Lew Stringer wrote:True. Thing is though DC have rewritten the histories of their characters several times already without so much fuss. (Superman in particular.) It's become accepted that the backstories need some tweaks to refresh and update them for each generation. I don't see this as being much different to that really. As I understand it, even the new continuity will be explained in Flashpoint No.5, which comes out a week before the new launch begins. If that comic bridges the gap between old and new continuity then it might placate readers somewhat as, effectively, the new continuity will be a continuation of the old.
I don't pretend to understand how repeatedly going back to the beginning, or starting again, to put it another way, can possibly be a continuation of any description unless it is some sort of infinitely-repeating circularity with changes, and development out of those changes built into it. I am somewhat hampered in this area though, as you well know Lew, because I don't recall having read any American comics since I was at primary school. I do, however, know something about one previous
updating. I was having a couple of jars with a friend of mine, who I'd originally met as a teaching colleague, and who knew I collected comics/story papers, and he asked me if I was interested in buying his American comic collection as he had become very disillusioned over some sort of restructuring of the DC universe. I've just dug out the list of numbers and dates, which suggests that I bought this collection in April 1987. The reason I think this is that in January, February and March of that year DC seem to have produced issues 424, 425 and 426 of
Superman, but at the same time they also issued numbers 1, 2 and 3 of what may well have been that new beginning. You will know better than I because I'm just guessing, but those are the last issues my friend bought. There are several hundred comics in the collection, the earliest of which is issue 136 of
Superman from 1960, but the bulk of them are from 1971 onwards, and include
Action Comics,
Superboy,
Jimmy Olsen,
Superman Family,
Lois Lane,
Supergirl,
DC Comics Presents,
Adventure Comics,
World's Finest and some
Mini-Series. There are also some
Special Issues like
100-page Giants, Batman's 500th appearance in
Detective Comics 526 from May 1983, Supergirl's death in
Crisis On Infinite Earths etc. I have a cupboard full of these, perhaps I should get them out and read them!!