How do you handle editions in comic books?
Sometimes, you want to change something in a comic book, because there's a plot hole, so you release a second edition of an issue or chapter, how should you do this? Is there a standard way of doing it, or it's never done for some obvious reason? Unlike a book, people buy a single issue, and fixing a plothole might make the story inconsistent in people's head.
The frame challenge is that you have better tools at hand.
Enters the
Reframing past events to serve a current plot need. The ideal retcon clarifies a question alluded to without adding excessive new questions. In its most basic form, this is any plot point that was not intended from the beginning. The most preferred use is where it contradicts nothing, even though it was changed later on.
[source: Tvtropes]
With a retcon you can at the same time add more pages to your story and fix your plot-holes and (if you do it smartly) look like you planned all of it from the very beginning, thus impressing the less nit-picky among your readers.
Retcons are used also in other artistic fields. Musicians that make some mistake during live performances, e.g. skipping several bars during a classical concert, or ending up on a different key than the intended one, do not stop and re-play from the beginning. They continue without any interruption, improvising if they need, and connect back to the main piece. This is what is expected from the highest trained musicians. Halting and re-playing is for nursery recitals at best.
Then pretend it was a dream sequence. Or your character daydreaming. Or just a what if... sequence. Then, interrupt the story, and (retcon) show what the reality is like.
If you really dare challenge your readers, you can even refer to it later in the story as your characters continue thinking about it and the possibilities it would have opened.
Stick to your story, add retcons, continue linearly and never admit to a retcon unless it becomes obvious. Attempting to re-do what you did causes only more confusion and makes you look like an unprepared amateur.
