In our Axioms, we’ve already talked about the desire to create temporal continuity in order to have a narrative structure that supports the credibility of our stories. The “New 52” reboot of DC comic series gave rise to some interesting thoughts in the blogosphere.

Graeme McMillan had this to say: “I really like the idea of continuity—that ongoing, collective narrative that can inform storytelling […] that ongoing, collective historical narrative that can inform storytelling”  (“How Important is Continuity to You?  www.newsarama.com, June 21, 2012).

On the same topic, Anthony Falcone clarified that “He [Kurt Busiek] also pointed out that even though Marvel has not had an official relaunch they basically are on their fourth era of comic books. Indeed for anyone only familiar with 1960s Marvel Universe many of the characters would be unrecognizable compared to their decade-of-love counterparts.” He tends to believe that a consistent story cycle would last about 20 years. Beyond that, the stories lose a great deal of plausibility.