Line #35 Main/ComicBooksAreReal


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6	->'''Green Lantern:''' But this still doesn't explain the ''Justice Guild'' comics I read as a kid.\
7	'''Martian Manhunter:''' Perhaps the creators of those comics had a subconscious link to this Earth. What they thought was merely imagination was a psychic memory of the Justice Guild's real exploits.\
8	'''Tom Turbine:''' I couldn’t have put it better myself.
9	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E18And19Legends Legends, Part 1]]"
10
11	In some works of fiction, the characters have their own favorite Television shows or favorite comic books. Usually, most of the cast reads these comics and they are generally favored. One day, the characters are minding their own business and then out of the blue, it's revealed to them that their favorite comic book hero is real! This usually results in a superpowered team-up from time to time.
12
13	On another note, sometimes the stars of the ShowWithinAShow are known/revealed to exist, and this also falls under Comic Books Are Real.
14
15	This usually overlaps with DirectLineToTheAuthor and/or RecursiveCanon. If it goes both ways -- the "real world" characters have their own comic book in the "comic book" universe -- then the two worlds are MutuallyFictional.
16
17	If ShowWithinAShow is fictional but the characters ''still'' interact with the main show characters, the show has NoInnerFourthWall.
18
19	Also see IWishItWereReal, RefugeeFromTVLand, CelebrityParadox.
20
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', this happens, but just to Ichigo. He thinks that Don Kanonji's show is fake and that he can't really kill ghosts, but then it is revealed to him while fighting a Hollow that Don Kanonji [[NotSoPhonyPsychic actually does have powers]]... they just aren't very strong: he can [[ISeeDeadPeople see ghosts]], but not clearly, and can fire one PainfullySlowProjectile made of spirit energy.
28	* The plot of ''Manga/CMonDigimon'' revolves around technology that can give digital monsters three dimensional forms that can interact with tamers more directly. It's still a game though. ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' reveals there is in fact [[AnotherDimension an entire Digimon World]], that is ''not'' a game [[MythologyGag and]] the C-mon device rendered them [[ArtEvolution completely wrong.]]
29	* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', Digimon is thought of as nothing more than a media franchise [[MetaSequel including the first two seasons of the anime]]. Then Guilmon and the others come to the real world and everything changes.
30	* Interestingly, Wormmon plushies can be seen in ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' during one of few scenes outside the Digital World. If this means the franchise exists as in ''Tamers'' is unknown.
31	* Strangely downplayed in the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}} Build'' sub-franchise. Most of the rest of the franchise exist as fiction within ''Build'' continuities, with mecha combat only simulated as entertainment. Yet people inexplicably have names, appearances, and personalities similar or identical to characters from previous ''Gundam'' works.
32	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', there is a comic strip in the world's newspaper called "Sora, Warrior of the Sea". The series is regarded fictional and it tells about the adventures of a Marine hero named Sora. One issue shows Sora fighting against an evil army called Germa 66. It turns out that said evil army is real and some of those "fictional adventures" are probably true.
33	* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
34	** [[Manga/SailorMoon Manga]]: Minako has a franchise as Sailor V. It started with the Sailor V Game Artemis assembled to exploit her [[TaughtByTelevision ability to learn very fast from video games]], and it later evolved in a large merchandise of ''all'' the Sailor Senshi (Sailor V is still the most popular, second only to Sailor Moon).
35	** TheNineties [[Anime/SailorMoon Anime]]: Sailor V's franchise still exists, again started with the Sailor V Game (even if the circumstances are unknown). One episode has Usagi, Ami and Rei visiting the studio where Sailor V's anime is being made and defending it from two Youmas accidentally trying to ruin it. Later episodes show that the franchise has expanded to at least ''Sailor Moon''; Sailor Venus, [[IdentityImpersonator disguised as Sailor Moon]], passes Usagi off as a fan who owns a toy Cosmic Heart Compact.
36	* ''Manga/SwansInSpace'': The episodes of the ShowWithinAShow Space Patrol actually really happen. Every episode is a {{dramatization}} of their real exploits, acted out by the Space Patrol members who performed that mission, and then broadcasted to Earth in an attempt to find new recruits.
