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Post by masterofquackfu on Aug 16, 2016 10:01:18 GMT -5
I guess that I would say that I'm a more casual reader of comics. I enjoy reading them, but I am not really concerned with continuity. I don't need to fit story arcs within the context of a character and, really, I wouldn't care if Thor or the Avengers appeared in every title at the same time. I read comics for escape. If I want continuity, well, I find that every single day of my life in the lovely world of reality. I don't want such regimentation when I'm dealing with fantasy. For those that are insistent upon continuity in their comics, why is it so important to you?
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 16, 2016 10:10:44 GMT -5
I love Elseworlds, What If's, etc, but really enjoy seeing how a writer can build upon what's happened in the past.
This is sequential storytelling. We buy the characters because we want to see their adventures and have a certain logical progression, like you said, in real life (those of us that do like continuity).
That's part of why I'm really loving Valiant. It hasn't needed to be rebooted or revamped. It all fits into the same space and is interconnected with really well told stories.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 16, 2016 10:12:35 GMT -5
I now have a default rant I pull out whenever this comes up. Here it is:
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Post by brutalis on Aug 16, 2016 10:37:51 GMT -5
Continuity is the natural form of life. We age, we grow, we mature, we learn. Continuity in comics should show the same. I don't need it to be a strict locked into a specific point and time but there should be a progression of characterization imitating nature and life as we know it to be. I don't mean that my hero has to age and become old and be replaced by some younger hipper youth but he or she can grow as a character and person learning from each adventure and not make the same moves or mistakes against a villain or other villains time and again. Show me the growth of themselves and the world they inhabit and i am content.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2016 10:56:12 GMT -5
I like continuity. It is nice to see in the characters. Of course it can't be rigid & inflexible or we would see the characters we love to read age & die. But I like an interconnected universe & growth in the characters.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 16, 2016 11:05:26 GMT -5
I like continuity but if a story is good I don't mind if it doesn't fit.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 16, 2016 11:08:55 GMT -5
I like continuity but if a story is good I don't mind if it doesn't fit. I agree with this. The occasional high quality outlier is welcome provided deviation is not the status quo. I think the two things I hate most in comics are: 1. when a series becomes so formulaic that every story is interchangeable with another 2. The exact opposite, where every six months it's a bold new beginning for our protagonist with a new creative team that completely ignores or selectively acknowledges events and characterizations from before. Between the two lies solid continuity, and there's space for the occasional detour in there. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2016 11:09:03 GMT -5
I like continuity and I want to keep it as it is. I don't mind Imaginary Stories of which the on the Comic Book Cover has to have that word in order not to mislead readers. One thing, I want continuity and if the story is disguised as a retcon book - I get very angry and will throw me off in a very big way. Retcon is the dirtiest word in the Comic Book World and I hate that word when I first heard it in this forum that I belong to.
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Post by Randle-El on Aug 16, 2016 11:33:15 GMT -5
All other things being equal, I think continuity provides for a richer storytelling experience. For a good example, look at Star Trek TNG vs. DS9. Both shows are set in the same fictional universe and share much of the same creative teams. But DS9 relies much more heavily on continuity compared to TNG, and the result is that the fictional universe has a lot more depth. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great episodes of TNG. But in terms of character evolution and storytelling sophistication, DS9 has the clear edge.
The problem in comics (at least, in big two superhero comics) is that good use of continuity requires a consistent creative voice. Shax cited Wolfman/Perez on Teen Titans, Claremont on X-Men, and Usagi Yojimbo as great examples of continuity. The common thread is that those were long runs by a consistent creative team that could leverage continuity well. But with a few exception, those kinds of runs are becoming less and less common. Nowadays, creators are coming in for short runs, maybe a couple of story arcs, and then the inevitable reboot/renumbering. With that kind of turnover, it's hard to use continuity well -- unless you count decompression, which is kinda, sorta a type of continuity...
