Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics/Style guidance

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[edit] Scope

This manual of style applies to articles about comics and related topics, and is topic-specific subset guidance of the following Manuals of Style:

When writing about topics related to countries and cultures, the following style guidelines may prove useful:

For more general guidance on editing conventions, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style. For guidance on describing the nationality of people from the United Kingdom, see Wikipedia:Nationality of people from the United Kingdom.

For discussion, help, and editing collaboration on comics related articles, see also Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics.

Editors should also keep in mind the guidelines suggested on WikiProject Television or WikiProject Films, as those seem to work well for episodic media, including comics.

[edit] Notability

Whilst no specific notability guidance for comics currently exists, Wikipedia:Verifiability states that If no reliable, third-party sources can be found for an article topic, Wikipedia should not have an article on it. Therefore it is important to try and find a reliable source independent of the work or person itself which covers the subject well enough for an article to be written. The following notability guidelines may also prove useful:

[edit] Article names and disambiguation

Use the official English language title for article names, and place the foreign language title on the first line of the article if the work was originally published in a foreign language, unless the native form is more commonly recognized by readers than the English form. If the work was initially published in an English speaking country, use the title specific to that country. See: Wikipedia:Naming conventions#Use English words and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics).

In general, do not create separate articles for a different medium belonging to the same franchise, unless:

  1. They differ sharply in plot, characters, or in other major characteristics; or
  2. The article becomes too large.

If several articles share the same title, use the Wikipedia page naming conventions:

  • Comics article - title (comics)

For further disambiguation between publishers, characters and series, see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics).

The preceding guidelines should address most instances relating to disambiguation, but please consult the WikiProject Comics talk page if you have further questions.

[edit] Redirects

Taking a lead from the Manual of Style (Japan-related articles), always make redirects for alternate names and titles.

[edit] Content

  1. Articles should be self-contained, only referring to subpages for additional information or details if the main article or a section becomes too long. Follow guidelines at Wikipedia:Summary style when creating subarticles.
  2. Article introductions should be primarily about the original format of a work and not about the most popular format of that work. For example: "Bleach is a manga series, that was later adapted into an anime series", NOT "Bleach is an anime series, based on a manga of the same name." In cases where title disambiguation is necessary, a similar guideline should be followed.
  3. Please follow Wikipedia guidelines when including spoilers.
  4. When adding categories to an article, please bear in mind the guidance offered at Wikipedia:Overcategorization.

[edit] Inclusion of non-English language release information

Information regarding non-English language releases (other than the original language releases) of comics should generally not be included in the body of articles on the English-language Wikipedia. Instead, this information should be included in the articles on the appropriate language-specific wiki, and an interwiki link should be added to the English Wikipedia article.

Adding country information in the "other_xxxx" sections in infoboxes is acceptable. Only English-language and Original-language country information should be included in the associated "xxxx" sections of the infoboxes.

[edit] Page layout

size Comics Portal
WikiProject Comics talk
⇒ Get Involved talk
⇒ Notice Board talk
⇒ Peer Review talk
⇒ Request Cleanup talk
⇒ Tasks to be Completed talk
Category:WikiProject Comics
 v • d • e 

All material in an article should be verifiable and (usually) cited (preferably to reliable, secondary sources). Article structure should be flexible and responsive to unique or exceptional aspects of individual subjects, but the following guidelines should suffice in most cases.

[edit] Series

  1. Lead: This should ideally be able to stand on its own as an article, providing a brief summary of the topic and touching on all the main points of the whole article. At the very least, this should describe the comic, its premise and plot, its author or director, and the English language licensers (if any). Avoid needless spoilers and trivia, and keep the recommendations of Wikipedia:Lead section in mind.
  2. Infobox: Although this is not a section, the project infobox is an useful and attractive addition to an article. Flag icons are often used inside the infobox to help distinguish between companies in different countries, and they can be invoked by by using the template {{flagicon|CountryName}}.
  3. Plot: This should comprise a succinct description of the plot and major subplots, but please avoid excessive details of twists and turns in the story. Differences between the original versions and adaptations often fall within the scope of this section, usually warranting at most a distinct subsection.
  4. Characters: This describes the characters in modest detail.
    • Character sections should not be divided into numerous sub-sections, as this makes the table of contents unnecessarily long.
    • Minor characters may be included here, but article length should be considered.
    • If the majority of characters descriptions consist of one or two sentences, a bullet list is most appropriate; if the majority of characters descriptions consist of one or more paragraphs, then a definition list is preferred.
    • If the character section grows long, please reconsider the amount of detail or number of characters included. Beyond that, a separate page, named List of (series) characters, may be appropriate.
    • Separate articles for each character should be avoided unless there is enough verifiable, citable material to warrant a separate article.
    • Regarding names:
      • Characters should be identified by their most commonly known name, as per Wikipedia's naming conventions. This may not necessarily be the same as the official name(s).
      • Character names should be given in boldface.
  5. Production: This is a difficult section to define, and can, if appropriate, generate several sub-sections and even whole sections. Topics that can reasonably be included are: the origins or inspirations of the subject; homages to other works or artists; notable production staff (typically: writers, artists, and sometimes letterers or other personnel); issues arising from the transition from one medium to another (e.g.: comics to film, comic strip to cartoon, etc.) or from one language to another (such as alterations to storylines or dates of publication). Although this is an amorphous section, avoid making it a list of trivia. If tidbits of information cannot be cited or worked into a coherent discussion of the subject, reconsider including them.
  6. Reception: This should concisely describe the opinions expressed about the the subject by reviewers, critics, academics, and (if reliable, secondary sources exist) fan communities. Varying opinions, criticism kind and harsh, and controversies should be presented in a neutral tone. Although difficult to acquire, criticism and reactions from non-English sources (especially original language responses) are strongly desired.
  7. Media information: This can include lists of episodes, reprint volumes, etc., and should be placed towards the end of the article. If these lists take up a large amount of space, consider moving them to a separate page titled List of (series) media. You may find the {{Graphic novel list}} template useful for formatting lists.
  8. References: Although there are several ways to cite sources in the text, combining inline citations with a dedicated section at the end of the article will help with readability and organization. In rare cases it might be advisable to include a "See also" or "Further reading".
  9. External links: This section should be placed at the foot of the article and should contain links to the official sites relating directly to the subject (both the Original- and English-language official sites are acceptable). Other notable and useful sites may be added, but please follow Wikipedia:External Links.

