Fictional universe

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"In-universe" and "Imaginary world" redirect here. For fictional dream worlds, see Dream world (plot device).
Map of the Land of Oz, the fictional realm that is the setting for L. Frank Baum's Oz series

A fictional universe (also called an imagined universe or a constructed universe) is the

art, and other creative works.[1][2]

In science fiction, a fictional universe may be a remote alien planet or galaxy with little apparent relationship to the real world (as in Star Wars); in fantasy it may be a greatly fictionalized or invented version of Earth's distant past or future (as in The Lord of the Rings).[1]

Fictional continuity

In a 1970 article in

Don Markstein provided a definition of fictional universe meant to clarify the concept of fictional continuities. According to the criteria he imagined:[3]

  1. If characters A and B have met, then they are in the same universe; if characters B and C have met, then, transitively, A and C are in the same universe.
  2. Characters cannot be connected by real people—otherwise, it could be argued that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same universe, as Superman met John F. Kennedy, Kennedy met Neil Armstrong, and Armstrong met the Fantastic Four.
  3. Characters cannot be connected by characters "that do not originate with the publisher"—otherwise it could be argued that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same universe, as both met Hercules.
  4. Specific fictionalized versions of real people—for instance, the version of
    The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, who was distinct from the real Jerry Lewis in that he had a housekeeper with magical powers—can be used as connections; this also applies to specific versions of public-domain fictional characters, such as Marvel Comics' version of Hercules or DC Comics' version of Robin Hood
    .
  5. Characters are only considered to have met if they appeared together in a story; therefore, characters who simply appeared on the same front cover are not necessarily in the same universe.

Collaboration

See also: Shared universe

Fictional universes are sometimes shared by multiple prose authors, with each author's works in that universe being granted approximately equal canonical status. For example,

Ring of Fire series, actively court canonical stimulus from fans, but gate and control the changes through a formalized process and the final say of the editor and universe creator.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-3-8325-4419-5
    .
  2. ISBN 9780674299665
    .
  3. Don Markstein (as "Om Markstein Sklom Stu"), in CAPA-alpha
    #71 (September 1970); archived at Toonopedia
  4. ISBN 978-1-4165-0941-7. The print published and e-published Grantville Gazettes all contain a post book afterword detailing where and how to submit a manuscript to the fictional canon oversight process for the 1632 series
    .

Further reading
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fictional_universe&oldid=1223397176"