37	* In ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'', the characters play the titular game, and they assume that the lore surrounding the units and their home world of Cray were just totally made up. Then certain players start claiming they can hear the voices of their units. By the end of season 1 it's confirmed that all of the units do actually exist and they really do live on the planet Cray.
38	* Played for laughs in ''Manga/WitchWatch'', where one high schooler claims to have a SuperpoweredEvilSide because he's a descendant of Dr. Jekyll, only for someone to point out ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' is fictional. Apparently, in this universe it's both.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Books]]
42	* The Silver Age Comicbook/TheFlash read adventures of the Golden Age Flash, then discovered he really existed in a parallel universe.
43	** There's a homage to this in ''Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'', where there's an issue where Captain Carrot discovered that his favorite comic book heroes (and the ones that pay his paycheck, as Cap's alter-ego is a cartoonist for his world's DC Comics) really existed in a parallel universe.
44	** Recursively, the Crash revealed during said crossover that he'd grown up reading comics about Earth-C's Terrific Whatzit, the GoldenAge FunnyAnimal superhero and uncle of Zoo Crew member Fastback. Presumably a ShoutOut to the pre-Crisis Golden and Silver Age Flash relationship.
45	** And the episode "Legends" of the animated ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', in which Green Lantern discovers that the heroes from his favorite comic as a boy really ... etc.
46	** Our universe exists in the DC multiverse; we're Earth-Prime (Earth-33 in the post-''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' multiverse). We get comics based on other universes, like everybody else, which raises the question of [[WildMassGuessing if what the writers put in comics affect other verses, or are they just story tellers?]]. We have only one native superhero (a Superboy, which makes sense since every Universe seems to have a Superboy/Superman), left to help with the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths before he was scheduled to go public. He's become a bit of a Jerkass StrawFan in the decades since, being the last piece of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age\|of Comic Books}} the heroes tend to forget him in-between appearances. (''He'' believes that the writers cause the events in the comics to happen, but that could just be to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.)
47	*** We created another superhero in ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity''. That kind of blew up in the multiverse's face.
48	*** Incidentally, Earth-Prime was one of the worlds destroyed in said ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths. [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] quite deservedly mocks this when running down the event.
49	* One [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] story in Franchise/{{Superman}} has an in-universe comic book character created by ComicBook/LoisLane called Mental Man come to life. Like the Literature/SherlockHolmes explanation in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' below, he explained that he was brought to life by the collective belief of his readers. [[spoiler:Turns out to be a subversion when it's revealed to be ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} in disguise, helping Supes in one of his [[ComplexityAddiction Golden-Age-style complex plans to catch crooks.]]]]
50	* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, some heroes license their likenesses for charity comics published by... Marvel.
51	** Marvel went so far as to have Captain America's civilian identity become the artist for his own comic!
52	** Creator/StanLee in general liked to fuel the perception in the readers' eyes that the comics they were reading depicted real events, often inserting himself and Creator/JackKirby into the story as cameos, and setting the stories in real places like New York. This may be one reason why modern-day Marvel is so obsessed with RecursiveCanon.
53	** The in-universe comics are depictions of the heroes' public adventures with any parts of their personal life made up by the authors. Nonetheless, She-Hulk, when acting as a lawyer, frequently uses back-issues of comics as evidence against supervillains in her own NoFourthWall series.
54	* Also in Marvel, there was the mini-series ''ComicBook/Marvel1985''. It seems to be happening in our world, until Marvel villains start showing up and murdering people...turns out that as in Earth-Prime in DC, this world has one guy with superpowers, a lonely comicbook nerd with Franklin Richards-level powers he didn't know about. The hero, his son, somehow or another goes to the Marvel Universe and brings the heroes back to contain everything, just as we see Galactus' helmet peeking over the edge of the town's sign mumbling "I hunger..."
55	* The Marvel multiverse ''also'' includes our world (we're Earth-1218). They go around the circularity of involving it in comicbook stories by not doing that. Meaning: The only known way for us to actually interact with the rest of Marvel (and remember, according to an editor we also got destroyed for Comicbook/SecretWars2015 and subsequently recreated by the Richards family, but we forgot like almost everybody else) is through the FourthWallMailSlot, and if a "real world" is actually shown in any Marvel media that's not the actual real world just a CloseEnoughTimeline.
