#dyou get that i'm typically all about that canon

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

.

[starkcontrasts]

so, hi. I've got a bit of an annoying question that you totally don't have to answer if you don't want to, but,,, I know you're into dc right? at least into batman? or idk I saw your long post about dick grayson rn and I know you post about batman/batfam (?) sometimes?

point is, I've never gotten into dc, never read a comic in my life and I've vaguely watched some of the batman movies while they were on tv but didn't really pay attention, but lately (as in the past two or three years) I've seen here on Tumblr talking a lot about batman and the batfam and all of Batman's adopted kids and how great they're and the found family dynamics and shit and ?? I kinda want to check it out nyself?

basically my question is, as someone who's never read/watched basically anything dc, where should I start? or is there a certain canon I should focus on? or if you don't wanna answer (which is totally fine) dyou know of anyone who may've already talked about this? I'm sure a million people have I just ?? don't even know where to start looking??

honestly a fandom this big and this diverse and with this much different canon it's a bit overwhelming, when I got into star trek at least I knew to start chronologically but with this I don't even know

anyways, thanks for your help! ❤️

not an annoying question at all!! in fact a very welcome question indeed, i love introducing ppl to new fandoms and i rarely get asks (srsly i've only gotten three in the entire history of this blog lol) so it's a two-for-one, win-win deal!

now to answer your lovely query:

yes i do love batman and yes i am a fan of dc and yes i'd be happy to help you on this journey of embarking on a new fandom, should you decide to continue! I'm actually a relatively new-age fan in terms of fully immersing myself in the content, I grew up with Teen Titans and later Young Justice, both of which I attribute much of my beginnings as a dc/batfamily fan to. I watched the Justice League and Batman animated shows when I was younger but they didn't stick as much as the aforementioned two and I know it seems like I'm going off on a tangent but this is relevant to my helping you, I promise!

Much of the comic material I've consumed over the years has degraded in memory - I don't remember most of the issues now, just a few panels and impressions - so I can't help you on the comic-reading front but there should be various accounts here on tumblr that do really good analyses and are much better than me at giving panel-based evidence. (I can think of @hood-ex off the top of my head). Even just searching through the tags of say, the Titans or Batman or the JL or any characters you already have in mind, should turn up at least a handful of comic panels from different issues, if you just want to start by lightly browsing those.

As for certain canon to focus on, the DC fandom is pretty famous for forcing its fans to root through multitudes of conflicting material (so. Many. Reboots.) and authors that have contradicted each other's works over the years, so the only thing I can really tell you is to pick and choose for yourself which pieces of canon you decide feel right for you. I know it's not really all that helpful but I really do recommend just going for the deep-dive and figuring out how to swim from there. Suicidal I know, sounds crazy for sure, but this is a fandom with some serious years under its belt - and all the changing attitudes and cultures that implies - and an excess of material from varying sources.

Young Justice and Teen Titans are both good shows for getting a feel for the world(tho both depict versions just different enough to be distinct in their interpretations) but they mess with canon a fair amount as well, so don't take everything they depict to be same across the board. In this regard, fanfiction actually IS your friend! The more you read, the more you can cross-reference! Even with the bevy of material to choose from, people typically agree on a fair amount of character staples (examples include: Dick Grayson being a very affectionate child, Jason Todd being a literature nerd, Bruce being emotionally-intelligent just...not necessarily acting on it lol) and often times the staples are the ones backed up by the canons.

(I'm not ashamed to admit that much of what's remained in my fickle memory can be attributed to character-realistic, memorable, thought-provoking fanfiction. Fanfiction exists for exploration and, I've found, can at times offer a more grounded, humane take on well-beloved characters that authors being Paid to write sometimes miss out on. Just - always doublecheck the tags and, when reading from authors that are heavily-biased, do your best to widen your exposure to the more objective, as well.)

There's not much else I can think of off the top of my head but my askbox AND my messages are always open if you have any more questions. I'm always down to help a budding fan and, if you ever do want some fic recommendations, I'm down to share links for those too! Thank you again for the lovely ask♥️

(Also, I'm sorry if this didn't do much in terms of providing you with direction but, at the very least, I hope I didn't drive you away.)