A floating timeline (also known as a sliding timescale) is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world. A floating timeline is a subtle form of retroactive continuity. This is seen most clearly in the case of comic book characters who debuted as teens in the 1940s or the 1960s but who are still relatively young in current comics. Events from the characters' pasts are alluded to, but they are changed from having taken place years ago to having taken place more recently.
Any dates given within the comic are not relative to the publishing date of the comic (i.e. "10 years ago" means "10 years before you read this"). This device enables publishing companies to continue to use their characters for as long as they wish without changing them significantly. If used completely, the floating timeline allows all the volumes of a series to be viewed in any order while still maintaining a solid perception of the plot. A floating timeline is usually abstracted from that of actual historical events, but may contain subtle references to the real world timelines.
Read more about Floating Timeline: Comics, Animation
Other articles related to "floating timeline":
... Another example of this is in The Babysitters Club books by Anne M ... Martin ...
Famous quotes containing the word floating:
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)