I’ve always loved the classic Silver Age Imaginary Stories from DC Comics. Unlike the wild premises that were touted as "Not an imaginary story! Not a dream! Not a trick!" that almost always led to a bizarrely convoluted explanation for the sensationalist cover, Imaginary Stories made no excuses. They were not a part of continuity, had nothing to do with the “reality” of the characters and were there simply to have some fun.
What if Bruce Wayne had also been adopted by the Kents? (World's Finest #172) What if Lois Lane and Superman got married? (Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #19) How can Wonder Woman appear at the same time as a child, a teen, and an adult? (Wonder Woman #124) The list goes on and on.
It was a wonderful device, those Impossible Tales. It freed the writers from the confines of continuity and character and let them explore places only their imaginations could visit. There were so many questions that could not be answered in the usual way. They couldn't marry Lois to Superman in the Silver Age or they would have lost a core source of stories (especially for Lois' own title) and would make Superman appear to be fallible if his enemies didn't kill Lois (that was his usual dodge and since Superman can't be wrong and Lois can't be killed off, marriage is therefore impossible).
The Impossible Tales in the Wonder Woman books, where she appeared with herself as a teenager (Wonder Girl) and as a child (Wonder Tot) with her mother (Wonder Queen) were a staple of Silver Age entertainment. There was more than one explanation of how it was done (through overlayed film projection, Amazon science, and so on) but the result was always a story that fit firmly under the Imaginary Tales umbrella. They didn't call them this, because they were trying to figure out an actual explanation at first. Eventually, they gave up trying and just wrote more stories. Whether called Impossible Tales or Imaginary Stories, the results were stories that existed outside of the comic book reality already set forth.
The Impossible Tales also had the unexpected outcome of creating a new character. Wonder Girl was merely Wonder Woman as a teen in those many adventures. Through a misunderstanding, the creators of the Teen Titans thought she was Wonder Woman's sidekick and therefore put the character on their team. Big oops. How could Wonder Woman have adventures simultaneously as an adult and a teen? Although the editors tried to ignore the problem, the fans weren't so forgiving. Eventually, they dubbed Wonder Girl "Donna Troy" (up to that point she had only been referred to as Wonder Girl) and a new Wonder Girl was born (Teen Titans #23).
Without Imaginary Stories, a number of classic tales would never have been told. I loved them when I was a kid because I knew that I was going to get something I'd only dared to ponder. The covers were intriguing, the stories often filled with pathos, and the conclusion – with a customary nod to their not having really happened – would often leave me wanting more.
As many have said, "All comic books are imaginary stories." True, but those marked as such had a way of soaring beyond the ordinary in their quest to take us to new and strange ways of thinking about the characters who were so familiar to us. That's what made them so fun!
A former writer for DC Comics and TV’s Weird Science, Joanna Sandsmark is also the author of The Wisdom of Yo Meow Ma, A Girl’s Best Friend, 10 Spiritual Lessons You Can Learn From Your Cat, 10 Spiritual Lessons You Can Learn From Your Dog, and Explore Your Destiny With Runes. If you'd like to learn more, including a detailed bio and more information about Joanna's books please visit her Web site or visit her blog.
This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in this piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.
