Do you follow it all?

[Hurricane V1]

I mean I only buy so many comics, basically I choose Ultimate Spiderman, Nightwing and now Superman/Batman and I also buy any comics where characters crossover.

I must admit, I can't follow it all. I think there was like six superman titles, five batman titles, five Xmen and four Spiderman titles. It's nuts, Marvel seems easy enough to follow enough, there's the normal series and the Ultimates. I never understood the Crisis on Infinite Earths arc or it's significance in simplifying everything in DC.

I do read a lot of them without buying, I see the Venom and Spectacular Spiderman have similar artwork and both featured the Symbiote in a search for a perfect host. Are they the same continuity I wonder?

I also noticed Superman is battling futuresmiths and a future version of himself in one title and battling himself from the future in the second issue of Superman/Batman. Is that a coincidence?

Anyway, I'm not asking for explanations, I'm wondering how many comic fans follow and understand all of this.

[randomguy]

Generally speaking, I just read what interests me. Really good comics writing is usually enjoyable without having to know continuity too well... in other words, a good writer creates stories where you can sort of figure out what you need to know on your own.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is a good example. I knew diddlysquat about continuity when I first read it, so I didn't have a full understanding of about 75 percent of the story. But the atmosphere was so epic, and the characterization so good, that it really didn't matter. I think good stories are always that way- they transcend continuity, because you can relate to them on other levels.

It's true that it can be hard to follow all of the crap that goes on with the big characters, but it's not such a big problem once you realize how little things really change. A big part of the industry is always hyping up these megaton storylines, but in the end, these characters are largely static. As big a deal as the events in the five Superman titles seem right now, in five years, they probably won't amount to much. It's very rarely that these storylines really matter in the long run. Take No Man's Land, for instance: a couple of years later, Gotham is pretty much back to the way it was pre-Earthquake. Storylines with aftershocks that last for years and years are actually pretty few in number.

[Zombies8MDingo]

There was a time where I was a total Marvel nut and bought most of the titles and knew all of the alternate universes and read up on all the history of the characters and the company. Now I just catch the occasional trade edition, it just got too insane mid 90's.


As for DC, I've been reading the occasional fan site and it's just a mystery to me. I'll stick with the animated DC Universe.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

I keep my ears to the ground, but I think it takes far too much time and money and effort to keep track of absolutely EVERYTHING out there. There are truly frightening people who do, and a surprising number of them AREN'T the usual stereotypical raving fanboys. There used to be a bunch of them on the rec.arts.comics newsgroups. It's not hard to follow broad-stroke trends if you just read the solicitations every month, and Google and the Internet can fill in the rest if you're really interested.

I also don't think you actually need to spend that much time focusing on any one corporate owned character unless the stories are of immediate interest to you. Modern licensing needs ensure that nothing horribly drastic will happen to any of them, and story elements get forgotten or reset all the time. Does anybody reading any of the Superman or Batman titles now actually NEED to know that Superman died and Batman had his back broken 10 years ago?

-- Ed/Ace

[Clayface]

Like randomguy, I just read what interests me. Sadly (for my wallet), there's a ton of titles out there that interest me right now, and my monthly pull list is huge - I probably spend more money on comics each month than I do on all other forms of entertainment combined. About the only character I really follow closely is Batman - I read a majority of the mainstream titles as well as the animated title, though I skip most of the side-kick spin-off books and team books like JLA. And, like Ace does, I also tend to keep up with the big news and trends by reading through solicitations, and researching on the net anything that I want to know more about.

[Mynd Hed]

Well, I'm a pretty casual comics fan, just got into them last summer as a result of working in a bookstore (and having lots of time to kill sitting at a desk waiting for someone to have a question) in fact. So I only follow the Ultimate Marvel Universe in trade paperback form, because I actually CAN follow it all in that particular universe, at least so far. (-:

[Botman]

You know, this is the exact reason I can't get into comics. Because I wouldn't be able to follow everything. (Or should I say, I wouldn't be able to follow everything that happened before I started reading...)

Oh well...

[Hey_yu]

Yeah, the multi-verse can be hard to follow, but I think Marvel and DC have done a better job of making it somewhat easier to follow in that you don't need to collect everything out there like you used to and can still get a pretty good gist of what's going on. Thank goodness, cauze I don't make enough money that I can blow it on buying every single comic book from DC and Marvel that comes out, basically I pick out the titles that interest me, then the rest I google or search out for the rest of the info...