56	* An ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story examines the common comic book subtrope of superheroes' lives being documented by comic publishers in-universe, and establishes that real-life major publishers exist in the ''Astro City'' universe. Some superheroes even attend comic book conventions and sign autographs, while supervillains read their own comic books and take their displeasure out on the publisher. [[spoiler: At the end of the story, when one comic publisher switches to stories about extraterrestrial and "cosmic" characters to try to avoid further attacks from supervillains, their entire building is mysteriously annihilated. That's right, there is an EldritchAbomination out there somewhere who ''reads comic books''.]]
57	** In "My Dad", someone mentions that Penny Bright -- the star of an in-universe romance comic book -- is actually a real person who [[TheAgeless never grows old]].
58	* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' series there is a parallel Earth far away across the galaxy, Terra Obscura. It has more, and more powerful, 'science heroes' (the series term for superheroes) than the 'regular' Earth. Tom Strong travels there on several occasions, the second time he has found out that the heroes of Terra Obscura are featured in numerous comic books on his own world, much to the amazement of his Terra Obscura parallel Tom Strange. On the long trip back after saving the world he puts his feet up and reads them all.
59	** The Terra Obscura characters are all pre-existing out-of-copyright characters created by Nedor Comics. Including Tom Strange himself, who was originally ''Doc'' Strange and whose first name was Hugo.
60	* In one ''[[ComicBook/TheBeano Calamity James]]'' strip, James buys a huge stack of ''Mega-Man'' (nothing to do with the [[Franchise/MegaMan video game character]] comics) and promptly has them fall on top of him. Fortunately, the real Mega-Man suddenly swoops in and saves him... but then James offers him a jelly baby in thanks, forgetting that jelly babies are [[KryptoniteFactor the one substance that can defeat his Mega-powers]].
61	* Mitchell Hundred, protagonist of ''ComicBook/ExMachina'', is a DC comics fan as a kid before becoming the world's only superhero. He's also seen as an adult visiting comic book stores selling issues of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' and ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'', titles published by Wildstorm - the DC imprint that also published ''Ex Machina''.
62	* Science Dog, a comic book character in ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}},'' suddenly appeared at the door of Mark "Invincible" Grayson's house. Mark was understandably surprised by the visit of the non-human being but it turned out to be an alien using Science Dog's form to make the encounter easier. Bad idea.
63	* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' themselves, in an abortive Creator/GrantMorrison series, [[RealWorldEpisode found themselves on our Earth]], where [[{{Metafiction}} they encountered the comics in which they had made their first appearances.]]
64	* A key concept of ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', according to Creator/GrantMorrison: each Earth has comics featuring characters from other Earths, through which the heroes can keep informed about what's going on elsewhere. For example, ''Mastermen #1'' begins with UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler reading ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' while using the toilet.
65	* Averted, played with and generally trashed by ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool''...
66	* ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' says the world used to be a StandardSuperheroSetting until the villains teamed up and built a machine that altered reality. Superheroes are now confined to comics and movies with the depowered heroes now turned into actors who play them on TV. This story and ''ComicBook/Marvel1985'' were inspired by Millar as a child assuming that superhero comics were based on true stories and that the real heroes were wiped out in a war with the villains.
67	* The [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]] story "[[https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+98132 Mickey Mouse meets Captain Thunder]]" is based on this trope. In the context of the story, there are a lot of superheroes who regularly save the day in Mouseton and their real life adventures are then rendered as comics and sold in stores. The story features Mickey helping an unlucky superhero whose adventures are too boring and so his comics don't sell.
68	* Every Supe in ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' has comic books based on them and their adventures. That's all false propaganda, according to Billy Butcher.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Fan Works]]
72	* There's a ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' {{fanfic}} inspired by the crossover between ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' and ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'', where [[FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither each team thought the other was just an urban legend]].
