No doubt you've heard the story of the stoned babysitter who accidentally put the baby in the oven and the turkey in the crib. Or the tale about how Coca-Cola introduced New Coke with the intention of boosting sales of good old fashioned Coke when they eventually returned the original flavour to the market. Or you might even have been regaled with the horrific account of how a young woman caught a flesh-eating virus from her boyfriend, and had the teller swear blind that it totally happened, really, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl! Urban legends are the modern version of the folk tale, stories whose origins are unclear and veracity untested, but are passed on from person to person in the oral tradition over campfires, beers, or lazy summer evenings in the park when you've got nothing better to talk about than the totally fictional chain of events that lead to a couple making out in a car finding a hook attached to the door handle. And what more modern method of storytelling is there than comic books? Urban legends have been the inspiration for countless characters and storylines, even earning themselves their own title in Dark Horse's anthology of illustrated tales. But how about urban legends about comics themselves? Surely in an industry that's for so long been closed to the public, only recently having their history chronicled in books like Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, there are numerous examples of scuttlebutt, rumour and so-weird-it's-true stories that have been passed about by curious and creative fans at conventions and comic shops? As a matter of fact, yeah, there's loads! Comic book urban legends have been the subject of entire websites and books themselves, to the point that it's difficult to know where to start (a lot like many long-running comics themselves). So here's a handy beginner's guide to ten of the strangest we've come across. Like many other urban legends, some of these have elements of truth, elements of total baloney, and some...well, we may never know. If there's any you think we missed, whisper them conspiratorially in the comments!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
