I'm reading as fast as I can

At what point does a reference to another story spoil a reader’s ability to appreciate that tale? I’m not sure if I’m going to come to any conclusions on the matter – I’ll present various viewpoints on the matter and see where that gets us.

I read an interview that Brad Meltzer did with Newsarama which is posted on his site. He had this to say on the matter:

“I can give anyone JSA - it's a great book and very enjoyable, but they're never going to get the enjoyment until they read the fifty years of back history and know all the players involved. It's just impossible.

I gave my wife Dark Knight, and she loved it, but when Miller wrote, "And Hal left for the stars," she didn't know who Hal was. The line was lost on her. It doesn't take anything away from the book, but on some level, that's going to be the limit of her enjoyment.”

I agree with this on some level, and it’s borne out by my own personal experience. I read Identity Crisis with a (now ex-)girlfriend. Adjectives used in the description of the security technology used in Sue and Ralph’s apartment include “Kryptonian” and “Thanagarian”. It did not spoil her enjoyment of the story that she didn’t know what these exactly meant. Also, she was intelligent enough to interpolate between Kryptonian and Thanagarian and conclude that the latter must also refer to an alien planet with advanced technology. Writers should not feel constrained in what they can use fearing that some readers will not understand it – comics is one medium where we should not pander to the lost common denominator. Isn't this depth one of the reasons we were drawn in all those years ago.

Meltzer and I part company as I do not think you need to have read every Batman story ever published to have a complete enjoyment of current issues – merely every Batman story since Crisis!

Backstory has often been cited as a barrier to entry in the comics world. Indeed, this was one of the big drivers for the creation of the Ultimate universe. Ironically of course, 6 years on this universe has its own continuity and cross-overs and mini-series dovetailing into the ongoing which are beginning to reduce the accessibility.

We’re not the only medium to have large volumes of backstory. In England we have programs to pacify the chimps which populate this beautiful land. They are called “soaps”. Some of these soaps have been running for 20 years, yet everyone I know who watches them (I know a lot of chimps!) has not been watching for anywhere near that long. In fact, they aren’t even too bothered about watching every episode.

Ultimately we’re in the hands of the writer, and their skill at story-telling, specifically crafting a story which dovetails in and out of other storylines without making readers feel like they have to read everything. But in a sales-driven world, I can’t blame them for trying to upsell one issue off the back of another – people are always trying to supersize your meal.