Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The other type of continuity

Along with cinema there is another medium that is obsessed with continuity: comics. The universes created by comic giants DC and Marvel have strictly enforced continuity so that super heroes like Superman can pop up in other characters plot arcs such as Batman and all actions fit within their own overarching stories.

The lengths that fans, writers, artists, and licence holders go to to maintain continuity within comic universes (along with the related Sci-Fi and fantasy universes such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who) is remarkable. The recent spate of Marvel movies including Iron Man, The Hulk, and next year's Thor have shown how universe continuity can be maintained in cinema and create innovative sequels/crossovers. Whether or not they work for the general public is yet to be seen. I personally love the Avengers super-hero team but is the world really ready for cinematic versions of AntMan or the Wasp?

I guess we'll find out over the next few years but for now lets enjoy a musical ribbing of the whole phenomenon.




1 comment:

Karen Pearlman said...

Hello Tim,
Karen Pearlman here, author of Cutting Rhythms, Shaping the Film Edit. Frank Pollick recently directed my attention to your blog, so I thought I'd have a look - really interesting work your doing! Re: Comics, have you seen "Understanding Comics" by Scott Mcleod? A fascinating read about how/why comics work with much that is applicable to editing!
best,
Karen