How do you retain the information from comic?

[TheDragonKing]

When you’ve read lots of comics, how do you retain the information from those comics?

[j9ac9k]

When you’ve read lots of comics, how do you retain the information from those comics?

I used to be able to do it a lot better when I'd read through all my new comics on the day they came out and some of them I'd read over several times waiting for new comics the following week. Now I barely have time to read my new comics and I almost never read them more than once, so I hardly remember any details that weren't relevant to the main plotline.

[The Cheat]

I use this as an indicator of when I should drop a book. If I can't remember what happened last issue, it's gone.

[lemonpeace]

my brain and wikis if I'm not confident in my recollection. I've also been keeping a word document where I keep a definitive rank of favorite characters, as well as writers and artists I'm currently invested in so I can streamline my reading experience.

[married guy]

Not as well as I used to!

I read my books more than once so I usually retain things a little better. But mate, getting old sucks!!

[Lightning Rider]

I have a pretty good "biographical" memory, so I can remember a lot of details. If I can't remember something, it's usually because it was truly bland and forgettable. I definitely want to go back to read some of the first comics I ever bought at conventions.

[Jim Kelly]

Brain plasticity. I remember comics, the cover dates, on sale dates, issue numbers, characters, story titles, writers, artists, editors from when I was just a kid. These are now part of the structure of my brain. I remember less comics from the last few decades, because my brain is no longer as plastic.

As a species we've evolved to remember things in story form. So it's easier to pass on information from generation to generation if you put it in the form of a story. If a comic book tells a good story, it has a better chance of getting stuck in your brain.

[charliehustle415]

I use this as an indicator of when I should drop a book. If I can't remember what happened last issue, it's gone.

This is a great idea, I might steal this from you.

But to the OP; I rely a lot on Comicvine's database, wikis and of course these boards.

I also tend to only read complete runs (except anything by Hickman), so I tend to read voraciously so it's a bit harder to forget stuff.

[SJNeal]

I use this as an indicator of when I should drop a book. If I can't remember what happened last issue, it's gone.

Wow, harsh! If I did that I'd have exactly 0 books on my pull list! It usually takes me a couple pages in to remember what happened previously in any given series these days.

But ask me for details on some obscure book from the 90's and I can tell you anything you want to know!

[SJNeal]

Brain plasticity. I remember comics, the cover dates, on sale dates, issue numbers, characters, story titles, writers, artists, editors from when I was just a kid. These are now part of the structure of my brain. I remember less comics from the last few decades, because my brain is no longer as plastic.

As a species we've evolved to remember things in story form. So it's easier to pass on information from generation to generation if you put it in the form of a story. If a comic book tells a good story, it has a better chance of getting stuck in your brain.

Agreed with everything you said. When I was a kid, I also had a lot less other stuff going on, and a much smaller pull list. I would re-read every issue I bought at least once before the next would come out. And then when an arc completed, I'd re-read it as a whole. These days I have nowhere near enough time to do that.

[Digifiend]

I use this as an indicator of when I should drop a book. If I can't remember what happened last issue, it's gone.

If only DC had recap pages like Marvel does...

[DragonPiece]

If a book isn't interesting enough to retain your attention, it may be time to drop it. Unless it's something like a morrison or hickman comic, that's mean to throw a lot of plot points at you than that's understandable I guess.

[John Venus]

I don't. Re-reading helps. So does discussing it with others, repetition helps retain information. The convenience of the internet also means less priority on remembering and recalling stuff, since you can always look up something.

[John Venus]

If only DC had recap pages like Marvel does...

I would trade any one of their stupid ads for a good recap page.

[Sutekh]

Brain plasticity. I remember comics, the cover dates, on sale dates, issue numbers, characters, story titles, writers, artists, editors from when I was just a kid. These are now part of the structure of my brain. I remember less comics from the last few decades, because my brain is no longer as plastic.

As a species we've evolved to remember things in story form. So it's easier to pass on information from generation to generation if you put it in the form of a story. If a comic book tells a good story, it has a better chance of getting stuck in your brain.

Same. I every now and then read about a creative talking about how they can remember all the members of a team and their histories and whatnot, and it's supposed to be impressive, but I've got a ridiculous memory for various hero teams or characters I like. But then I've got guildmates in online games who are like that about game data, being able to remember quests they did once 40 levels ago and where to find the NPCs, or other friends who have a brain-boggling amount of information about football teams and who plays for who and who won what and where this game was or who won in what year. Meanwhile, I'm still like, "Wait, the Patriots aren't in Boston anymore? Can we talk about the Legion of Super-Heroes or X-Men or something, 'cause I've got *that* useless trivia down..."