Pick & choose

[Franny6422]

May I ask a question as curious how others approach this issue. We're all invested in the DCU as this forum demonstrates. My question is this; How do you choose to what to have in your library. Sounds daft, but what I mean is' take for example, the latest rumblings about 'Heroes in Crisis.' It seems the majority have 'issues' with it, but do they not want it in their library as like it or not, it's a major development in the DCU which will surely be referenced moving forward. It's in continuity whether you like it or not. It's happened, so can you enjoy the rest of continuity with Is links to it? Doesn't't ignoring leave a void in the DCU? It was a pretty big development. Difficult to put into words what I'm asking. Hope folk get where I am coming from?

[qwertyuiop1998]

I guess we can't Ignoring or Denying it, Pretending it never happened
But as a reader we have rights not accepting it.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

You can ignore anything if you want. I completely ignored Ma & Pa Kent letting Clark be a high school quarterback despite being vastly stronger and tougher than his fellow classmates for several years, despite it being referenced on multiple occasions. I've also ignored Leslie Thompkins killing Stephanie Brown. I also ignored Wonder Woman not being a founder of the JLA for a couple decades, even though major stories I enjoyed had it as a plot point. I similarly ignore the idea that Barry Allen created the Speed Force.

In the end, these are imaginary stories and continuity, no matter how official, is also a completely imaginary set of rules. It's like the Matrix. Once you understand and accept that it isn't real, you can bend those rules however you'd like.

The DCU is a beautiful patchwork of thousands of wildly different stories produced by dozens of creators for very different audiences. They aren't meant to all fit together perfectly. They are meant to be a giant sprawling buffet of ideas from which you can pick and choose whatever you want to create your own personalized DCU that works best for you.

If you need an in-universe explanation for any inconsistencies, the Anti-Monitor, Time Trapper, Parallax, Superboy-Prime, and Dr. Manhattan have given you plenty of excuses to explain away anything you don't like.

[Jekyll]

My library consists of characters and runs that I really enjoy. However, if there is a particular writer on a series and I don't care for what they are doing then I am not afraid to have holes in my collection. I love the Flash but I haven't really enjoyed the series much since the new 52 so I don't really have a lot of current issues.

As far as events go, I only read them or purchase them if characters that I love are involved. For example: If the event is Superman focused, I'm probably not going to purchase it because I am not invested in that character.

That is how I go about deciding what I keep in my collection or not.

[RBerman]

Continuity is overrated. Collecting all of continuity or even the "big events" doesn't enter my mind. I buy the work of creators who have created something interesting. A good creator on a "second string" character is usually better than what's happening with the marquee characters, titles, and events.

[OBrianTallent]

I follow the characters I like and have put up with a lot of stupid along the way such as Jodi Picoult or James Robinson's run on Wonder Woman. I did buy the first three issues of HiC but dropped it from there. Nightwing is my second favorite comics character (behind Wonder Woman)and I just dropped his title for the first time. If I choose I will find the back issues for less than cover.

[KC]

In my opinion, ignoring something because you did not like it is childish. Heroes in Crisis happened. You might not like it and you might not read it/own it but it happened.

[byrd156]

In my opinion, ignoring something because you did not like it is childish. Heroes in Crisis happened. You might not like it and you might not read it/own it but it happened.

Well comics are intended for children so childish feels right for the medium and superheroes in general. But I do agree that stories should always be acknowledged regardless of quality.

It's my philosophy of superhero comics that books should always be acknowledged and expanded upon. Emerald Twilight for example is a terrible idea executed well and then years later Parallax becomes a thing and resulting from this we get Hal back. Something like this would never happen if DC constantly just swept stories under the rug. If a story sucks, it sucks but something better can always come from it.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

In my opinion, ignoring something because you did not like it is childish. Heroes in Crisis happened. You might not like it and you might not read it/own it but it happened.

Nobody's saying it didn't happen. Every story published "happened", but it also "didn't happen" because it isn't real, it's fiction. What happened or didn't happen in a fictional construct is an ever-shifting thing. You can either wait for DC to decide it didn't happen anymore or you can do it yourself. The result is the same. You can consume entertainment any way you'd like, of course. If letting DC editorial dictate what is or isn't "real" in your own imagination makes you feel more like an adult, go right ahead and do that.

