Fresh Question #50: Cartoon Comic Continuity!

[Nightwing]

Wholey tongue twisters Batman (and Superman and Flash and Green Lantern and so on...)! Boy, with all these gorgeous JL art works we've been treated to by DG's news, (and Lucho's imagination;)) I'm sure our anticipation for November has gently subsided.....or not!! Still psyched? Yeah me too. How bout another Fresh Question:

We've had a lot of complications in the past with comic/comic or comic/TV comparison as far as continuity, yet at the same time this gives our creators a chance to make new stories from different points of view. So you be the judge. Should the JL series and comic carry the same continuity??

[Joker85]

Well, I think so.To me, it makes it more enjoyable. Plus, you could have references to the events in the comic in the show and vice versa. If they don't follow continuity in the comic, it won't be a big deal though(they probably won't, as they don't with B:GA). As long as both are enjoyable, it won't bother me one way or another.:)

[TerryMcGuiness]

But on the other hand, the comics have always shifted with the tide of the series themselves. As when Batman TAS became the New Batman Adventures. Hence, the creation of Gotham Adventures which featured the redesigns and new characters.

As always, I would love for more attention and effort to be put into the animated series titles. DC Comics has their own answer to Marvel Ultimate just sitting there.

Besides, if Marvel Comics can have congruent continuites, then why not the company that did it first. [Lets face it folks, multiple Earths still makes 10 times more sense than Hypertime.]

[Karkull]

In this case, I don't really think that this should be too much of a concern. I'd hate for events in the comic books to impede the progress of the show in any way. Such was the case with the previous adaptions, the television show should have priority--no matter how cool the comic is.

[Samhaine]

Originally posted by TerryMcGuiness
[Lets face it folks, multiple Earths still makes 10 times more sense than Hypertime.]
Those are both from DC, you know. Hypertime and Multiple earths.

[svendawg]

Originally posted by TerryMcGuiness
Lets face it folks, multiple Earths still makes 10 times more sense than Hypertime.

Special Relativity distortions near black holes makes 10 times more sense than Hypertime.

Moebius strips make 10 times more sense than Hypertime.

Kordic for Courtnall makes 10 times more sense than Hypertime (ah, thank god we're back in hockey season and I can hope someone out there gets that one).

Seriously, I think comics hang themselves up on Continuity too much (Star Trek has the same problem). Just let the stories stand by themselves, IMHO. It'll be more entertaining that way, and easier to attract new readers.

[TerryMcGuiness]

True. We basically reached a point where fans are more intrested in contuinuity than they are the damn story.

Rather than sit back and read about the adventures of Superman, we got people *****ing about when is Diana gonna be pregnant and when is Clark gonna change jobs.

Oh come on!! Wheres the romance in that? Wheres the escapism in that?

Since when is a timeline that you can trace with your finger and match to real time and aging more important than telling a cool superhero yarn?

Jeezus, in modern comics we've apparently just gone from the puerile to the pompous and called it progress.

Also, I'm gonna say the absolute most un PCPC thing (Politically Correct Post Crisis)

There was nothing complicated about multiple Earths!! It made perfect sense. Several alternate Earths. 123 and so on. Multiple Earths with different timelines and events for simalar characters. There ya go. Didn't need a Linear man to explain that one did ya?

[doctorcrime]

each interpretation should inspire one another, yet stand alone. this is why batman is one of the best characters. he is open to interpretation (i.e. the legendary "legends of the dark knight" episode of batman where kids explored different interpretations of batman from the 40's, frank miller and even joel shumacher.) it is the way that each interpretation plays off one another that keeps batman fresh after 60+ years.

[Batman's bride]

In this case, I don't really think that this should be too much of a concern. I'd hate for events in the comic books to impede the progress of the show in any way. Such was the case with the previous adaptions, the television show should have priority--no matter how cool the comic is.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

--Mrs. Wayne ;)

[Karkull]

I like continuity--I like it when all the episodes to fit into a larger tapestry--but it shouldn't impede the progress of the individual stories.

