Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics/editorial guidelines

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Category:WikiProject Comics

General guidance on editing articles is given in the Wikipedia Manual of Style. The WikiProject has set forth naming conventions, and on the fair use of copyrighted images. Pages related to this project within the Manual of Style include Writing on Fiction and Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles. The notability guidance on fiction also offers advice on writing on fictional topics.

This page is meant as an adjunct to the Manual of Style and other editorial guidance offered on Wikipedia, and is not to be thought of as trumping other policies and guidance. It rather offers guidance that is the consensus currently established at Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics, or summarises other guidance as it applies to specific examples within the comics field. To discuss major alterations or query points, please use the general project forum at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Comics.

Contents

[edit] Plot summaries

In order to justify the fair use of copyrighted material, plot discussions must be concise summaries, not detailed abridgments that can serve as a substitute for the reading of the actual story. Summarization should never be on a per-issue basis and should only outline the plot rather than describe minor details. Additionally, plot descriptions must include cited reference to critical analysis published in secondary sources. Editors should approach the discussion of fictional concepts within a "real world context"; this means editors should describe fictional elements in terms of how they relate to the real world, as fictional characters or topics.

Editors should keep in mind that Wikipedia is not a repository for plot summaries, annotated or otherwise. (For annotated books try Wikibooks, specifically Wikibooks:annotated texts bookshelf, for unannotated see Comic Book Series Wiki.)

Plot summaries should not become so enlarged as to become separate articles. WP:NOT states: "Plot summaries - Wikipedia articles should not act solely as a summary of the plot of a work of fiction, but should offer summarised plots in conjunction with sourced analysis, offering detail on a work's achievements, impact or historical significance within the article, or as part of a series of articles per Wikipedia:Article series."

In general, articles focused on describing storylines should be avoided unless significance is established through real world sources.

Unless there has already been substantial hype and press coverage about comics not yet published, information regarding such comics may be considered speculation (not by default, although it often can be) which is grounds for deletion because Wikipedia is not a crystal ball.

[edit] Alphabetical order

In lists and categories Wikipedia generally sorts by the last name first, unless the specific list states otherwise. For an example, Rick Jones is placed under "J" for Jones, whilst Clark Kent would be placed under "K", and Jean Grey under "G". To achieve this in categories, one would add a category link in the following format: [[:Category:Superheroes|Jones, Rick]]. The piping does not make the category link appear with the text "Jones, Rick", but rather places the article on Rick Jones in the J section of the category.

[edit] Articles on alternate versions of characters

Alternate versions of characters should have entries in the main article unless that article grows unmanageably large, in which case the alternate version article should be spun-off, as per guidance at Wikipedia:Summary style and Wikipedia:Article series. Splitting of subsections should only be considered where an article has already been copyedited to conform with editorial guidance. Such copyediting can sometimes reduce an article's length drastically, and so article length should not be thought of as the arbitrary point at which sections are broken out.

Some examples of alternate versions of characters are animated versions of comic characters or Marvel's Ultimate imprint.

[edit] Superhero box images

The WikiProject suggests the following factors be followed when choosing an appropriate image for the info box. It is felt that using the most universally recognisable appearance of a character, for example Spider-Man in the red and blue rather than some other costume, and using a noteworthy image, either well discussed or used in many other sources, or a promotional piece of artwork the copyright holders have released for promotional purposes fits this purpose best.

  1. Follow the fair use criteria, especially the Images that cannot be fair use guidelines. These supersede all the following criteria. Also, source your images fully (including all applicable information (issue/page/panel, scan source, web source) and give a fair-use rationale.
  2. Ensure that the picture clearly shows as much of the character as possible:
    • The ideal image is a full-body, three-quarter picture of the character standing straight with no background, with a facing-the-camera or profile picture as the next-best.
    • If a full-body shot is unavailable, the picture must show the whole of the head and torso (or the equivalent for non-humanoid characters).
    • Visibly contorted poses should not be used under any circumstances.
    • Pictures which hide significant areas of the character in shadow should be avoided (exceptions apply only where the shadow is itself part of the character's look - e.g. Raven.), as should pictures where blur or distortion effects are applied.
    • Colouring should be neutral - pictures which have a heavy colour cast, or otherwise depict the character with false colours should not be uploaded unless the cast has been removed first.
    • Heavily stylised art should only be considered for use when the character is closely associated with the style to the exclusion of less extreme styles.
  3. Pictures which have more characters and/or objects than the subject of the article should only be used if the subject is the most prominent object - editing the picture, by cropping, obscuring and/or painting out the other characters may help to ensure this.
  4. If the character has a clearly-defined primary costume (e.g. Superman), a picture of this should be used.

