{{Celebrity Paradox}}es in webcomics.
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* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' is about roleplayers playing a tabletop RPG following the basic plot of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies, but the notes on strip 50 have specifically stated that there is no ''Franchise/StarWars'' in the universe where they are. They then [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0050.html extrapolate]] on how that would impact things such as Mark Hamill's and Harrison Ford's careers, ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', the fate of sci-fi in media, and finally what the webcomic ''Darths & Droids'' would be parodying instead of ''Star Wars'': ''Film/HarryPotter''.
** On top of that, that very sentence links to a sample page from that alternate universe ''Film/HarryPotter'' strip, which includes a full site layout, cast page, FAQ, and a (non-explorable) archive complete with 50 strips of punny stip titles. Then, when the main strip # 100 was released, this page was silently edited with the same extrapolation on a world where ''Film/HarryPotter'' never existed, complete with a link to a ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' comic with the same bells and whistles. The process repeats every 50 strips, going through ''Film/XMen1'', ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', ''Film/ThreeHundred'', ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'', ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'', ''Film/{{Inception}}'' [[RecursiveReality (appropriately enough)]], ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' (despite - [[http://darthsanddroids.net/hypnotoads/0050.html or]] [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/draakslair/viewtopic.php?t=6842&highlight=we%20see%20nothing%20that%20needs%20editing probably]] ''[[RuleOfFunny because]]'' - one of the lines being "* is known (barely) for doing voiceovers for poorly selling computer games, but gains widespread fame after his appearance in the first ''Futurama'' movie."), ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'', ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'', ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'', ''Film/JurassicPark'', ''Film/BridgetJonesDiary'', nature documentaries, ''Film/{{Vacation}}'', '''Film/ETTheExtraterrestrial'', ''Film/Apollo13'', ''VideoGame/PacMan'', and ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' ([[https://www.darthsanddroids.net/drivers/0050.html the last update]], after which they stopped adding layers).
*** On the other hand, once you get deep enough into the recursion, the outer layers occasionally start reappearing. After all, there's no reason why ''Star Wars'' couldn't exist in a world where the characters are playing a home-brew RPG based on ''300''. In fact in the [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/barnacles/0050.html world]] where the Comic Irregulars are making a screencap comic based on ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', it is stated that Creator/KeiraKnightley is known primarily for her role in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
*** ''Star Wars'' already exists in the ''Sound of Music'' RP 'verse, if [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/notesandnazis/archive.html the titles]] are anything to go by (It's a von Trapp!).
** Problem is, ''we're'' the outermost layer. What story are ''our'' roleplayers acting out?
*** [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/postcard/?comic=121 Postcard]] (from ''[[Webcomic/{{Mezzacotta}} Comments on a Postcard]]'') - and ''their'' roleplayers are acting out [[http://mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=1588 Garfield.]]
*** Of course the ''[[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/sandalsandspartans/0050.html 300,]] [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/avatars/0050.html Avatar]]'' and ''[[http://darthsanddroids.net/heists/0050.html Inception]]'' ones, being based on recent movies, are more forced/less accurate than the previous ones. (''Avatar's'' nonexistence led to ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' not existing?)
** Although its [[SpiritualSuccessor spiritual predecessor]] ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' never explicitly referenced this trope, FridgeLogic leads one to wonder how ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' became popular in a world without ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings.''
** It's also worth noting that in the universe where Jim, Ben, Pete, Annie, Sally and Corey are playing a given game, the Comics Irregulars are still making a screencap comic about a fictional roleplaying group with their names and personalities...
* [[http://frakkingtoasters.com//index.cgi?date=20060106 This]] ''Frakking Toasters'' strip has the cast of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' sitting down to watch ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''.
* [[http://dizzy.pestermom.com/?p=thcomic59 This page]] of the fancomic ''Webcomic/TouhouNekokayou'' describes a world without ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' like ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' did. The author would often silently add more examples to the list...
* David Willis makes occasional appearances in Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}} and has an ongoing rivalry with Ethan regarding the Transformers Wiki. He even rented out the store to propose to his girlfriend.
* The Contemporary Arc of ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' is set in a version of the PresentDay where Myth/ArthurianLegend doesn't exist. This normally doesn't come up, but in [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2187.htm this strip]], Arthur is clearly listening to ... whatever their version of ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is.
** [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2553.htm This strip]] is even more blatant.
* Ashe Rhyder's [[http://asherhyder.deviantart.com/gallery/ Roommates]] fancomic completely reverses this trope. Both the movies/books and the characters from them exist. The characters often watch their own movies, mention their actors, or refer fan service.
** Jareth: "Wait. Javert... When the hell did you get so bloody tall?!" Javert: "As it turns out, Quast is tall. Bet you wish Bowie wasn't so short."
** And then there's [[http://asherhyder.deviantart.com/art/Roommates-301-Devious-Gingers-353646800 Devious Gingers]], an [[ShowWithinAShow in-universe tv show]] starring some real actors. Some of those actors play characters who have appeared in the comic.
* [[http://www.menagea3.net/strips-ma3/all_your_comics This]] ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' Strip: the authors of the comic, as authors of their other comic selling merchandise for it.
* An ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' comic has a semi-canonical episode where Creator/GaryGygax appears [[spoiler:in the afterlife]], meeting with Roy. Since this is a world in which ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and Gygax do not exist, but which is heavily based on ''D&D'' (a ''specific edition of it'', no less) to the extent that characters talk about experience points and +1 swords, this is... [[MindScrew confusing.]] Even more bizarrely, the games themselves exist in-universe: Roy and [[spoiler:Roy's archon]] start playing a game after meeting Gygax, and Kabuto is shown to have a copy of the 4e Dungeon Master's Guide. The Order even meets their 4e counterparts at one point in ''Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales'', although the adventure is presumably non-canonical.
** Likewise, when Lord Shojo as a spirit adviser tell Belkar to "play the game" (he means for Belkar to conceal his sociopathic tendencies in order to fit into and better take advantage of society) Belkar is confused since he points out their world is not a game like D&D but a world that generally conforms to the rules of the game of D&D, to which Shojo replies "not ''this'' game!" indicating some knowledge of the game despite it not existing.
* [[http://www.digitalpimponline.com/strips.php?title=movie&id=501 This]] ''Webcomic/JoeLovesCrappyMovies'' strip ponders how Creator/JonahHill can appear in ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' and its spin-off ''Film/GetHimToTheGreek'' as two separate characters, despite Creator/RussellBrand playing the same character in both films.
* ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' explains that superhero comics in this verse are actually merchandising deals with actual superheroes, either directly or VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. This leads to Spinnerette making her original costume out of sewn-together ComicBook/{{Venom}} costumes, and even having to change it because ''she got a cease-and-desist from Marvel for infringing on ComicBook/SpiderWoman''.
* Weirdly averted when the cast of ''Webcomic/NobodyScores'' are surprised to discover evidence of [[http://nobodyscores.loosenutstudio.com/index.php?id=454 the existance of Superman]]. They have the typical pop-culture osmosis knowledge, but had assumed he was fictional.
-->'''Sara:''' So... We live in a universe where Superman exists?\\
That is stupid but kind of comforting.
* In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bali.htm this]] strip of ''Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces'' fancomic, Sherlock and Joan from ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' discuss a series that is clearly ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', including the books it's based on, without mentioning any proper nouns that would be strangely similar to their own names.
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', there is a [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-07-22 strip]] which features a desktop background which is based on a filler [[http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook.php?id=81 strip]]. It's {{Lampshaded}} both within the former strip and in TheRant but [[ShrugOfGod not explained]].

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