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Thread: Continuity Wars

  1. #1
    Astonishing Member
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    Default Continuity Wars

    This is a debate that is constantly fought among comic fans but I feel compelled to start it up again. Continuity, I know from a business perspective it is good to have new #1's and easing new readers into a property but having started in comics before the constant rehashing begins I have always took issue with it. When my parents took me to the comic book shop and got me my first issue of Legion of Super Heroes, I had no idea who RJ Brande was or that Lightning Lad, my favorite Legionnaire once wore a cape and lost his arm, let alone died. All these things were revealed over time and the taking the time and effort to learn these things deepened my love and devotion for the character. People who watch soap operas don't have to have seen every episode all the way back to when soaps were their main advertiser. Catering to fly by night fans who are very likely to be here today and gone to something else tomorrow isn't a wise business model. I have seen countless retelling of the Legion's origins and numerous adaptations of the Great Darkness Saga (none of which were as good as the original). What I want is for the further adventures of the characters I love with all the attached continuity. Make the sought after new readers either learn the backstory or just jump on and ride along. Boring and driving away long time fans by retelling the same stories ad infinitum in search of new consumers that might not even hang around seems misguided. The Ultimate Marvel Universe was never as cool as the real one because it didn't have the history. Ultimate Doom didn't have the victories and losses that made him Doom, Ultimate Thanos didn't have the battles with Mar-Vell and Warlock that made him the uber arch villain he was. My hope is that Doomsday Clock brings back continuity, yeah there will be problems because some of the reboots created some good characters and how do you fix the JSA ect ect ect. You can't even organize runs in your long boxes anymore you have 20 different X-Men #8 which volume is this from??? Now this is feeling like a "get off my lawn" rant but the feeling behind it is genuine.

  2. #2
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
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    Default

    I don't mind long numbers as long as they make it a series of short stories with little continuity so anyone can jump in at any time. In other words, the high number only represent publication amount, not serialization.

    Long numbers deter new readers only because they think they are required to read it like serialized manga.

    The problem here is because they often do event, crossover, and callbacks to the previous stories, where sometimes you do need to read back issues, but sometimes not. New reader don't know this. They'd think everything is required until somebody else tell them. So at first they feel like "ugh I don't want to read that far back" until fans clarify "no you don't need to, except this one".

    Even people following the news at the moment can sometimes get confused.

    In other words, continuity right now is half and half. The stories keep referencing one another, some stories are more tightly connected than others, but there's not enough consistency that you can say you need to read this or not. It's annoying. I want them to either get it straight or forgo it altogether.
    Last edited by Restingvoice; 05-15-2018 at 08:11 AM.

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