>>149219533
It's all about tone
When you watch a comedy or a sitcom you don't expect a giant continuity and plot progression because it's very lighthearted in tone.
When you watch Spongebob, you don't expect that Plankton is ever going to get the Krabby Patty Formula, or that Spongebob is going to get his license, and if he does, you don't blink for a second when suddenly in the next episode the universe is reset.
You don't start Spongebob at episode 1, nor do you have to watch any other episode to get the gist.


HOWEVER none of this applies to comics.
Comics DO have continuity
Comics DO have serious stories
Comics DO have a serious tone

Yes yes for a while in the early 70's it was all fun and games, but it hasn't been like that for a very long time and nobody wants it to be like that. That kind of tone doesn't sell for Marvel and DC, those kinds of stories are shit and boring, people want continuity, serious stories, plot progression.
And along with that comes the importance of beginnings and endings.
You may be able to pick up Spongebob on a random episode 5 seasons deep, but you cannot pick up Breaking Bad on a random episode 5 seasons deep. You must start with number 1

And no, nobody is going to tolerate 'not knowing' what they're reading. If they see a character they don't know who hasn't been introduced, they're going to stop reading, because that is fucking retarded.