In the past several years, I’ve heard a discussion or argument come up from time to time. The topic of continuity in comics has become a hot button of sorts. Some want nothing to do with it, wanting only to read fun and exciting stories with their favorite characters. Others love to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry woven by the various plot threads that run through the comics of a given publisher.
The idea is this: Each story told in comics builds on those that came before it. As the roster of characters grew, those characters started to interact with each other. Crossover titles became popular, taking a story from one book and finishing it in another. Individually each of these connections are fun, but they quickly build a history, a continuity, of themselves. It’s not unheard of to read a comic in 2009 that refers back to something that was written back in 1979.
This brings me to the topic at hand. It’s been argued that there are no new reader friendly comics. That the continuity of comics is so thick, that no one can just jump in and enjoy a comic anymore. To put a fine point on my opinion let me say, “I don’t buy it.” I say nothing is so steeped in continuity that it can’t be enjoyed at all. Anything can be read, enjoyed and understood on some level. That’s not to say you’ll like everything you read, just that you shouldn’t be scared of the past to enjoy the present.
To be more specific, let me give you two examples. In 2004, I had been reading comics again for only a few years, mainly buying Amazing Spider-Man monthly. My only experience with Green Lantern was from the 70s and 80s Super Friends cartoons. I only knew Hal Jordan was no longer the Green Lantern in the DCU. When Green Lantern: Rebirth was published, I was going in cold.
Writer Geoff Johns knows how to tell a story that anyone can enjoy. He gives the new reader enough back story right when they need it, but not in a way to put off the seasoned veteran. At the end of Rebirth, I was not only excited for more GL, but more of the DC Universe itself. Eventually I found my way to Infinite Crisis, another Johns story.
In this were several characters and concepts I had no familiarity with. The Superman of Earth 2, Alexander Luthor and Superboy Prime embodied that. Instead of throwing the comic down I continued, and soon found myself enjoying the story being told. Not satisfied, I looked for the history of these characters. Knowing that Infinite Crisis tied in closely with the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, I turned there.
Now there was a dense read. I now knew who Alexander and the others were, but I also knew why Wally West and Jay Garrick could be seen together, and I finally found out what happened to Barry Allen. I had been reading the current Supergirl title, but until CoIE I didn’t know what happened to the original. Now new questions arose. 
Who was Ted Kord? Who was this girl with wings in the 31st Century (Dawnstar)? I loved every page of the original Crisis, and I understood the story being told, but there was so much more for me to discover. From that moment on, I was hooked into the DC Universe and I continue to read as much as possible. Today when I reread CoIE, I continue to recognize new people and get more and more out of it. That does not suggest I didn’t enjoy or understand it the first time, it just means there is always something new to discover.
Over the past several years I’ll tell that story when having the continuity discussion. In 2008, I went to my first comic convention, the 2008 New York Comic Con. Among the few panels I sat in on, one was the Sunday Conversation with Dan Didio. Early on in this panel, Mr. Didio told a quick story about a conversation he had with Geoff Johns about continuity. Listen here:
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That summed my feelings up perfectly. If we applied the “too much continuity” excuse to our real lives, then the Legion of Dudes or Too Old to Grow Up would never happen. I never would have met and become friends with Art, and I certainly never would have connected so well with the rest of the LoD. The same holds true for comics. Getting to know what came before is the best part of reading comics. Pick up a trade, an essential or an archive. Explore the history of the comics you love and see where it leads you.
As an aside, if you’re ever at a comic convention and one of the panels is the Sunday Conversation with Dan Didio. Do yourself a favor and go to it. If you’ve ever been in your local comic shop just talking comics, you’ll love Dan’s panel. You can hear the rest of the above clip here or listen to many other DC podcasts and panels right here.