73	* ''Fanfic/AGameComesToEquestria'': in [[Anime/YuGiOh Domino City]], and pretty much in all of the world, ''Westernanimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' airs on television and is as pretty popular as it is in RealLife (almost rivaling the popularity of ''Duel Monsters'' InUniverse), but is generally regarded as a work of fiction. [[spoiler:Then [[AmnesiacHero Yugi]] appears on the show from a mysterious re-airing of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed "Luna Eclipsed"]] onward, and everything changes.]] this makes [[ChildProdigy Rebecca]] [[LittleMissBadass Hawkins]] do a DoubleTake [[spoiler:When she sees him during the ''Lost Element'' chapters that were televised InUniverse]].
74	* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', PlanetTerra holds an amalgamation of various {{Kaiju}} franchises like Godzilla, Gamera, and Pacific Rim. The story starts with several Kaiju getting transported to the world of Equestria. Later, the spinoff ''Fanfic/TheBridgeHumanitysStand'' reveals that the cartoon ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' exists on Terra. When the human characters learn what happened to the missing Kaiju, Creator/LaurenFaust (who in this universe, did not leave the show after season 2) is shocked because she thought Equestria was just something she made up. She and her husband Creator/CraigMcCracken get hired by the Global Defense Force as consultants to teach everybody about Equestria in case it is needed, though the two worry that anything they say may not be accurate to the real Equestria.
75	* ''Fanfic/DigimonChildrenOfTime'': Due to CanonWelding. Takato is surprised to discover early on that the ''Digimon'' television show is all real events, and that Tai and his friends all actually went through it all.
76	* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', ComicBook/SpiderMan and the rest of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse are fictional in Izuku's universe, having been written by real-life writers like Creator/StanLee. This lends to his disbelief that he could have Spider-Man's powers when he starts developing them one after the other after recovering from a spider bite. His disbelief is stretched even further when he meets Peter Parker.
77	* ''Fanfic/SupermanAndMan'': Creator/ChristopherReeve believed Franchise/{{Superman}} was just a comic-book character until he got body-swapped with the Man of Steel and found himself in the DC Universe.
78	* In ''Fanfic/MisadventureToATripolarWorld'', the A.U., especially the OTL "Prime Universe," are aware that ''Anime/CodeGeass'', along with the worlds of [[Literature/TheDraka The Domination]] and ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', were fictional in their universe until discovering their existence.
79	* ''Fanfic/EchoesOfYesterday'': In [[Literature/{{Worm}} Earth-Bet]] the characters of ''Franchise/TheDCU'' and the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' are considered fictional characters who fell out of fashion in TheEighties, which is because Taylor is so shocked when she meets ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}.
80	-->'''Kara:''' My proper name, Taylor Hebert, is Kara Zor-El. I am the last Daughter of Krypton from Prime Earth. Your world knows of me and my friends and family through old comic books printed by Detective Comics Incorporated, but where I'm from, we and our conflicts are very real.\
81	'''Taylor:''' S-so you're not just a cape. You're a fictional character brought to life?\
82	'''Kara:''' Yes and no. I am fictional to your world, but my world is very real. There are many possibilities in the multiverse, Taylor. Fiction and reality blur the lines when you travel between worlds. Yours is not the first world I've encountered where we existed as stories, and I guarantee there are worlds where the lives of your people are recorded and told as stories of their own.
83	* In ''Fanfic/ASparkOfGenius'', the Scooby gang find out thanks to Andrew and Jonathan that not long after Xander was sent into the DC universe that comics detailing his adventures began to roll of the company presses. No one was writing them, editing them, drawing or colouring them, they were just printing themselves from nothing and the company decided not to question the comic that didn't require them to pay anyone to produce and started distributing it. The gang are able to follow Xander by reading the comic.
84	* ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'': In [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Earth-S]], Superman is a comic book character. It would be twenty years before the Marvel Family found out he is a real person in other universes.
85	* In ''Fanfic/TheDayAfterYouSavedTheMultiverse'', Clark Kent tells his parents he now has ComicBook/{{Superboy}}-like powers. And he was dragged into a dimension where comic-book characters are real, and [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteCrisis he fought alongside Superman, Batman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Flash and the like]]. And then he was dragged into still another conflict [[Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy to stop Darkseid from enslaving the Multiverse]]. Jerome and Naomi Kent have trouble coping with the idea that they were almost turned into a fictional character's zombie slaves.
