What I think this means is that, more and more, the future of comic books is in part dependent upon writers and artists being able to tell stories (single-issue or episodic) that aren't burdened, for want of a better word, by continuity.
Rather than write a story within the history of, say, Superman, now writers want to be able to write a story within the concept of Superman (and even that concept is up for re-interpretation).
The industry needs to refresh itself every so often. Now it may feel it needs to refresh itself on a more ongoing basis.
Just my $.02...
