The Big Picture: Continanity

Callate

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Having read through "52" in trade paperbacks, I have to say that it underlines certain problems with scale when world-spanning threats and the heroes capable of dealing with them run hand-in-hand with everything else.

A creature capable of eating entire universes is headed this way!

An alien race that has enslaved entire civilizations is coming towards earth!

Meanwhile, Steel is having family issues, and Lex Luthor is scheming to control Metropolis... Wow, who gives a flying f#@$.
 

Swaki

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i thought flash was marvel, and did batman ever have another backstory? one that didn't evolve watching his parents die in a dark alley and travelling the world (this one, or at least so i though before this episode, maybe he was on some of the others) seeking out masters of martial art and meditation to become the best human ever!, or did they just do a spin on the old one, like maybe he saw his parents die in a bright street.
 

Boba Frag

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That was a fantastic video, Bob! My much more hardcore comic fan friend and mentor has been trying to help me get my head around the multiverse stuff for a while now and this pretty much cleared everything up.

And as regards 52, you're not wrong- it's one of the best things I've ever read to be honest.
So. Damn. Good.

I've heard Final Crisis itself is kind of.. self indulgent, but that's because Grant Morrison was involved.. that said, I plan on giving that a shot soon as I get my head around the bizarre happenings of The Return of Bruce Wayne. Finally picked up the last two issues and actually really enjoyed them. Bat-pirate sadly deosn't look as cool as his cover, Bat-cowboy was very badly executed but Bat-detective and Bat-
cyborg/omega energy riddled Bruce was just... ahem... Batshit insane :p
.
A good read, though!

You really know your stuff, Bob, I have to commend you on the way you waded through what's arguably the trickiest thing to discuss in with DC comics.

And now, to go and start reading Blackest Night....
 

Draconalis

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This is why my comic book reading avoids DC and Marvel alike.... with the exception of Deadpool... Deadpool is just too hilariously awesome to pass up.
 

S.R.S.

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This is what galls me. Whenever I've tried to fill in friends about Batman's history in the past, I could keep it pretty simple. Joker killed the second Robin, shot Batgirl so she became Oracle, Robin grew up and became Nightwing, etc.

Suddenly I'm having to tell people that Dick is Batman because Bruce went time traveling because a god shot him, and that the second Robin is alive again because an alternate reality's Superman punched time. Whenever I try to update my friends these days I just get dirty looks and the occasional "that's retarded".
 

Boba Frag

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llagrok said:
Nobody's found "The huntress" attractive since the Rob Liefeld appeal of 1992. They didn't keep her around for the sex appeal.

Thrust said:
my god 52 sucked ! and I am a casual reader
and you have horrible taste.
*High fives LLagrok* Damn right! I loved 52- its scope was... cosmic, never mind galactic. A wonderful journey through the DC Universes and histories.

And check out Huntress' new costume in Hush.... all I'll say is daaaaaamn.
 

Falseprophet

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Thrust said:
my god 52 sucked ! and I am a casual reader
Total agreement. Just further solidified why I usually stay away from Big Two superhero books. There are titles I've followed religiously in the past, but the only one that comes close to a DC/Marvel superhero book was Joe Kelly's run on Deadpool.

I see these comics multiverses more as a mythology than a literary continuity. If you really pore over the old Greco-Roman myths, you'll find multiple character and story interpretations from writers living around the same time. Compare how Aeschylus handled the gods in his plays compared to Sophocles or Euripedes, for example. There's a lot of material to be mined for stories, so I'm perfectly cool with alternate interpretations of characters and stories. Some of the best stories have been "Elseworlds" or "What Ifs?".

But all those options and complexities make "gateway drugs" that introduce new readers to the universe without overwhelming them all the more essential. Like the Ultimate universe was supposed to do, and what Marvel Adventures actually could do. I watched the old crappy Hercules cartoon long before I read the Iliad, after all.

Rocketboy13 said:
I actual find it strange sometimes that casual readers of comics don't like the multi-verse concept, its what they are getting everytime they watch a cartoon of the series.
You have a good point. Devoted sports fans have no trouble tracking the statistics of dozens of players and teams over multiple seasons, dedicated soap opera fans follow multiple plotlines and characters, and Lost fans...do whatever it is Lost fans do. Are comics really exceptional in their complexity?
 

Boba Frag

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Evilsanta said:
OMFG! Batman as a pirate?! That is so fucking awesome on so many levels...
It's good but like I said... he doesn't look like he does on the cover. Sadly :(
 

bojac6

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300lb. Samoan said:
Thanks for explaining... as a casual fan I've always been curious about the multi-verse and how it came to be and why... consider that curiosity stomped dead. As big as I am on multi-dimensional concepts this sounds like wayyyyy to deep of a rabbit hole to throw myself down.

Nexus4 said:
Umm... Shouldn't the title be 'Continuity' and not 'Continanity'?
Continuity + Insanity = Continanity. It's listed in the Earth 3 version of Webster's Dictionary. :D
Actually, I thought it was Continuity + Inanity. It isn't so much insane as it is inane, silly, and completely unnecessary. You want the universe where the JLA is the bad guys? Then write books in that universe and never cross over to the main universe. It's easy.
 

brazuca

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I'm no comic book geek. I like good endings, you know. As for games. Metal Gear Solid stopped at 4. It's over. Waiting for Mass Effect 3 and that's it.
Odd times that brands became sooooo important that you got try new ideas with that brand over and over again (I say it's exploitation) until even fans start too lose track of what is going on. (24H on tv, The Legend of Zelda in vg's, Sherlock Holmes on books and Star Wars pretty much in any media format).
 

Boba Frag

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Draconalis said:
This is why my comic book reading avoids DC and Marvel alike.... with the exception of Deadpool... Deadpool is just too hilariously awesome to pass up.
Marvel are doing him to death though. I love Deadpool but they've run characters into the ground before... Enjoy him while he lasts.