86	-->"Yes, Dad, busy. Busy saving five whole universes, six counting this one, from Darkseid." It sounded ludicrous as he said it. But there was nothing else he knew to say.\
87	"Oh. Darkseid," said Naomi. "Another comic book character we didn't know we needed saving from, before two weeks ago."
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
91	* In ''Film/{{Condorman}}'', the creator of the eponymous comic book hero is so obsessed with being realistic that he refuses to write anything that he can't do himself in real life. Sure enough, when the CIA ends up sponsoring his antics in order to rescue a major Soviet defector, they build all of the gadgets he's invented, leading to a hilarious WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys speech from the BigBad.
92	* In ''Film/Hellboy2004'', Hellboy is only known to the outside world as an urban myth and the star of a series of comicbooks. When John Meyers meets the real HB, he complains that the comics never get his eyes right.
93	* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', Steve Rogers is being dressed up and paraded as the mascot "Captain America" as a way to boost the morale of the troops. They not only make films about the fictional character, they also make a ''Captain America'' comic-book series. While it's a hit stateside, it backfires when he actually gets overseas and the troops not only don't take him seriously, they're ''offended''.
94	* Wolverine happens upon some vintage ComicBook/XMen comics in ''Film/{{Logan}}'', though according to him they're mostly exaggerations and fabrications.
95	* In ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', Elijah Price believes comic book superheroes are based on real life people with extraordinary abilities, just embellished with ArtisticLicense. His attempts to find out whether David Dunn is one of these people drive much of the plot.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Literature]]
99	* In ''Literature/TheMagicians'', the world described in a popular fantasy series titled ''Fillory and Further'' turns out to really exist and is visited by the novel's protagonists. In ''The Magician King'', the world of ''The Teletubbies'' turns out to really exist as well.
100	* The ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants'' series starts off with two boys, George and Harold, being punished by Principal Krupp, for drawing comic books starring their hero, Captain Underpants. In retaliation, they hypnotize Mr. Krupp into thinking he's actually Captain Underpants. And then the boys can't un-hypnotize him...
101	* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/JackBlank''. Jack grew up reading comic books. When he arrives in the Imagine Nation, he finds out that many of his favorite comic book heroes are real people. However, DirectLineToTheAuthor comes into play when Jack reads a storyline where Prime succumbs to a [[PuppeteerParasite Rüstov infection]] and finds out later it's instantly fatal, but the real Prime is perfectly fine and healthy. [[DidYouDie Jack asks Prime if that story really happened]], Prime tells him that sometimes the authors and artists embellish history. Also, [[RobotBuddy Jazen Knight]] mocks Jack for believing Captain Courage is real because he's an entirely fictional character, but Jack doesn't see the difference between believing in a real person and a fictional one if they're both equally amazing, having very little exposure to real-live superheroes at that point.
102	* In the world of ''Literature/WildCards'', the [[FunWithAcronyms Special Committee for Ace Resources and Endeavors]] puts out comics featuring famous aces as propaganda pieces. The Great and Powerful Turtle is a bit miffed that his comic book counterpart has an ElaborateUndergroundBase while in real life he operates out of a junkyard.
103	* In Kim Newman's ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' series, the vigilante Dr. Shade has his own comic book that provides the details of his secret identity and the location of his secret base, leading everyone to wonder why they're called "secret".
104	* Gary Karkofsky in the superhero universe ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'' talks about how "historical comics" exist. These are adaptations of the adventures of the Society of Superheroes and have more or less replaced fictional superheroes in their reality. Given reality is every bit as crazy as in comic books, [[RealityIsUnrealistic it's implied the comics actually have to tone the stories down.]]
105	** Gets worse (better?) as the series goes on. All of his books take place in the same TheMultiverse and occasionally have crossovers with each other. However, all of the characters are fictional in the realities they visit so Jane Doe is a popular urban fantasy series in Gary's world even when she drops by and vice versa.
