Most non-comic book fans cannot wrap around their brains that continuity is very important to comic book fans. Why is it so important? Why do comic book fans put up a fight if their continuity is changed in their favorite comic books?
Last year when everyone started to hear news about the New 52 a lot of comic book fans were uncertain what this meant about the continuity for their comics. Some fans got really upset and some were optimistic. The New 52 meant that some of the comics that we spent years reading were going to be erased forever. All in all most characters didn’t change that drastically that most fans accepted the New 52. It was a great opportunity for new readers to start reading comics. Though there were some characters that were changed that it erased all of their past to start a new slate.
With the continuity change some characters were erased from existence. It is not known if some beloved characters like Stephanie Brown, Wally West, and Donna Troy ever existed. Fans of these characters get upset because they feel like they wasted their money and time on characters they love when only a couple of years later they wouldn’t even matter.
Personally I have been enjoying the New 52 and with the New 52 I have had a chance to try out a lot of new series that I probably would of never checked out other wise. Because of the New 52 Dick Grayson became one of my favorite superheroes. Even though I enjoy the New 52 for the most part I still have some continuity problems.
One of my favorite comic book series before the New 52 was Teen Titans. So, I was pretty excited to see what twist they were going to bring to these characters with the New 52. I read the first issue with excitement, but when I finished reading I realized that I didn’t recognize my favorite superhero team. They had changed some of my favorite characters so much that they weren’t my favorite characters anymore. Tim Drake was never Robin, Superboy just found out he was a clone, and Wondergirl is not the daughter of Zues instead she is a thief. Three of my favorite characters never had the experiences that shaped them into the great characters they use to be.
Now I hope you guys see why comic book fans love continuity. We like to see that the stories we read 20, 10, 5, or just a year ago matter for future story lines.
