History ShownTheirWork / ComicBooks

* Many Franchise/{{Batman}} stories written by Doug Moench, especially from the ''Batman'' flagship title, take unexpected sidesteps from the actual plot to allow for lengthy monologues or discussions of scientific, religious or philosophical nature. Unsurprisingly, even the discussions between two characters come across like the writer talking down to the audience.

* ''ComicBook/BlakeAndMortimer'' : Edgar P. Jacobs did a lot of research on the setting of each of the franchise's album :

*** Nicholas Fury describes his organization as England's "shield", a reference to his "S.H.I.E.L.D." organization in the regular comics. However, he also mentions that [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parquagh's]] parents used to work for him.

* Creator/JonathanHickman is a master of this trope, as best demonstrated by ''ComicBook/TheManhattanProjects''. The comic is a ridiculously over-the-top BlackComedy that takes AlternateHistory to it's most ludicrous extremes and portrays major historical figures as cartoonish supervillains out to TakeOverTheWorld... but at the same time, it features a downright ''insane'' amount of [[HistoricalInJoke nods to real history]] that show off the intense research Hickman did. Many of the more absurd plot points and jokes are actually [[AluminumChristmasTrees references to/parodies of real events]]; Harry Daghlian gets [[RadiationInducedSuperpowers radioactive superpowers]] (from the same accident that ''killed him'' in real life), [[UsefulNotes/FermiParadox Enrico Fermi]] is an alien in disguise, UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson is a psychotic {{Cowboy}} (because he was born in Texas), and so on.

* Creator/JonathanHickman is a master of this trope, as best demonstrated by ''ComicBook/TheManhattanProjects''. The comic is a ridiculously over-the-top BlackComedy that takes AlternateHistory to it's most ludicrous extremes and portrays major historical figures as cartoonish supervillains out to TakeOverTheWorld... but at the same time, it features a downright ''insane'' amount of [[HistoricalInJoke nods to real history]] that show off the intense research Hickman did. Many of the more absurd plot points and jokes are actually [[AluminumChristmasTrees references to/parodies of real events]]; Harry Daghlian gets [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive superpowers]] (from the same accident that ''killed him'' in real life), [[UsefulNotes/FermiParadox Enrico Fermi]] is an alien in disguise, UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson is a psychotic {{Cowboy}} (because he was born in Texas), and so on.

** "S.O.S. Meteors : Mortimer in Paris", set [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in Paris]] and its suburbs, [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerates this trope]] [[UpToEleven to ridiculous degrees]]. So much ''[[http://www.sosmeteores.net/ an entire website]]'' was created about the places depicted in the story. {{Justified|Trope}}: Jacobs made several trips to Paris.

* The creators of Comicbook/{{Asterix}} will frequently fudge dates for the sake of a story, or engage in blatant AnachronismStew for the sake of a gag, but they also frequently demonstrate that they ''do'' know a lot about Gaulish and Roman culture and history. For example, the horoscopes in ''Asterix and the Missing Scroll'' use authentic Celtic tree astrology.

** In the collected edition of ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'', Rosa notes out that he found specific points in time where certain historical figures would be in the same place. He also mentions when he has to "bend" the facts at certain points to make a better story, but it's fairly rare.

* Just about every [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' story is solved using a random law of physics, expressed by Barry Allen (a forensic scientist) as a "Flash Fact". Wally West, thankfully, remembers the lessons from his days as Kid Flash, though now he has the Speed Force to help him with all the [[RequiredSecondaryPowers stuff that can't be done by physics]].

* ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'' often has tidbits about this or that, mostly about spider biology.

** ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has annotations online that include paragraphs of text explaining single panels.
* Comicbook/AtomicRobo has an excellent basis in real world history and science. Brian and Scott often gush about the research they've done, and are the first to point out when they apply ArtisticLicense.

* Before writing the ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' comic, Ian Flynn heavily researched the series, and it shows. [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Chest,_Plum_and_Ripot Chest, Plum, and Ripot]] from the obscure MascotRacer ''Battle & Chase'' appear in the first issue reporting on Light's new robots, that issue's ''Short Circuits'' has a MythologyGag to both the [[WesternAnimation/MegaMan cartoon]] and the hilariously bad American box art of the first game, and Fire Man retains his Southern accent from ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp''.