106	* In the story of ''Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong'', Shen Yuan believed that the characters and story of ''Proud Immortal Demon Way'' were just a part of a regular trashy web novel. After [[TrappedInAnotherWorld he is transmigrated after his death]], he finds out the story is its own dimension. The canonical events of the novel where Shen Yuan didn't transmigrate into Shen Qingqiu exists as its own dimension and timeline.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
110	* Referenced in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', when a couple of clients claim that the things that happen in a comic book series seem to be coming true around them. According to supplemental material (John's blog), [[spoiler: it was a company's attempt to promote the comic series and Sherlock uncovered it.]]
111	* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', in the clairvoyant's comic book some of the Heroes (like Hiro and Ando) are depicted as characters in it. Most people outside the main cast would assume that it is a work of fiction.
112	* This is the premise of ''Series/BigBadBeetleborgs'', though the main characters become the comic book heroes, instead of them showing up as separate characters.
113	* In ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'', Tori dismissed the Power Rangers as comic book characters and/or urban legends before she and her friends became Rangers themselves. This infamously sparked some fan debate, as it suggested ''Ninja Storm'' was an AlternateContinuity, and when the next season confirmed it ''wasn't'', then how could she justify ten years of giant monster attacks as fiction?
114	* Inverted in the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS04E18TheMonsterAtTheEndOfThisBook The Monster at the End of This Book]]". Sam and Dean discover that their lives have been turned into a series of horror novels. Played straight with the writer, who discovers (when Sam and Dean show up at his house) that [[MindScrew the characters he thought he'd created are actually real]].
115	* This is part of the premise of ''Series/MightyMed'', wherein two teenage comic book fans discover that the superheroes they've been reading about for years [[HiddenInPlainSight have always been real]], and end up getting jobs at the secret hospital where said heroes are treated thanks to their love of comics making them [[GenreSavvy surprisingly well-equipped]] to assist in treating their ailments. It's later explained that one of the hospital workers is the one making the comics, as his superpower gives him the ability to see vision's of other people's lives, and the comic sales are how the hospital is presumably funded.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Theater]]
119	* Eugene from ''Theatre/{{Eugenius}}'' writes comics based on his dreams. He later finds out that there's PsychicDreamsForEveryone and the events of his comic book were happening in space.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Video Games]]
123	* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}},'' Raz grew up reading ''True Psychic Tales'' for years before he went to Camp Whispering Rock and trained under the real-life Sasha, Milla and Crueller. In this case, though, it's implied that ''everyone'' knows psychics are real, which presumably means the comics are just well-known Psychonauts' adventures marketed to kids.
124	* In ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', the title character of the ShowWithinAShow Annie, Girl of the Stars, is not only based on the folklore exploits of the real in-universe Annie, she actually ''is'' [[TheAgeless the original Annie]] who fought against multiple Skullgirls in the past and uses it as a cover for her life in the present. She has to change her hairstyle every few years to keep appearances up, but every "new" Annie is still the same girl. She even lampshades it.
125	-->'''Annie''': It's kinda weird playing yourself on television, isn't it?
126	* ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'': In the opening cutscene, the unnamed inventor is shown to be a ''huge'' {{fangirl}} of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise; her basement is decorated with figurines and posters, she hums the theme song as she works, and she even dresses in blue overalls, a Star powerup T-shirt, and a red hoodie. Then the Rabbids show up, and a series of events send them to the actual Mushroom Kingdom.
127	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' features the Game-within-a-game ''Verum Rex'' in the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' world, which acts as both a parody of Tetsuya Nomura-directed games and a MythologyGag to Rex's difficulties with videogames in the ''Toy Story'' movies. In this world, Sora is mistaken for a toy of Yozora, the game's main character. [[spoiler: Then the game's secret ending heavily implies that Yozora is real.]]
128	* The comicbooks as mentioned in ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'' are based on the real exploits of superheroes and -villains of the planet [[PunnyName Krapton]]. At one point Sly and his team gets captured by Rictus, one of said comicbook supervillains, who they manage to defeat but, with Sly forgetting what Rictus did after being defeated in one issue, get sucker-punched by him and put into the brig together with many other superheroes.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Web Comics]]
132	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' takes this trope to MutuallyFictional levels - one of the characers reads a web comic about the Midnight Crew. Then there's an [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent Intermission]] starring the Midnight Crew, where it's shown that a version of ''Homestuck'' is a web comic in their canon. It's then revealed that both words are {{Alternate Universe}}s to one another, and the comics were written FromBeyondTheFourthWall by the AuthorAvatar.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Web Original]]
136	* In ''Literature/LegionOfNothing'', superheroes are real, but comic books like ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' and ''ComicBook/XMen'' are as common as they are in our universe. No doubt some real superheroes run their own comics, too...
