“It” being digital comics. To cut to the chase: DC, Marvel, hyperlink the daylights out of these things.

If I’m reading Batman RIP and Bruce is suddenly the Batman of Zur-en-Arrh, confusing the hell out of me because that guy last showed up three decades before I was born, why can’t I long-tap the panel and pull up his Pokédex entry? Include a bio, notable creators, and a list of other issues he’s appeared in, and here’s the kicker, link to them in the shop. Let me buy comics within my comics. By the time I finish reading that story, I’ve got another one lined up as part of a never-ending exploration of 70 years worth of books, all on a path set by me.

Take that infinite longbox you call a tablet and staple Wikipedia straight to it. Tag up every inch of the thing, characters, dialogue, items (where’d he get that robo-dinosaur?) Don’t be daunted be the thought of going through tens of thousands of back issues, your fans will take care of that for you. Crowdsource the thing, Wikipedia is proof that the community approach can come up with reliable material. And the hardcore comics fan is easily as nitpicky and obsessed with detail as wiki contributors. That’s…that’s kind of what they’re known for. Doubly so if you entice super taggers with subscriptions. Or t-shirts. We love shirts.

You’ve got decades of stories and characters, but people find them inaccessible. You can make them accessible without changing a thing about the stories themselves. People just need a path to follow when #1 comes after #900, a guide to where all these Batmen came from, and maybe a recommendation engine based on where other readers tend to go from what they’re reading right now. If you want to take someone that decides to check out the new Action Comics on their tablet in September and turn them into a fan for life, I can’t think of a better way.