Golden Age characters' ages - what's this thing called consistency?

[burntcopper]

Has anyone got explanations for these? They're all supposed to have been in their twenties/early thirties during World War 2, and I'm listing how old they appeared to be when I last read an appearance. Some also have kids. Most of whom are in their early thirties/late twenties.

Ted Grant (Wildcat) - early fifties
Diana Drake-Lance (Black Canary) - early sixties before she died of cancer.
Libby Lawrence (Liberty Belle) - sixties
Ted Knight (Starman) - sixties
Sandra Knight (phantom Lady) - eighties, but she's Ted's *younger* cousin. wtf?
Al Pratt (Atom) - sixties
Wesley Dodds (Sandman) - eighties before he died.
Johnny Quick - fifties before he died
Alan Scott (Green Lantern) - thirties, but been de-aged at least three times.
Mr Terrific - eighties
Johnny Thunder - eighties before he died
Dr Mid-Nite - eighties
Speed Saunders - sixties
Carter Hall (Hawkman) - thirties, but reincarnated at least six times.
Jay Garrett (The Flash) - sixties

Does anyone have explanations? At least the ones comics have given us, like being in alternate dimensions? I remember a lot of the JSA were in an alternate dimension where they didn't age for a while, but they had their true ages restored in Zero Hour and most seem to have got younger since then. This also *really* doesn't explain the ones with kids.

Wildcat's age confuses the *fuck* out of me. Famous ex-boxer, still got lots of fans who come up to him and buy him a beer for when they saw him fight, which intimates that he's in his fifties. Yet he should be at least Henry Cooper/Mohammad Ali's age, at the very least.

Comments

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

So far as I could ever figure out (havign skipped Zero Hour completely) Ted and Holly got youthenified when they started appearing in Catwoman, thus completely ignoring Ted's paralysis from Crisis adn Holly's DEATH from Action Comics Weekly.

However, Slam Bradley is in his early 50s since, like, 1938. He just stays grey and tough as boot leather.

[jamjar.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Wildcat have some nine-lives thing going on? Liberty Belle, it's explicitly stated that her abilities keep her looking younger- her body being more resiliant, tougher, faster healing, etc.

Also, Jay was deaged once as well, which I think had something to do with the time he switched bodies with Allen.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

one wonders how this explains her hubby. or maybe it's a new rule that speedsters age a lot slower.