137	* Played with in ''Literature/TheDescendants'' where the fact that comic books are, by the time of the series, a 100+ year old art form. This leads to an inversion where the media [[NotUsingTheZWord refuses to call them superheroes]].
138	** One company however, takes full advantage of their SecretIdentity issues to publish comics using real heroes in fictional stories without getting likeness rights.
139	** Other folks, especially street vendors, make a killing off unofficial merchandise the same way. Whitecoat buys spares of his hat from them. He also invokes the above inversion this trope in the page quote for the series.
140	** [[AscendedFanboy Alloy]] recently got to save the writer and artist of the comic based on the eponymous characters.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Web Videos]]
144	* The premise of ''Series/WarpZoneProject'' can be summed up as "What we know to be true history is fiction and what we know as to be fiction is true history". The latter implies this trope. This is done as part of a {{Masquerade}} to keep things under control in a world where EveryoneIsASuper via making most people think super-powers only exist fiction (the show is about those on which the {{Masquerade}} doesn't work).
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Western Animation]]
148	* Throughout ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', there are several episodes revolving around the adventures of Fionna and Cake, gender bent versions of the two lead heroes. In most of their appearances, they’re framed as crazed fan fiction by the Ice King, with several characters writing their own versions and [[Recap/AdventureTimeS5E8MysteryDungeon one episode]] involving an attempt to bring them to life. It wouldn’t be until [[Recap/AdventureTimeS9E12FionnaAndCakeAndFionna season nine]] where it would be revealed that Fionna and Cake were actually real… [[spoiler: after an imposter briefly appears, the episode ending by showing the stories being beamed into Ice King’s head.]]
149	** In the sequel show, ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeFionnaAndCake'', it’s further established that [[spoiler:Fionna and Cake are the creations of Prismo, a nigh-omnipotent being tasked with granting wishes. After years of serving others, he becomes curious if he could create something for himself, using Ice King’s head as a means to hide his unauthorized universe.]]
150	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': The Crimson Chin was originally fictional, but he's been brought to life by fairies so many times it's not even mentioned anymore. Timmy himself is also a [[KidHero superhero]], as Cleft the Boy Chin Wonder as a result of the Chin, thus making him part of the comic book's continuity. He's got a variety of other alter egos as well, but that would be another entire page.
151	* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': Virgil grows up reading comic books about ComicBook/{{Superman}} and the ComicBook/GreenLantern, and eventually meets and teams up with them from time to time. Originally those comics ''were'' just meant as fiction in-universe, but then ''Static Shock'' was retconned to be part of Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse. The episode "They're Playing My Song" originally had the line "Even Clark Kent has a day job.", but it was [[OrwellianRetcon cut from later broadcasts]] because it no longer made any sense in a setting where Superman exists and his identity is still a secret.
152	* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "Legends", [[Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart]], Hawkgirl, Flash and the Martian Manhunter are transported to an alternate universe inhabited by the Justice Guild of America, [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] heroes which were featured in comics John used to read as a kid. J'onn brings up the possibility that the comics' authors in the primary universe had a subconscious link with the Guild's universe, hence why they existed only as comics characters in the primary universe.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'':
154	** An episode had a superhero and villain from one of Ray's comics become "real" and clash with the Ghostbusters. Unusually, no explanation was ever given for why the comics characters were able to enter Ray's reality. (This shouldn't be confused with a later episode in which a [[{{Shapeshifter}} shapeshifting ghost]] briefly imitated the same superhero.)\
155	Incidentally, the superhero "Captain Steel" was a SupermanSubstitute while the villain was the pre-Crisis ComicBook/LexLuthor; their creator was an obvious pastiche of Marv Wolfman of Creator/DCComics, and the cartoon was made during the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' comic event.
