10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Comic Books
5. That Continuity Is A Bad Thing
As the old adage goes, if you want to get into comics, prepare to navigate decades of convoluted continuity. The Marvel and DC universe have been going for so long, and have spawned so many stories and characters that, to approach them today, would be a grave mistake.
Except... it wouldn't be.
Nevermind the fact that both Marvel and DC have engaged with their own share of reboots, re-jigs and retcons, the fact that both companies possess expansive mythologies is actually a great thing. It's part of what makes them so unique, and though yes certain comics are more impenetrable than others (a writer once famously claimed like getting into the X-Men was like tuning into the latest episode of a long-running soap opera), discovering that history is partly what makes Marvel and DC so special.
Take DC Rebirth for instance. Although another reboot, it came in the wake of the New 52, a line-wide reset of DC's post-Crisis continuity. It proved to be a successful experiment, galvanising interest in the DC brand, but even the publisher acknowledged that it had lost something special. Rebirth thus strived to find the perfect balance in between, and the DCU hasn't looked this healthy in years.