When Does "The Kents" #12 (1998) Take Place?
"The Kents" #12 "To the Stars by Hard Ways" Part 4 is a historical fiction comic-book written by John Ostrander that released May 6th, 1998. So when is "The Kents" #12 set?
It takes place on the fictional DC Comics Universe timeline in the years:
We know this because the real-world "Wild Bill" Hickok (1837-1876) appears and he passed on August 2nd, 1876 AD. So it must be before August of 1876 AD.
1873 AD - 1874 AD
We know this because the real-world "Wild Bill" Hickok (1837-1876) appears and he passed on August 2nd, 1876 AD. So it must be before August of 1876 AD.
More specifically, the previous issue, "The Kents" #11 (1998) ends in December of 1871 AD. So it is probably during or after December of 1871 AD.
Specifically, a textbox on page one presenting an excerpt of writing tells us it is "August 23, 1873". In another textbox on page one, Jonathan "Pa" Kent narrates to us that "Anyway, we take up the story now in 1873". So presumably it is August of 1873 AD at the start.
Later, a textbox with another excerpt tells us it is now "March 10, 1874". So presumably it is March of 1874 AD during the immediately following scenes.
Additionally, there's a montage more directly narrated by Jonathan "Pa" Kent in which he covers some real-world historical events from 1876 AD, 1877 AD, 1882 AD, and 1895 AD.
Finally, there's an epilogue with a final excerpt from the journals of Nathaniel Kent: "". Visually, however, it is mostly "Pa" writing to Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman set in ‘the present’ of the DC Universe. This is unplaceable at this time.
It is a chronologically early comic in the DC Comics Universe multiverse timeline and can be read at its timeline point after the previous issue, "The Kents" #11 (1998).