156	** A later episode had Literature/SherlockHolmes and Professor Moriarty show up, and it was explained that the [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve collective belief of their fans]] was sufficient to make them "come to life".
157	* The ''Justice Friends'' are a part of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'''s ThreeShorts format, but seems to be portrayed as half real and half fictional in Dexter's universe: Major Glory has a television show, but actually exists and has super powers. Likewise, Dexter and Dee Dee meet the stars of the [[ShowWithinAShow in-series shows]] ''Action Hank'' and ''[[MyLittlePhony Pony Puff Princess]]'' (twice in the case of the former).
158	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Mermaidman and Barnacleboy are superheroes who star as themselves in a TV show. They have real super powers and an [[CoolCar invisible boatmobile]] and whatnot, but [=SpongeBob=] once defeats one of their enemies using something he learned from their show. It's also shown in another episode that the show isn't totally accurate, as the televised and real [[SuperHeroOrigin origins]] of Mermaidman are different.
159	* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\|1987}}'', Michaelangelo reads a comic book series about the superhero Bugman, and then discovers that there really is a Bugman.
160	* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' as well, when Mikey tries to get an issue of the ''Justice Force'' comic to find out what happened to one of the heroes in the cliffhanger of the previous issues, but finds his favorite characters real, but the character he was hoping to have survived, had died. (This is based on an issue of the original ''TMNT'' comic, but Mikey being a fan of the comic is new in this version.)
161	* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' has comic book hero Really Really Big Man, who will occasionally drop in and save the day. And perhaps offer you a vision from his Nipples of the Future. Seriously.
162	* ''WesternAnimation/RobotBoy'' has the Human Fist. The trope is double subverted in the episode The Human Fist on Ice, by first introducing a CampGay ferry boat captain, playing the role of the Human fist in a spectacle, then having the real Human Fist show up to beat the crap out of the villain.
163	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' has Max's hero Mondo Mouse turn out to be real, in Dragonland at least. And apparently he can enter and exit the comic books at whim.
164	* In ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' the Count's hero Tremendous Terrence is a comic book star and cereal mascot but no-one shows any surprise when they meet him in person.
165	* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Rainbow Dash is a fan of ''[[JustForFun/DaringDo The Adventures Of Daring Do]]''. Two seasons later, it's revealed that Daring Do is a real pony who publishes the stories of her adventures under a pseudonym. A few seasons later, the fact that it's still a secret is driving Rainbow nuts when another fan is complaining that the more recent books are starting to rely too much on clichés.
166	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'' episode "Wednesday is Missing", Mystery Inc. runs into ''WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1973''. Fred mentions growing up watching the Addams Family on TV and is shocked to meet them in the flesh. The Addams Family are apparently unaware of any TV show documenting their lives.
167	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}'' has the Nindjas, a team of ninja protectors of the city, with their past adventures chronicled in their comic book series. While some of the others are skeptical about them, Booger insists that they're real, which ends up being a good thing when they show up in the flesh.
168	* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' with respect to "The Pack". Initially presented to the viewer as a fairly campy action television ShowWithinAShow, but [[CannotTellFictionFromReality believed real by the main characters who were new to modern times and technology]]. Then we the viewer learned that the actors on the show really did have the portrayed abilities and called each other by the super hero code names out in the real world.... but then revealed that they're actually criminals who just do the TV show to make money between crimes.
169	* In ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'', superhero comics are the illustrated retellings of superheroes' actual feats. Captain Atomic is shown to have his own comic book series with the first issue being equivalent to Action Comics #1, for example. Then in "Quick Draw", when Joey and AP defeat a washed-up comic book artist who went mad with power after discovering his ink could create life, the artist makes the first issue of his Atomic Puppet series about that very battle.
170	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEpicTalesOfCaptainUnderpants'' [[StrictlyFormula as part of every episode]] has the main characters drawing a comic book that in one way or another ends up becoming real later in the episode.
171	* The comic shops in ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperheroGirls'' that Barbara/Batgirl and Harley frequent are shown to sell comics based on actual superheroes in that universe.
172	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersEarthspark'': The Transformers have their own comics, which capitalizes their fame among human society after the war between Autobots and Decepticons.
173	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ComicBooksAreReal