I've Never Needed a "Jumping—on“ Point

[Cheimison]

The excuse made up for reboots and numbering gimmicks is often that new readers need a 'jumping on point'. First of all, they usually fail and it's just as incoherent and weird as before but now with a false start to make it even more confusing. Secondly, I've never needed any such thing. I almost feel like comic companies want people to think they need a jumping on point for current continuity to prevent them from just buying old comics that are probably better but don't pay the corporate parasite behind them.

Serial stories simply don't really have much meaningful continuity, other than in themes, and of you try to actually follow what continuity there is it becomes absurd (Joker escapes Arkham 3 times a year, Batman raised three child soldiers in five years, etc.).

If you understand the general idea of a character along with some general genre tropes you can just read a few issues and more or less know whats going on. And if you don't already have some familiarity with superhero, sci-fantasy and action movie tropes you're probably not the kind of person who wants to read these comics anyway.

I can easily pick up a fantasy series halfway through and puzzle out most of the characters and plots, even if I've never heard of it before. It's just genre awareness. I don't need a five hundred page back story or introduction to every single superhero because I already know what they are. It's not like your 500th version of Superman's origin story is really telling anyone something they needed to know to follow the comics. If you never read Birthright (or whatever) you could get by just fine reading a couple panels from a 1940 comic giving Clark's origin. The broad strokes are plenty, and the details never stick, anyway.

 

[ScottishRyzo]

this would have some more weight to it if even you hadnt stated here multiple times that you can only follow whats going on because of a general knowledge based upon previous jumping on points and their continuities from previous media installments

you're also working under the false assumption new readers already know they things you know

 

[Cheimison]

this would have some more weight to it if even you hadnt stated here multiple times that you can only follow whats going on because of a general knowledge based upon previous jumping on points and their continuities from previous media installments

you're also working under the false assumption new readers already know they things you know

I can read completely new superhero comics and follow exactly what's going on. Continuity isn't relevant, except when it comes into a particular story, and knowing general tropes about major genres is far more useful than trying to follow the incoherent mess that results if you even bother to try to connect it all up. And people who don't follow action movie and Sci fi tropes, never watched Aa Marvel movie, etc probably will never read superhero comics. And when I was a kid reading Superman comics from a random point of access I had no problem figuring out what was going on, though I might have missed certain specific references. Understanding comics isn't hard is you have any kind of fiction savvy. As for people who don't, well, I don't care.

 

[Jozaca]

But how are they going to follow sci fi or fantasy tropes is they never have had an access point to it? Obviously you also got an access point, it is just that you were so young that you don't remember it.

 

[Cheimison]

But how are they going to follow sci fi or fantasy tropes is they never have had an access point to it? Obviously you also got an access point, it is just that you were so young that you don't remember it.

Yeah you need to read to be literate. You don't need some access point. Just read. Honestly, I'm not actually interested in talking to anyone at all.