Then there's the issue of "canon", or long-term continuity. My own personal view is that not every single little thing that happened has to be considered irrevocably canonical and character-defining. I think a character is more or less defined by whatever things happen that seem to really resonate with both creators and readers and is reinforced over time to become part of a composite image of that character. This is why I get irritated whenever people say that it's OK for Superman to kill because he did it that one time, or that Batman can use guns because he used guns in his early appearances. While technically true, that's not the version of the character that has been reiterated by creators and crystallized in the mind of readers over the years.
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 16, 2016 11:57:06 GMT -5
I guess that I would say that I'm a more casual reader of comics. I enjoy reading them, but I am not really concerned with continuity. I don't need to fit story arcs within the context of a character and, really, I wouldn't care if Thor or the Avengers appeared in every title at the same time. I read comics for escape. If I want continuity, well, I find that every single day of my life in the lovely world of reality. I don't want such regimentation when I'm dealing with fantasy. For those that are insistent upon continuity in their comics, why is it so important to you? It just...is. I want to escape reality, yes, but I want to escape into a fictional universe which makes sense according to its own rules, whether it's a specific comics universe, or Doctor Who, or Star Trek, or even just a TV soap. it matters to me that these fantasy worlds are consistent, that's part of what drew me to them to begin with, after all. I would probably never have formed a lifelong attachment to Marvel Comics if not for the fact that in the 70s, my formative years, they had a consistent, cohesive, rich and endlessly fascinating shared universe-and I totally gave up on DC after 36 years as a reader in 2011 when they abandoned theirs. I don't know why it's important. But it's important. |
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Post by MDG on Aug 16, 2016 12:03:10 GMT -5
I really don't care too much, and since I don't read any new DC/Marvel books, it really doesn't impact me.
It was fun before it became a thing--when writers looked at past stories that were created pretty independently and with no thought of continuity and retroactively tried to "make them fit" in a logical way. But when "continuity maintenance" became a thing in itself, I lost interest--especially when re-booting became an option.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 16, 2016 12:17:10 GMT -5
I now have a default rant I pull out whenever this comes up. Here it is: Hear, hear! I understand how comic stories that are only about continuity details can be tedious and uninteresting, but I really want a decade-long continuing story to be internally consistent. Otherwise, why bother reusing the same character, the same background and the same tradition month after month? Might as well create a new character each time an idea for a new adventure comes up. It's not as if many super-heroes aren't slight variations of previous ones anyway. |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 16, 2016 12:20:52 GMT -5
I really don't care too much, and since I don't read any new DC/Marvel books, it really doesn't impact me. It was fun before it became a thing--when writers looked at past stories that were created pretty independently and with no thought of continuity and retroactively tried to "make them fit" in a logical way. So...before Stan Lee created a cohesive shared universe in the 1960s, then? |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 16, 2016 12:48:19 GMT -5
Can I have a bit of middle ground? Outside Elseworld's/Imaginary Stories (aren't they all) I like some internal consistency and continuity. Batman has certain things that make him Batman. Spider-Man has certain things that make him Spider-Man. Take those away and you may as well create a new character...except you're either too lazy or you just want to trade on the name that will bring in the bucks.
But "The Secret Origin of Barry Allen's Bow-tie" and the silly shit that Roy Thomas used to do (Robotman must be related to Robin because they have the same last name...and nobody ever figured out he should maybe live with family) is silly and unnecessary.
Mostly I just want a good story. And that is probably why 95% of what I read now are creator-owned books.
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Post by MDG on Aug 16, 2016 12:58:36 GMT -5
I really don't care too much, and since I don't read any new DC/Marvel books, it really doesn't impact me. It was fun before it became a thing--when writers looked at past stories that were created pretty independently and with no thought of continuity and retroactively tried to "make them fit" in a logical way. So...before Stan Lee created a cohesive shared universe in the 1960s, then? If everything Stan created was cohesive, he wouldn't've had to create the no-prize. |
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