When the great Keith Giffen was teaching me to write comics, he always said “continuity, not canon”. Canon was a trap that limited stories. The Martian Manhunter should always feel like the Martian Manhunter ( his example), should always love Chocos, but individual stories were a playground. - ThreadSky

johnrogers.bsky.social • 22 days ago

When the great Keith Giffen was teaching me to write comics, he always said “continuity, not canon”. Canon was a trap that limited stories. The Martian Manhunter should always feel like the Martian Manhunter ( his example), should always love Chocos, but individual stories were a playground.

Reposted from Zac Thompson

Canon (like continuity) should be a guard rail & nothing more. The best idea wins.

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kellytindall.bsky.social•22 days ago

Bruce Timm once said, "Continuity is the stories you like."

davidnett.bsky.social•22 days ago

Keith Giffen's classic run on Legion of Superheroes cemented me as a comic book fan forever. I was in 8th grade and belonged to a LSH fan zine. My Lightning Lad/Lass and Chamelon Boy drawings made the cover two issues in a row!

johnrogers.bsky.social•22 days ago

That attitude applies to MY OWN WORK too, btw. The canonization of … canon is boring.

cacuqhta.bsky.social•22 days ago

I’ve always had the conviction that canon is just but one perspective when an object in motion over time has many perspectives. That realization that all perspectives can be true while being contradictory can be a lot of fun for a audience primed to know the narrator is reliably unreliable 📖✍️

tsluikart.bsky.social•22 days ago

While I agree - in a number of IPs I've worked on RPG-wise - folks really don't want to break canon. Walk right up to it, interact a bit, play in the margins - but they don't want to 'break' what they perceive as sacrosanct.

Frustrating at times, but also kinda a fun challenge.

johnrogers.bsky.social•22 days ago

i think there’s a difference in professionals working within the IP space and fans. Fans should 100% seize power and control from the author. What the hell’s the point otherwise?

johnrogers.bsky.social•22 days ago

The proper attitude of any fan toward what I may or may not consider canon is that “that’s lovely but I don’t care.”

rivetgeek.aggregatecognizance.com•22 days ago

The official stance from Rowan Rook and Decard regarding the Heart and Spire RPGs is there is no canon. I think it's a good philosophy.

gamerstavernshow.com•22 days ago

I grew up a Star Trek fan. So I was trained to come up with handwaves and headcanons to explain away things. I was also trained to toss them out the window the moment a new episode contradicts them. I never got mad, just went "Oops, I was wrong". Same with canon changes. I mean...klingons.

tsluikart.bsky.social•22 days ago

That Klingon head-ridge re-explanation was some epic retconning. 🤗

tsluikart.bsky.social•22 days ago

Oh for sure, wield that lightsaber against that Nazgul! For the Shire!

zaratustra.bsky.social•22 days ago

canon is how fans are pulled through years of mediocre stories

uncleshouty.bsky.social•22 days ago

I think Games Workshop's approach is my favorite - "everything is canon; not everything is true"

typistinneon.bsky.social•22 days ago

I don't like that the comics "Doomsday Clock" exists, but I respect the attitude that went into it.

Geoff Johns: "People kept telling me I couldn't do a sequel to Watchmen that was also canon to the DCU of the time, and my response was 'says who?' "

spinsterism.bsky.social•22 days ago

Canon exists to be fucked with. If your fanbase can't (doesn't want to) play with the toys you made then your creation has failed.

davidhsiegel.bsky.social•22 days ago

Let the fans figure it out is a good move. It gives them something to do, and the act of filling in the blanks or "fixing problems" makes them invested. The No-Prize was one of the greatest customer-retention schemes ever invented.

geonncannon.bsky.social•22 days ago

When I was writing my two Stargate novels, the rule was the book had to start and end canon compliant so it could slot into the series. Everything in the middle was hazier with what we could say/do.

johnrogers.bsky.social•22 days ago

One of the reasons I never wrote a series at DC or Marvel after BLUE BEETLE, and I had offers, was the knowledge that I was basically shuffling around the exhibits in the museum.

geonncannon.bsky.social•22 days ago

They gave me a lot of leeway with certain smaller characters. I was allowed to bring back a villain, reveal she was gay (the first LGBT character in the franchise crazily), and give her a redemption arc. It felt good to give her closure.

bocckob.bsky.social•22 days ago

I dunno, there are lots of story arcs or events I'd rather were never referenced again, but at the same time I never like it when DC reboots their whole universe because then it's like, why am I getting invested in these characters if they aren't? I get attached to the people they grow into.

bocckob.bsky.social•22 days ago

Peter David's X-Factor run when they had a detective agency is one of my favorites ever, even if it got kinda crazy with the magical dog god baby stuff later.

But then other writers pick up the characters like none of it ever happened, so I end up resenting it a bit even if their stuff is good too.

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