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,


You know, this is the exact reason I can't get into comics. Because I wouldn't be able to follow everything. (Or should I say, I wouldn't be able to follow everything that happened before I started reading...)
I mentioned this in the "Fondest Comic Book Memory thread," but I think it bears repeating. I got into comics seriously after reading Uncanny X-Men #166 and #175 within a few months of each other at the local Shop-Rite back in the early 80's. At that time, it was a team book with at least 8 or 9 regular characters; dozens, if not hundreds, of supporting cast members; multiple on-going plot threads, some of which had run for months or years; and about 15 years of backstory.

Still got into comics after reading them.

If past issues were really, truly a problem in figuring out what's going on, all the readers of Batman would be pushing 80 (or at least 30-40 if they started reading after the Crisis).

Try 'em. You'll like 'em! :) Sadly, the one exception I'd steer you clear from are the various X-Men comics other than the Ultimate title.

-- Ed/Ace

[wonderfly]

Howdy,


I mentioned this in the "Fondest Comic Book Memory thread," but I think it bears repeating. I got into comics seriously after reading Uncanny X-Men #166 and #175 within a few months of each other at the local Shop-Rite back in the early 80's. At that time, it was a team book with at least 8 or 9 regular characters; dozens, if not hundreds, of supporting cast members; multiple on-going plot threads, some of which had run for months or years; and about 15 years of backstory.

Still got into comics after reading them.

If past issues were really, truly a problem in figuring out what's going on, all the readers of Batman would be pushing 80 (or at least 30-40 if they started reading after the Crisis).

Try 'em. You'll like 'em! :) Sadly, the one exception I'd steer you clear from are the various X-Men comics other than the Ultimate title.

-- Ed/Ace

Huh. I find it funny that you use the Xmen comics as an example of what got you into comics, and then you sign off by telling him to ignore them. For shame! I got into Xmen in the early 90's, when they had much more continuity and chronology to shift through, trying to figure out just what's going on.

The X titles are going to be "Reloaded" in a couple of months...that new person may want to come back and give them a try then...of course, if you pick them up and after a few issues, figure you'll never be able to comprehend what's going on, then it's perfectly understandable if you still want to give up on those titles... :p

[Botman]

I appreciate the words of encouragement, but I am somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to these situations...

I don't take things lightly when I go into them, and I go out of my way to make sure I am fully informed of everything I get into beforehand.

One of, if not the only, comic I've ever read and "got into" was Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog. Back then, it didn't matter if I missed an issue, since I was younger and didn't care or understand much about plot.

Then for some reason or another that escapes my mind, I stopped reading it around the Death Egg saga. That is when the comic started getting more serious and plot heavy, right before the turning point in the series.

Years later, when I was felling nostalgic, I found out (from what little I heard) that after the ultra-important "End Game" arc, around 10-20 new characters had been introduced/killed off, and the plot resembled nothing from the old issues.

Being who I am, the only way I could possibly get back into it is to read every issue, starting from the exact place where I left off. Which at this point, is an impossibility.

And it is not just limited to comics, either...

Video games for instance...

The King of Fighters is a (relatively) plot heavy fighting game series...
Now for fighting games, people usually don't care about plot, and just want to watch people beating each other up... Not me...

I spent at least 2 weeks researching multiple character bios, and plot guides before I even started playing the games... (And obviously, when I did start, it was from the first game in the series, going chronologically from there, not skipping anything.)

Some games, like Guilty Gear, never released the entire series in America, leaving gaping holes in the plot, thus rendering me unable to play the series at all.

So basically, this perfectionism of mine, along with my immense fear of premature spoilers, makes the beyond-complex plotlines of the DC/Marvel universes now, and forever, well beyond my grasp...

(Sorry for the long post/rant...)

[MizMad]

I have to agree with most of the people here.

I try to follow my favorite comics, but it isn't easy when they are so many. That's why I feel I'm lucky that the libraries here in Reykjavik are very diligent in buying new comics. Also buying the comics that you want to try out but you aren't really sure about (there are a few of those around ;-)

But on the other hand, I liked the "Bruce Wayne:Fugitive" storyline so much, I bought all 4 books. Also both the "Hush" HB, even though they cost about $20 each. And then there is the Bendis-Maleev Daredevil storyline...which rocks! I have about 4 books of that.

I have my baby brother to thank (or more like, to blame) for my intrest in comics. It drives him nuts that I have almost as many comics as he does. :)

[Zebi]

I don't attempt to follow all of it. At the moment, I'm reading Ultimate Spider-Man by picking up the trade paperbacks to catch on back issues. Other than that, I've been buying issues, past and present, that are stories involving Dr. Octopus. Perhaps I'll become interested in other series, but for the moment, these are where my interests lie.