| If you visit any comic book fan forum on the net, I | | | | enough on their own to make or break a story. Of |
| guarantee there will be one particularly debate raging. | | | | course this is not a realistic view of things. Continuity is |
| The exact books and characters referred to change, | | | | merely one aspect of many that make up a good |
| but the basic argument remains the same. This person | | | | comic book. To make matters more confusing the |
| is written out of character because back in issue | | | | importance of continuity will vary dramatically |
| #154987 so and so said blah blah blah.I'm exaggerating | | | | depending on the particular reader.One Problem, Two |
| of course. I don't think any comic has an issue | | | | SolutionsSo you're a comic book publisher with 40+ |
| #154987. But it does serve to illustrate the dilemma | | | | years of history working for and against you. What do |
| that comic book publishes frequently find themselves | | | | you do? So far two approaches have been tried.DC |
| in.The Continuity Conundrum In essence, the problem is | | | | Comics has experienced some success with periodic |
| that most comic book universes (and I'm thinking | | | | reboots of continuity. The first of these was the Crisis |
| primarily of DC and Marvel here) are built around the | | | | on Infinite Earths which wiped out many parallel worlds |
| concept of continuity. All their characters interact to a | | | | and redefined a number of its major superheroes (and |
| greater or lesser extent with each other. They all exist | | | | villains). More recently they rebooted again with Infinite |
| in the same universe (though not necessarily the same | | | | Crisis which again redefined a number of their most |
| planet or even plane) and as a result they share a | | | | prominent characters as well as introducing brand new |
| common history.However as more and more stories | | | | versions of old characters.While this method has |
| are published about these characters, it becomes | | | | allowed DC to keep a fairly clean and consistent |
| harder and harder to track exactly who knows what | | | | continuity, it also has the effect of upsetting and |
| and why never mind considering the effects it might | | | | alienating some of their longer term readers as |
| have on the characterization of a specific hero. And | | | | characters they liked get wiped out of |
| that doesn't even address the limiting effect as far as | | | | existence.Marvel Comics has so far avoided any |
| possible new stories are concerned.So what you have | | | | universe wide reboots by instead adopting a policy of |
| is two different requirements tugging away at the | | | | selective continuity. With this method the individual |
| publisher. They want to do something new with their | | | | editors or writers choose to acknowledge or simply |
| characters and they want also to stay true to what | | | | not reference various elements of Marvel history as |
| has come before or they risk losing what made those | | | | they think best suits their story.While the concept is |
| characters special in the first place. The longer a | | | | highly flexible there have been many occasions where |
| character is published the bigger this problem | | | | the resulting story chooses to ignore an element so |
| becomes.The Role Of The FansLong time comics | | | | significant that it makes the story look silly. Characters |
| fans often taken an excessive interest in continuity as | | | | who were thought to be dead turn up alive with not |
| a by product of their interest in the subject as a whole. | | | | the slightest reference to how they returned.Important |
| This frequently results in fans complaining when a | | | | or Not?So is it? Well yes, and no. Fundamentally |
| comic book publisher breaks continuity (deliberately or | | | | continuity is as important as the reader chooses to let |
| through ignorance).Increasingly the outcry from fandom | | | | it be. |
| has made it seem as though continuity breaks are | | | | |