The Continuity Wars

[EmeraldGladiator]

Was in the middle of an interesting thread on why the Legion doesn't sell and while responding I came upon the continuity issue. In the Legion some say it is inaccessible because of the long deep history of the characters. Then again who wants to read a character origin story every 3 years? How many times do the Waynes, Uncle Ben and Abin Sur have to die? I understand the need to constantly want to be bringing in new customers but if what you are giving them isn't very good or doesn't last very long then why would they invest? I don't need for every new writer on a book to have read every issue of the book preceding them but they should have a clear concept of who the character is from it's most iconic runs. The constant retelling and modifying of history is annoying and frustrating. My New Teen Titans of Wolfman and Perez are no longer canon. Bane broke Batman but wasn't replaced by Azrael. If you love a property you will invest in learning about them is my opinion but everyone isn't like me.

Marvel's way the constant change is not my cup of tea. Change because of storyline Joe Fixit, Beta Ray Bill is cool but Marvels changing seem more about pop and buzz and when it wears off do it again. If you are a fan of Thor (Odinson) or Bruce Banner Hulk I am not sure how much you are feeling this Marvel 'whatever the buzzword for it is now". Poor kids coming into the comic shop after Civil War or Avengers looking for those characters. Wait Thor's a girl and Hulk isn't Bruce and Falcon is cap??? That is another war, (DC being too dependent or loyal to the iconic versions while Marvel isn't loyal enough). The sales chart might suggest that what Marvel is doing is the best way, in the short term but I am not sure how this strategy will play out over time. Then again if DC continues to try to imitate what Marvel is doing, there won't be a contrasting style to compare it to. It will just be how things are done now.

I grew up in an era where the editor told you why things are the way they are, or what issue this situation happened in. Or looked for the "answer man" to clear up confusion or get something useful out of the letter pages. I grew up in the continuity era. I know you don't have to keep all of it, like Batman dancing on Mars but the wholesale rebooting of it every few years is even more frustrating....What say you?

[Lee Stone]

I think you already know where I stand on this.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most iconic runs in comics got there by being continuity heavy.
And franchises have died by sweeping it under the rug.

You don't have to do away with years of world-building to bring in new readers.
That's what spin-offs are for. Entry points into a larger world that once there, they may never want to leave.

If you throw away everything in a futile attempt to make it easier to get into, you're also throwing away all the things that made it a success to begin with.
New readers won't know why it was such a big deal in the first place.
All the important stories got erased and you risk redundancy by doing those again, and the shadow of the previous success hangs over it and everything new gets compared to the older stuff (which did the same plot, but better).

[Buried Alien]

On what Lee wrote: I'm planning to give IDW's new iteration of ROM: SPACEKNIGHT a try, and I really wonder if the concept will continue to work without the mythos that Marvel established back in the 1980s.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Pat]

Selling system for DC and Marvel is "destroy your current loyal base of customers so you can get new ones and you additionally will keep some from the loyal base who did not care you ruined their product since they hope some day things will return as they were".

[Trey Strain]

Selling system for DC and Marvel is "destroy your current loyal base of customers so you can get new ones and you additionally will keep some from the loyal base who did not care you ruined their product since they hope some day things will return as they were".

No, it's "everybody and his brother will run out and buy the 500th retelling of an origin story."

I've gotten to where every time I see the Waynes get murdered and little Bruce get traumatized again, I burst out laughing.

That stuff still works in comics but movie audiences have gotten fed up with it, so let's hope comics fan will finally get as smart as moviegoers.

[t hedge coke]

There are so many comics where Captain America is Steve Rogers that are in print right now, anyone who fears that a kid couldn't find one is looking in the wrong places, maybe. Same for comics where Banner turns into Hulk, Hulk into Banner. Where Thor is a dude and not one with a face like a skinned horse or a redhead or an impersonator while Thor's missing/dead/a soul in a bag.

I would imagine, with Captain America: Civil War out, people going buy a comic are going to look for Civil War first, which, y'know, has Steve as Cap and everything. (But, Thor is a clone cyborg whatsist, so I guess there's that, not that he's in the movie.)

[JLH]

I think you already know where I stand on this.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most iconic runs in comics got there by being continuity heavy.
And franchises have died by sweeping it under the rug.

You don't have to do away with years of world-building to bring in new readers.
That's what spin-offs are for. Entry points into a larger world that once there, they may never want to leave.

If you throw away everything in a futile attempt to make it easier to get into, you're also throwing away all the things that made it a success to begin with.
New readers won't know why it was such a big deal in the first place.
All the important stories got erased and you risk redundancy by doing those again, and the shadow of the previous success hangs over it and everything new gets compared to the older stuff (which did the same plot, but better).

I wish I'd written this. Well said and I agree so much with it.

[colonyofcells]

Stories probably just need enough continuity but not too much. The current new 52 continuity and rebirth continuity is just fine. For superman, just give some nods every now and then to old history such as the Death of Superman. Most old stories can be forgotten. Each new story can also create new retcons or new history as needed. To enjoy a current Superman story, we do not really need to know what adventures Superman had in 1938.

[Pat]

No, it's "everybody and his brother will run out and buy the 500th retelling of an origin story."

I've gotten to where every time I see the Waynes get murdered and little Bruce get traumatized again, I burst out laughing.

That stuff still works in comics but movie audiences have gotten fed up with it, so let's hope comics fan will finally get as smart as moviegoers.

There are at least 30 retelling of Superman origins. I guess Batman could have more than this.