[edit] Characters

Note that the heading titles are not set in stone—adapt them as appropriate for your character and context. This is a guideline for the sorts of information to include and the general order.

  1. Lead: A one-to-three paragraph summary of context, including that this is a fictional character, who she or he was created by, what works he or she appears in, her or his role in these works, and why he or she is notable. The usual WP:SS/WP:LEAD material. This should ideally be able to stand on its own as a potted summary.
  2. Infobox: Although this is not a section, the comic character infobox is a useful and attractive addition to an article. See the template documentation for instructions.
  3. Profile: Information about the character revealed in the story goes in this section—note, however, it should maintain out-of-universe prose (see Writing about fiction for guidance) and should not be mistakable for a biography. This can have subsections, such as "Appearance and personality" and "History", if encyclopedic treatment suggests separating them; special attributes/abilities would normally go in the former, but they can be treated in a separate subsection if warranted (however, do not list every single named attack of the character, as a long list gives that undue weight). Citations to the series as primary sources are appropriate here, though for personality and other aspects that require reader/viewer interpretation, reviewer/critical/academic comments are strongly desired.
  4. Development / Production notes: Out-of-universe information about the creation process, including influences upon the CREATORS. Differences between adaptations, both between media and during translation, and between sequels would also be discussed here. The best sources of information are interviews and critical analysis; be especially careful of original research here. Use a title appropriate for your section's actual contents.
  5. Reception: Out-of-universe information on responses to, popularity of, and influences upon OTHERS. Reviews, critical essays, and academic analysis are good sources; appearances in other works, poll results, merchandise (including, if possible, sales figures), statements by other creators that the character was an influence for them, etc. are also valid topics here. According to the notability guidelines for fictional characters, it is preferable to have at least some of this material in hand before you create a character article—this is the meat of an encyclopdic article.
  6. Alternate versions: The goal of the alternate versions section is that it be formatted in prose and with real world context, not as a list. Efforts should be made to convert instances where the section is in a list format into prose, retaining and fleshing out the information already included. Elements that either cannot be fleshed out or are solely in-universe items may be removed in this conversion. This does not bar such elements from being added back, but such reintroductions should fall with in the preferred style for the section. Refer to the guidelines for alternate versions of characters in comics.
  7. References: The preferred method for sourcing information is inline citations with footnotes in this section. For instructions, see WP:FOOT and WP:CITE. In rare cases it might be advisable to include a "See also" or "Further reading".
  8. External links: The last section, containing links to official sites relating directly to the subject (both the Original- and English-language sites are acceptable). Other notable and useful sites may be added, but please follow Wikipedia:External Links.

[edit] People

For articles on creators, editors, letterers, etc., follow Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography. Regarding the subject's name, use the English form used by the subject personally, or if that is unknown, the form most commonly used in English. Include as much as possible of the following:

  • Name in original language and literal transliteration if different from the usual English name,
  • Years of birth and death (if applicable),
  • Notable works, and
  • Styles, inspirations, students, and subsequent influence.

[edit] Companies and organizations

See Wikipedia:Companies, corporations and economic information for basic guidelines. Include years of founding and dissolution (if applicable) and notable works attributable to the organization. (In practice, notable works is often given as a comprehensive list.) Add Category:Comics-related organizations.

[edit] Conventions

The standard infobox for articles related to comics conventions is {{Infobox Convention}}. It provides a brief set of statistics related to the convention. For usage details, including detailed information on the numerous optional parameters, refer to Template:Infobox Convention. If you have any questions or problems with this infobox, you can discuss them on the template's talk page.

[edit] List articles

The satandard approach is to list works or characters in chronological order of appearance, earliest first. However, in the case of a complex series of works, items can sometimes be split into groups based on internal-series order or based on series chronology. Further guidance can be found at Wikipedia:Manual of Style (lists of works)