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Remember CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS back in the mid-'80s? The rationale offered for such an epic endeavour was that DC COMICS continuity had become so convoluted over the years with the EARTH I - EARTH II scenario that it was decided to simplify things. (Or so it was claimed at the time, but we all know that the likelihood of making a pile of money from a heavily-hyped, controversial multi-part series was also a major factor.)
Simplify things. Bear that in mind.
On a previous post, in the comments section, a reader mentioned LAR GAND. The name didn't really ring a bell with me (unlike QUASIMODO's) so I looked it up on WIKIPEDIA.
GOOD GRIEF! There followed many various mind-numbingly dull, complex, convoluted, contradictory histories of the character that left me none-the-bloody-wiser at the end of it all. I almost lost the will to live halfway through. Apparently there have been several 'retconnings' of characters and concepts from various CRISES over the years, resulting, I daresay, in few people having a clue as to exactly what's going on, or knowing just precisely who's who in DC's ever-changing, ever-perplexing comics continuity. Which seems to happen whenever the mags require a sales-push, apparently.
I can't remember the last time I bought (or even read) a DC comic that wasn't a reprint from a time I understood what the rules were - and I doubt I'm alone in that regard. What DC management seem to overlook is that for every supposed 'jumping-on' point they create with each new 'take' on the characters, they also create a 'jumping-off' point for those readers who are dismayed to find that they're no longer reading about the same heroes they read from childhood up through their teenage years and beyond.
I find that I'm no longer interested in DC characters - simply because they're not the same ones I'm familiar with from my earliest years. And as for simplifying things, the only thing that all those many retrospective revisions has achieved is to muddy the waters to such an extent that it's difficult to decipher exactly what their back-stories are - or to even care, in fact.
It seems to me that things were a lot simpler back in the pre-Crisis days. (Although if they'd stuck with the first one, I could've lived with it.) Comics were fun to read and you didn't need a score-card (or a multi-volume encyclopaedia) to know who was who, what was what, or why things were as they are. Oh, for the good old days.
Who's with me?
8 comments:
Hey, I'm with you kid, all the way! I just now read this post, and need to chime in for ya. In fact, that's also going to be the subject in one of my upcoming posts (soon as I make time, as time is a scarce commodity for me these days).
I just recently looked over a visual line-up of current comics, and I am aghast at how unappealing they seem.
Thom, I just remembered that I did actually buy some of the first issues of the 'New 52' comics by DC. I flicked through them, found nothing of interest in them, and left them in a corner of my room somewhere, unread. They'll still be lying there gathering dust. I cancelled my standing order for them before the second issues hit the stands.
I'll look forward to that post when you find the time to write it.
DC made a rod for their own back by making continuity and cross overs such a vital part of their universe, they wrote themselves into a corner and have to keep restarting to make it simpler but already theyre doing cross overs and long arcs again, so I jumped ship too.
I think part of the problem is that readers won't emotionally invest in the characters because they know everything's likely to change again not too far down the line. So why bother?
I'm so glad that graphic novels help alleviate the pain! And watching the Forbidden Planet blog helps by recommending the more interesting stuff too. There's something very satisfying ordering from the creator direct. Garen Ewing (Rainbow orchid), Martin Stiff (The Absence) and even Martin Eden's Spandex was interesting - still trying to figure that one out!
But none of them are DC/Marvel!
Unfortunately, I'm a creature of habit, Norman. I want to read about the characters of my youth - and I want then to be as they were in my youth - otherwise I find it difficult to be interested. Thank goodness for Marvel Masterworks.
Reboots always seem to create as many problems as they solve. For one thing, the slate is never really wiped completely clean, so pesky details from the old versions creep into the new series, e.g. the Aston Martin in Skyfall. Toho has similar inconsistencies in their rebooted Godzilla series. And DC's various Crises just made things more confusing than ever. Before long, the new series builds up its own complicated continuity, with long arcs, cross overs, and line-wide events, defeating the purpose of creating a jumping-on point for new fans. And, of course, a lot of old fans jump off when their favorites are killed off or changed beyond recognition.
Indeed, I made the same point about the Aston Martin in my Skyfall post. As for DC, you'd think they'd have learned by now, but it sure doesn't look like it.
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