Last Imaginary Story

[Strange Visitor]

Superman v1 #300 (June 1976), the Superman 2001 story is not denoted as an 'Imaginary Story' even though it clearly is not in continuity. It is clear that if the story have been written seven years ago it likely would have had the 'Imaginary Story' denote but with an Infinity of Earths why bother?

I think I would call this story an "alternate past" story, rather than an Imaginary Story, because it doesn't use current continuity as a starting point. An Imaginary Story by my definition is one which "may or may not happen" in current continuity.

[Strange Visitor]

AFAICFO the last 'Imaginary Story' before "What Happened to the Man of Tommorow' actually noted as such was Superman V1 #230 (1970) where Luthor is Superman and Clark Kent is a gangster.

Sounds like this is an alternate history story as I would define it. It was explicitly labeled as an Imaginary Story? Any others in this category?

[nightwing]

Your labeling system is more stringent than DC's own.  A number of tales billed as "Imaginary Stories" were what you have deemed "alternate histories."  Off the top of my head, I know there was a World's Finest where, after the Waynes' murder, Bruce was adopted and raised by the Kents as Clark's brother.  And there was a story where Clark lost his powers as a youngster but grew up to be Batman, while Luthor acquired powers in his lab and became Superman.  If memory serves, both -- and many like them -- were billed as "Imaginary Stories."

Marvel's "What If" was in the same vein...some re-wrote a hero's history from square one (What If the radioactive spider had bitten Flash Thompson?) while others picked some key point in continuity as a starting point (what if the Avengers lost the Kree-Skrull War?).  But the idea, like DC's Imaginary Stories, was the same; every life has turning points. Let's see what would have happened if they picked Door #2!

[Strange Visitor]

Your labeling system is more stringent than DC's own.  A number of tales billed as "Imaginary Stories" were what you have deemed "alternate histories."

Actually, I'm interested in coming up with a typology of stories as much as examining the issue of labeling usage. Here are some of the questions I have:

• What different story types can be distinguish?
• When were different story types first/last used?
• Did any types of "Imaginary Stories" appear before the label was introduced?
• Which types of  'Imaginary Stories" continued to appear after the label was dropped?

Here's my start on story types:

• "Normal" stories would be ones which are set in the present and "really" happen.
• "Untold" stories would be ones set in the "real" past which "really" happened.
• "Alternate past" stories would be ones which involve departures from the "real" past.
• "Possible future" stories would be ones which "may or may not happen" in the "real" future.
• "Framing" stories would be normal stories which include non-normal stories using some framing device (e.g. dream, computer simulation, etc.)

Others?

[Maximara]

SUPERMAN 417 (1985): "Superman, warrior of Mars!" by Maggin and Swan.
I have this issue: great story.
If you want to read it, you can find it on this site  section "Read comics online"!

Oh I have read it but as with Superman 2001 it does not specifically call itself an 'Imaginary Story'  though it does state the events are 'imaginary' but this is right after it also states "But aren't all histories only as real as we think they are?" This is IMHO akin to saying the events on Earth-3 are imaginary from the standpoint of Earth-1 because they did not occur on Earth-1  :shock:

This is the biggest problem when you have an infinate number of earths; somewhere out there every imaginary  'Imaginary Story' actually happened.

[Strange Visitor]

This is the biggest problem when you have an infinate number of earths; somewhere out there every imaginary  'Imaginary Story' actually happened.

I thought that was the beauty of the infinite multiple universe paradigm: any story you come up with can be a "real" story. This allows great freedom for the imagination.

[Strange Visitor]

More story types:

• "Future visit" story - involves time-travel to the future
• "Future visitor" story - involves time-traveller from the future
• "Past visit" story - involves time-travel to the past (can't change history)
• "Past visitor" story - involves time-traveller from the past
• "Alterverse visit" story - involves travel to an alternate universe
• "Alterverse visitor" story - involves visitor from an alternate universe

[Super Monkey]

Here is the 1st one ever:

http://superman.nu/tales3/cartoonhero/1.gif