[Failure]

I agree with you TM, too many people are too busy trying to pick out the continuity incongruities than trying to enjoy the show or comic or whatever. I think people take it a little too seriously. The thing about make-believe is it's make believe. It's not going to be 100% perfect continuity-wise, otherwise it'd be real life. I do enjoy some continuity though. For example, I like it when characters learn from their experiences and use what they learned in the future. You dont want to have a bunch of similar episodes where they're doing the same things over and over. And I like it when writers acknowledge important past events. Basically, when they get the general scheme of things correct it's cool, I'm not too worried trivialities like the length of Batman's shoelaces in each episode.

[TerryMcGuiness]

Well yeah thats just it. Making past experiences matter is one thing, but all when fans are loosing their **** over something that was said to Superman in an issue of Starman that isn't acknowledged in the main title, then you get into the other disease that infected the superhero genre in the last 20 years.

The first being the obsession with grim n' gritty because for some reason people took DKR and Watchmen as the law of comics.

The other is Continuity Cops. This wretched sniveling lot is so concerend with being able to trace their finger in a straight line across some great time chart that stories be damned at the alter of it.

The truth is these people get off on *****ing about these things to the publishers or whatever as a way to prove their supposed intellectual superiority and thus validate their loathsome existance. In doing so, dragging down the genre with them.

Esepcially with so many different writers and artist ever working on the comics which themselves are ongoing, you have to say continuity is fluid. Anything else is an exercise in anal retentive stupidity.

The stories you liked, those happened. The ones you didn't, did not. What else are you going to do besdies cheat yourself out of some fun reading.

[Cosmocat]

Originally posted by Nightwing
Wholey tongue twisters Batman (and Superman and Flash and Green Lantern and so on...)! Boy, with all these gorgeous JL art works we've been treated to by DG's news, (and Lucho's imagination;)) I'm sure our anticipation for November has gently subsided.....or not!! Still psyched? Yeah me too. How bout another Fresh Question:

We've had a lot of complications in the past with comic/comic or comic/TV comparison as far as continuity, yet at the same time this gives our creators a chance to make new stories from different points of view. So you be the judge. Should the JL series and comic carry the same continuity??

I think it would be a fabulous idea, but it would demand that the writers for the show and the writers for the comic work together rather closely. I'm sure the writers and the rest of JL's creative team don't want to be reigned in any more than they have to be, and having to work closely with another pit of writers and artists, to me, would seem to be a bit limiting in terms of freedom. This is simply because there would be more heads and more ideas and more people pushing and pulling for other directions. I'm thinking the best thing would be to follow the pattern of the animated comics thus far and create a book that COULD or COULDN'T be inside of the show's continuity -- it's up for the readers to decide.

[Cosmocat]

Originally posted by TerryMcGuiness
Well yeah thats just it. Making past experiences matter is one thing, but all when fans are loosing their **** over something that was said to Superman in an issue of Starman that isn't acknowledged in the main title, then you get into the other disease that infected the superhero genre in the last 20 years.

The first being the obsession with grim n' gritty because for some reason people took DKR and Watchmen as the law of comics.

The other is Continuity Cops. This wretched sniveling lot is so concerend with being able to trace their finger in a straight line across some great time chart that stories be damned at the alter of it.

The truth is these people get off on *****ing about these things to the publishers or whatever as a way to prove their supposed intellectual superiority and thus validate their loathsome existance. In doing so, dragging down the genre with them.

Esepcially with so many different writers and artist ever working on the comics which themselves are ongoing, you have to say continuity is fluid. Anything else is an exercise in anal retentive stupidity.

The stories you liked, those happened. The ones you didn't, did not. What else are you going to do besdies cheat yourself out of some fun reading.

FUN reading? Sounds like you need to have some fun yourself, dude.