTE]
Which is where the Roy Thomases and Julie Schwartz' of the world really had value. Editors insisting that this stuff needed to makes some sense in the wider narrative of both the individual character, and the shared setting made for more consistent brands. That, however, doesn't seem to be the way it's done anymore.
I suppose I'd be less pessimistic if the managerial cast of characters had changed more significantly since [I]Flashpoint[/I].
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DC fixing their timeline is like that guy up the street with an old wreck in the garage and he'll "fix'er up someday".
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[QUOTE=kingaliencracker;4466550]I used to be a big stickler for continuity because I used to think the worst thing you could tell a long-time fan is that one of their favorite stories no longer happened to that character. I've softened on this stance considerably over the years, primarily because I've come to realize that many stories that are out-of-continuity are some of my favorites, so now I'm of the mindset that "follow continuity, unless your story really, REALLY justifies otherwise".
Having said that, I think a comic book writer who takes on a character like say, Superman, does so with the understanding that they're also inheriting the character's supporting characters and history. So if they're feeling hindered by the fact that they have to know Lex's backstory in order to write a Lex Luthor that makes sense to the reader, then I don't feel sorry for them.[/QUOTE]
To an extent I sort of agree, but ultimately, it's not the writers I feel sorry for - it's the readership. We're the one's who end up suffering for it.
In re to Superman, honestly, sometimes I wish there was just one book that followed strict continuity so fans of that can get that and two where each arc is done by a different writer where they're free to do whatever they want without having to worry about continuity. Those usually end up being my favorite Supes stories, anyway.
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In 1985, DC published Crisis on Infinite Earths with the intention of creating a simple, stable history and timeline for their characters.
In 1985, Microsoft released Windows 1.0 with the intention of creating a simple, stable graphical user interface operating system for personal computers.
Today in 2019, 34 years later, both are still messed up, but don't worry, I hear they're both "just about" to have all the bugs worked out.
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[QUOTE=BohemiaDrinker;4466102]There's no way to do it without [B]at least[/B] a soft reboot.[/QUOTE]
Well said! I don't think there would be any shame in that either, now that they've acknowledged some of this.
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If they had done this in the first place we wouldn’t be here. Even if they do map out a continuity how long before they start breaking it again?
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DC is forever going to be fixing the timeline
characters get older
then get de aged
other characters never age
the universe is supposed to be getting older
etc
I'd just leave it alone there's going to always be these problems because the progression of time in comics needs to be capped
The legacy characters are not iconic or popular enough to replace the main heroes so you are left with the constant need to make characters timeless or ageless
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Is it possible for DC to fix continuity without shafting a bunch of characters? Making old stories canon again isn't going to fix the present and existing issues with certain characters and franchises.
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[QUOTE=Vordan;4466603]If they had done this in the first place we wouldn’t be here. Even if they do map out a continuity how long before they start breaking it again?[/QUOTE]
I'd give it a week.
The only way you get perfect continuity is when just one guy writes all the books forever and ever and ever. It ceased to exist the moment Stan Lee decided to lighten his work load after co-creating the Marvel Universe.
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Seriously, the only thing DC can do to fix their timeline AND keep/restore some semblance of continuity/history is to bring back the pre-Crisis universes. This sucks for me because I prefer post-Crisis continuity, but that had its own share of issues and contradictions.
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[QUOTE=phonogram12;4466618]I'd give it a week.
The only way you get perfect continuity is when just one guy writes all the books forever and ever and ever. It ceased to exist the moment Stan Lee decided to lighten his work load after co-creating the Marvel Universe.[/QUOTE]
I disagree (partially). The MU managed to keep a pretty tight continuity for at least a decade after Lee's creative collaborations ended (calling the bulk of it writing is probably overstating the matter), including his EiC influence.
I say "partially" for two reasons. Marvel had a more coherent continuiity when Lee left than DC has had since CoIE. A lot of Lee's early Marvel was a continuity mess.
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A proper timeline and character bibles to keep the history and character continuity straight has been something DC has been needing for years.
It seems like they're building up to another Crisis so I imagine there'll be another soft reboot that this will be meant to tie-in to.
All that being said, given DC's past attempts at pulling something like this off and their track record with continuity, my expectations aren't too high.
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Great news.
Ooh wait...
Bend it like Bendis :(
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[QUOTE=DrNewGod;4466674]I disagree (partially). The MU managed to keep a pretty tight continuity for at least a decade after his creative collaborations ended (the bulk of it writing is probably overstating the matter), including his EiC influence.
I say "partially" for two reasons. Marvel had a more coherent continuiity when Lee left than DC has had since CoIE. A lot of Lee's early Marvel was a continuity mess.[/QUOTE]
Fair enough. I stand by my statement about the only way one gets perfect continuity is when a single writer writes all the books, though.
Which leads me to correct my previous statement: the last time there was perfect continuity was when Alan Moore was writing all his America's Best Comics books. :)
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[QUOTE=phonogram12;4466699]Fair enough. I stand by my statement about the only way one gets perfect continuity is when a single writer writes all the books, though.
Which leads me to correct my previous statement: the last time there was perfect continuity was when Alan Moore was writing all his America's Best Comics books. :)[/QUOTE]
Or you do like [I]Young Justice[/I] or the DCAU where you have the same showrunner handling it all.