LogFAQs > #979292959

NightMareBunny posted...

The thing with marvel/dc is theres no definitive spot to start reading Ive realized unlike manga so anyone asking where to begin will get various different answers thats just how it is. Some people started reading spidey this way others read him that way.

Eh... I will disagree in DC's case, pre-Infinite Crisis. There have been periods in the 60s through early 90s when--especially with Batman--there were definitive starting points for iterations of characters, based on what era it was. At least one of those Batman eras even had a definitive ending where people are celebrating the end of a major thing that had happened, and Batman walks off into the shadows.

Likewise, there are major storylines in DC and Marvel alike with definitive starting points, some of them a middle, and some of those an ending. Many of these storylines used to be where the respective franchises shone most.

But yes, you are otherwise correct that anime, manga, and manhua tend to be based on those defined starting points from which you can pick up. The Touhou fanfic I've been writing even establishes multiple beginnings based on whether you want the full story (the dialogue-less prologue with Doremy) or to follow specific characters and their major arcs; each major arc carrying a shared title for the chapter. The eastern side of this medium tends to make it easier to know what you're getting into before you get into it, unlike western side where it feels like you need to research what era or iteration you're looking for, or which major story like "No Man's Land."