Which properties have the most Canon?

[Shades of Eternity]

what properties have truly huge amounts of Canon to work with?

Is it DC, Marvel, Star Wars, Lotr, Forgotten Realms or something else?

first some thoughts.

1. Lord of the Rings would probably have truly ludicious canon if it were not for the following words: because Christopher Tolkien said no.
for example We know the names of the two blue Ainur (Maiar), but don't because Christopher Tolkien said no.

2. Star Wars would probably be if not at the top, then near it before Disney purchased it and made most of the material of the legend non-canon. Seriously for any other faults of the man, George Lucas was very nice for letting us play in the sandbox.

3. Forgotten Realms has arguably more maps, locations and npcs over 5 editions then any single property, and it while it keeps changing, previous editions are usually not made non-canon because of the sliding scale. Then you combine the novels which usually influenced the settings. Then you throw in the Dmsguild where other writers create canon writing, and it's kinda stupifying.

So what has the most canon and more importantly, what has the most useful canon?

 

[Professor Murder]

If we are talking volume, Comics. DC or Marvel. In a stomp. It's not even close.

 

[Umbran]

If we are talking volume, Comics. DC or Marvel. In a stomp. It's not even close.

50+ years of comics, month after month after month probably does add up.

 

[billd91]

Catholic Church.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Pirates of the Caribbean

Have you seen how many canons are on those ships???

 

[JEB]

If we are talking volume, Comics. DC or Marvel. In a stomp. It's not even close.

Agreed, though DC actually edges out Marvel by a few years: the first comic set in the DC Universe came out in 1935 (New Fun Comics #6, featuring Doctor Occult), while the first comic set in the Marvel Universe came out in 1939 (Marvel Comics #1, featuring the original Human Torch and Namor). (Technically Namor first appeared earlier in 1939, in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, but the comic was never published beyond some sample copies.)

 

[JEB]

There are two almost-contenders: Sherlock Holmes (first appearing in 1887) and the Cthulhu Mythos (first formal appearance in 1928, but including earlier stories). But neither are really a single canon, more like shorter-lived source material that gets professional-grade fanfic and media reinterpretations to this day.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Don't forget Star Trek and multiple movies, multiple TV series, multiple novels and comic books.

Doctor Who also has a ton of stuff outside the TV series.

 

[Davies]

Judge Dredd. 45 years of weekly comic strips, and no continuity reboots.

Note: Do not mistake respect for admiration.

 

[Ryujin]

Remember that when it comes to comics canon typically changes every 5-10 years, if not just from volume to volume. Sometimes canon is different between two titles, for the same character.