However, until Warner Bros. purchases exclusive rights to my imagination, I can do whatever I please to the DCU that exists in my own mind.

[SiegePerilous02]

I only follow characters and/or creators/runs I'm interested in to add to my library. If it it's something that doesn't agree with me, I'm not inclined to spend time and money on it. I have bills and stuff lol, I cannot afford to drop money to fill holes in my collection when it's kind of sporadic to begin with. Especially when it's comics I know I will either be "meh" on or outright dislike.

Nobody's saying it didn't happen. Every story published "happened", but it also "didn't happen" because it isn't real, it's fiction. What happened or didn't happen in a fictional construct is an ever-shifting thing. You can either wait for DC to decide it didn't happen anymore or you can do it yourself. The result is the same. You can consume entertainment any way you'd like, of course. If letting DC editorial dictate what is or isn't "real" in your own imagination makes you feel more like an adult, go right ahead and do that.

However, until Warner Bros. purchases exclusive rights to my imagination, I can do whatever I please to the DCU that exists in my own mind.

Yeah, it's all make believe, and DC changes it's mind on what is canon every other week. So obviously they don't care.

When I read Morrison's JLA, I read it as Superman being the same guy from the pre-Crisis era (with Legion history, dead Kents, Kara, Krypto, Kandor, etc) in his past, even though that was clearly not the case at the time. Because I love Superman and I love that run, but my overall feelings about post-Crisis Superman are not positive. Similarly, I read Wonder Woman being there as having been a founder even though that wasn't in continuity at the time either, and the Amazons in the Rucka run having always been technologically advanced instead of it being a recent development.

Byrd gave a good example with Emerald Twilight. I love Johns' GL run and a lot of what made it work was returning Hal after he got such a raw deal in the 90s. Doesn't mean I'm inclined to go track down Marz's run and add it to my collection.

[KC]

Nobody's saying it didn't happen. Every story published "happened", but it also "didn't happen" because it isn't real, it's fiction. What happened or didn't happen in a fictional construct is an ever-shifting thing. You can either wait for DC to decide it didn't happen anymore or you can do it yourself. The result is the same. You can consume entertainment any way you'd like, of course. If letting DC editorial dictate what is or isn't "real" in your own imagination makes you feel more like an adult, go right ahead and do that.

However, until Warner Bros. purchases exclusive rights to my imagination, I can do whatever I please to the DCU that exists in my own mind.

The OP talks about ignoring it and the gaps that would leave in the continuity.

DC owns the characters and the universe, so it is their prerogative to decide what does and doesn't count especially when continuity goes through multiple books (like how Roy Harper's death in HIC affected Green Arrow and Red Hood and the Outlaws). Continuity is an ever-shifting thing but ultimately DC owns the DC universe and gets to decide the creative direction of the universe and how the continuity shifts.

There is nothing Adult about pretending something did not happen because you did not like it.

[Pohzee]

There is nothing adult about telling people how to enjoy fiction. It is said that reading is not a passive activity, readers should bring their own experiences and interpretations to a work.

[KC]

Well comics are intended for children so childish feels right for the medium and superheroes in general. But I do agree that stories should always be acknowledged regardless of quality.

It's my philosophy of superhero comics that books should always be acknowledged and expanded upon. Emerald Twilight for example is a terrible idea executed well and then years later Parallax becomes a thing and resulting from this we get Hal back. Something like this would never happen if DC constantly just swept stories under the rug. If a story sucks, it sucks but something better can always come from it.

I agree with your philosophy and the example you gave is a good example. But I would disagree that comics are intended for children and even if they are, we are all adults so so shouldn't act childish.

[byrd156]

Constantly describing things as "adult" doesn't really seem very "adult".

[KC]

There is nothing adult about telling people how to enjoy fiction. It is said that reading is not a passive activity, readers should bring their own experiences and interpretations to a work.

We are talking about ignoring facts because some fans don't like them. If that is how you want to enjoy fiction, I will call you childish and I will feel very adult as I do.