[edit] Uniform cover artwork crediting convention

To credit cover art, the following styles are suggested for use:

For covers in a comics-company or comics-character article such as All-American Publications:
  • All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), cover art by Sheldon Moldoff.
For covers in a comics artist article such as Sheldon Moldoff:
  • All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), cover art by Moldoff.
For a cover representing a major character change or important event, such as in Al Hartley:
  • The teen-humor heroine gets serious in Patsy Walker #116 (Aug. 1964). Cover art by Hartley
For a cover illustrating a style or historical element, such as in George Tuska:
  • Tuska's cover of Iron Man #18 (Oct. 1969) displays a panoply of character faces, as well both old and new Iron Man armors.

To credit promotional art, including covers without text treatment and trade dress, the following styles are suggested for use:

  • Promotional art for The Amazing Spider-Man #500 cover, featuring Spider-Man's wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, and many of his antagonists. Art by J. Scott Campbell.
...which, in similar entries without the descriptors, would be:
  • Promotional art for The Amazing Spider-Man #500 cover, by J. Scott Campbell.

[edit] The use of in-universe statistics and chronology

Great care should be taken when presenting in-universe information. We should remember these are not facts of actuality, but rather plot points which are open to interpretation, rewriting or even simply being disrgarded or contradicted within the text. This is especially true of comic book continuity, which, through the use of retcons, is more fluid than other serial fictions.

[edit] Statistics

Consensus at the WikiProject is that the use of statistics sourced from in universe material and reference works, such as the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Who's Who in the DC Universe or roleplaying game resources is discouraged. These statistics constitute fictional facts. Fictional facts are not facts per se (independently verifiable separate from the reporting source) but fiction, and rewriting or paraphrasing fiction is not transformative. As these handbooks are encyclopedic sources (albeit of fictional facts), we are a competing product (a free encyclopedia) and since we are in no way transforming this fictional material, using this material may constitute a breach of copyright. However, we should accurately record things in an encyclopedic manner; if The Guardian reports Spider-Man's strength as being such that he can lift ten tonnes, that can be discussed, and even contrasted with OHOTMU statistics within a section on Spider-Man's powers, bearing in mind the policy of neutral point of view and the undue weight section; if Spider-Man can be seen within publications lifting things greater than ten tonnes, then we should note that, and not present the statistic as anything other than it is; a meaningless statistic within both our universe and the fictional one in which Spider-Man's adventures are portrayed.

[edit] Chronology

Regarding chronology, again over-specificity is to be avoided unless the point is a pertinent one. Continuity is often fluid, and all references to periods of time should be grounded in our universe, so that we talk of Tony Stark's origin as having been presented variously as happening concurrent with both the Korean War and Viet-Nam, rather than that Tony Stark became Iron Man while on a visit to Vietnam. The character was created in 1963, before the Viet Nam conflict had escalated.

Relating units of time should also be handled carefully, and again they should only be presented where pertinent. The character of Hourman has limits on his powers which allow their use for only an hour, and so it is pertinent to present this information to the reader, and also note those instances where this limit had been broken, grounding that information to show that breach as a writers choice. Although the passage of time is at the forefront of the plotting behind the DC Comics series 52, with the issues of that series officially designated by week number rather than issue number, the specificity of time passages as noted within the comics should also be avoided within articles. These time passages, it should be remembered, are not facts, and should not be presented as such, but only presented where it might place events at conflict or that they break with previously depicted versions of the same circumstances. For instance, including how many days and nights events take place after each other and on which day of the week they happen would be too specific, redundant and not in keeping with writing about fiction guidance. Noting that "although previous writers had indicated that a period of five months had passed between Batman adopting Robin and Robin's first adventure, a recent crossover presented Robin's first adventure as having occurred in a far shorter time period" is an example of where such information would be pertinent.

[edit] Succession boxes and Roman numerals

The use of infoboxes to identify the succession of a superhero identity, for example Robin (comics), from one alter ego to another, is discouraged. It is felt something as fluid as fictional comics continuity is not so easily represented. Roman numerals are also discouraged as a means of identifying holders of a superhero identity.