*** The train stations alone deserve a mention. Mortimer gets out of a taxi at the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/invalides.htm Invalides train station]], joins Ernest Brisson at the Versailles-Rive-Gauche train station (nowadays [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/versailles-rg.htm Versailles-Château Rive Gauche]]), Blake arrives at the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/garedejouy.htm Jouy-en-Josas train station]], Mortimer and the mailman Louis passes through the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/petit-jouy.htm Petit-Jouy - Les Loges train station]], Blake, pursued by [[OverarchingVillain Olrik]]'s [[TheDragon minion]], passes through the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/ignygare.htm Igny]], [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/massy-palaiseau.htm Massy-Palaiseau]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cité_Universitaire_(Paris_RER) Cité Universitaire]] and [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/portroyal.htm Port-Royal]] train stations and Olrik's minion stops at the Luxembourg train station.

** ''Jenus'' remembers that [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm God defies description]], and has fun with it, with his first appearance having him as a giant that somehow stands behind a human-sized desk and, [[LampshadeHanging upon being asked how he's doing it]], explains just that but [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith can appear in more easily tolerated forms]], such as a daisy in a vase or Music/RonnieJamesDio.
*** The same comic also loves to remind that [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus had a wicked sense of humor]] and could muster quite a temper. In particular, during his First Coming he was prone to torment Judas with pranks and jokes (as he ''needed'' him to genuinely hate him).
*** Pilate, true to historical character, didn't care one way or the other for people of Judaea as long as they didn't interrupt his pleasures. [[spoiler:After Judas is killed early by outside interference Jesus recruits him to proceed with the Passion and the Crucifiction by turning his wine into water and threatening to do the same with ''all'' his wine, also implying he'd give him a lot of quality wine if he instead helps]].

** "S.O.S. Meteors : Mortimer in Paris", set [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in Paris]] and its suburbs, [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerates this trope]] [[UpToEleven to ridiculous degrees]]. So much ''[[http://www.sosmeteores.net/ an entire website]]'' was created about the places depicted in the story. {{Justified}} : Jacobs made several trips to Paris.

*** The train stations alone deserve a mention. Mortimer gets out of a taxi at the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/invalides.htm Invalides train station]], joins Ernest Brisson at the Versailles-Rive-Gauche train station (nowadays [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/versailles-rg.htm Versailles-Château Rive Gauche]]), Blake arrives at the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/garedejouy.htm Jouy-en-Josas train station]], Mortimer and the mailman Louis passes through the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/petit-jouy.htm Petit-Jouy - Les Loges train station]], Blake, pursued by [[OverarchingVillain Olrik]]'s [[TheDragon minion]], passes through the [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/ignygare.htm Igny]], [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/massy-palaiseau.htm Massy-Palaiseau]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9_Universitaire_(Paris_RER) Cité Universitaire]] and [[http://emmanuelmailly.free.fr/portroyal.htm Port-Royal]] train stations and Olrik's minion stops at the Luxembourg train station.

** "[[Recap/TheYellowM The Yellow "M"]]" : Jacobs personally went to London in 1952 and took many pictures there he later on used to depict London as realistically in possible. While he didn't went to all the places depicted in the story, he still tried to be realistic about these places, with Limehouse Dock's depiction being based on a Country Life photography. Jacobs went so far in his research he inadvertently saved one of his readers' life : the reader, a Canadian tourist in London, had inadvertently poisoned himself and survived because he remembered England's emergency number because a Daily Mail employee used it to contact the police in "The Yellow "M"".

** It also showed up in his ComicBook/WonderWoman stories. The Hiketeia ritual in his titular ''[[ComicBook/TheHiketeia Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia]]'', is an actual, if obscure, custom from Ancient Greek mythology. Bruce and Diana are referring to an actual event ''Literature/TheIliad'' when Bruce brings up Lykaon prostrating themselves before Achilles.

* Before writing the ''ComicBook/MegaMan'' comic, Ian Flynn heavily researched the series, and it shows. [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Chest,_Plum_and_Ripot Chest, Plum, and Ripot]] from the obscure MascotRacer ''Battle & Chase'' appear in the first issue reporting on Light's new robots, that issue's ''Short Circuits'' has a MythologyGag to both the [[WesternAnimation/MegaMan cartoon]] and the hilariously bad American box art of the first game, and Fire Man retains his Southern accent from ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp''.