Tried organizing my collection by character vs. by publisher and the difference is huge

4 comments

4 Comments

My Batman shelf used to be split between DC and Vertigo titles. Now all his books are together, from Year One to The Killing Joke. It just feels right to see the whole character arc in one place, even if the publishers are different. You lose that neat corporate order, but you gain a much better story flow.

kevinallen2mo ago

Consider putting Dark Knight Returns at the very end as a finale. It works as a powerful closing chapter for the whole collection, even if it's not main continuity. That final shot of him in the cave just hits different when it's the last thing on the shelf.

skyler_patel2mo ago

Honestly that makes so much sense. But how do you actually decide the order? Like, do you go purely by story timeline even if it means mixing up art styles and writers from totally different eras? I'd get stuck on whether to put Dark Knight Returns at the end as a possible future or keep it separate. Tbh the corporate split feels easier sometimes even if it's wrong for the story.

sanchez.ivan7d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on that a little. Mixing art styles and writers from different eras can actually be jarring, not smooth. For me, sticking to the corporate split keeps the vibe consistent, you know? Like I get what @kevinallen is saying about Dark Knight Returns as a finale, but then you're forcing a non-canon story to be the capstone of a main canon shelf, and that feels off to me.