[edit] Titles

In the interest of clarity, it is important when referring to the title of a literary work to know whether to use italics or quotation marks. The titles of comic book series, books, TV series, video games, and music albums all should be italicized. For the titles of comic book storylines, book chapters, TV episodes, video game levels, and songs, editors should use quotation marks — not apostrophes — on either side.

  • Identity Crisis, the title of a DC Comics limited series, should be italicized. "Identity Crisis", the title of a Spider-Man storyline that leads to the creation of the Slingers, should be in quotation marks.
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths, the name of a reality-altering DC Comics maxi-series, should be italicized; the Crisis event the characters take part in, howevever, should not be italicized. Likewise, comic books whose stories take place before the Crisis are said to be pre-Crisis, and those whose events take place after are called post-Crisis.
  • In 2006, Marvel published the "Civil War" cross-over event. The flagship title of the event is the limited series Civil War.

[edit] Titles with numerous volumes

Where a comic book title has been published in a number of volumes, for instance the Legion of Superheroes has had five volumes, the specific series should be referred to by volume number, as indicated by the indicia of the series, not by year of first issue being published or by first series or second series. The preferred styling for this is "Title, vol. 2 Issue #". An exception is made for volume 1 of any series, which should just be referred to as "Title Issue #"

[edit] Capitalization of the word "the"

See also: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite and indefinite articles at beginning of name)
See also: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics)#The

When referring to a character whose name is preceded by the article "the", such as the Joker, the Flash, the Hulk, the Wasp, the Avengers, etc., do not capitalize the word "the" unless it is the first word of the sentence. When "the" is part of a publication title, such as in The Ultimates, "The" is capitalized. (Note: you should never add "The" to the beginning of a publication title or group title when it isn't actually the name - e.g. Infinity Inc., not The Infinity Inc.)

Examples:

  • a character: e.g. the Sandman, not The Sandman
  • a publication: e.g. The Sandman
  • a group of characters: e.g. the Fantastic Four, not The Fantastic Four (and not The FF or FF).

[edit] Present tense

In order to differentiate between real historical events and the events described in a fictional work, it is appropriate to use the present tense. This is not to say that the article must be devoid of other tenses; rather, the discussion of a fictional occurrence should be anchored in the moment in which the event takes place. When discussing a specific story, for instance a later issue of Runaways, it is appropriate to write that the characters in that series "ran away" because their running away is backstory to issues whose stories take place after the events of the first storyline.

For reference, see Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles, Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style, and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Comics.

[edit] Solicitation and promotional material

Editors should remember that Wikipedia is not a crystal ball and should question all sources with regard to discussion of future developments. Because solicitation information and promotional materials such as advertisements, preview interviews, and panel discussions at conventions regularly contain hype, story elements scrapped before publication, or even incorrect information to promote upcoming releases, it is not as reliable as information from the printed comic book page. Past experience has shown that nothing is sure until the issue has been distributed and read. For instance, the Green Lantern storyline "Emerald Twilight" was solicited and originally written as an entirely different story [1], and the Sentry limited series was promoted through preview articles, interviews, and solicitations employing a hoax.

When writing about future developments, editors must clearly cite their sources and note that the actual story has not yet seen print. Misleading promotional information and assumptions based on solicitations have led editors to make major mistakes that can diminish the WikiProject's credibility as a resource. Editors should move uncited claims about future developments to the talk page and only re-add after finding clarification and reliable confirmation.

[edit] Citations

All wikipedia articles should cite reliable sources to maintain the verifiability chain and avoid original research. Sources such as magazine articles in Wizard or The Comics Journal or works such as Les Daniels' DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes, Gerard Jones' Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book or Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, should be listed. Websites may or may not qualify as reliable sources, but it is better to cite them so that a discussion as to their reliability can be undertaken.

Note that, per biographies of living people, derogatory information regarding living people, which is either unsourced or sourced from somewhere considered unreliable, should be removed. This applies anywhere in Wikipedia.

Articles which do not cite sources should be tagged as {{Unreferenced}}. Information within an article which requires a source can be tagged with {{fact}}. Statements for which an issue number is required can be tagged with {{issue}}.

To cite individual comic book, comic strip or editorial cartoons, use the templates, {{Comic book reference}}, {{Comic strip reference}}, {{Editorial cartoon reference}}. For collected editions or graphic novels use {{cite book}}. A guide to citing comic art is available at Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide. A brief summary of the citation style for a comic book issue without citing creators, publishers or date is The Flash v3 #23.

[edit] Alternative wikis for articles about comics

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