This page is intended as a guide on how to lay out comics-related articles. These do not have to be followed strictly, but are suggestions for stylistic consistency:
No actual heading required. This section lists the character's current or primary codename, their real name, any other significant codenames, the publishing company or companies and the creators of the character.
Beyond that, as per guidance at Wikipedia:Lead section, the introduction should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, be written in a clear and accessible style, and should first offer (what editors can agree are...) the topic's most interesting points, including a mention of the topic's most prominent controversies. All of the various points should be expanded upon later in the article, and the appropriate references provided at that point, rather than in the lead section. The length should be one to three paragraphs, depending on the length of the entire article, and should never be limited to one or two short sentences.
The opening sentence should be formatted in one of the following two ways:
"{Name of character} is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in the comic books published by [[publisher]]. Created by {creator(s)}, he/she/they first appeared in {Name of series} #{issue number} ({year})."
"{Name of character} is a comic book superhero who appears in the comic books published by [[publisher]]. Created by {creator(s)}, he/she/they first appeared in {Name of series} #{issue number} ({year})."
This can be developed to mention appearances in other media, and other notable aspects of the character's impact on the wider world. The character's alter ego can be introduced in brackets after the {Name of character}, or can be introduced within the lead. However, remember these characters are inherently not real, and should not be written about as if they are. Examples:
Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman, is a fictional character, a comic booksuperhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger (although only Kane receives official credit) and published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939).
This can be amended to make mention of a character's ties to a team, character or the characters cultral impact. For example (with the pertinent points italicized below, though not in normal punctuation):
^Koehler, Derek J.; Harvey, Nigel, eds. (2004). Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making. Blackwell. p. 519. ISBN1405107464.
^Dinerstein, Joel (2003). Swinging the machine: Modernity, technology, and African American culture between the wars. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 81. ISBN1558493832.
Publication history
The real world history of the character. This section details who wrote the character, what series they've had or made long runs of appearances in, their longevity within comics and any inspirations for the character. This section should focus mainly on the comic, but include passing mentions of all other-media versions, and acknowledge where these versions have impacted on the comic version. The publication details of any reboots and the input of any creators into the character would also be detailed here.
Fictional character biography
The biography of the character. Filling in the first (or primary, if the "main" version isn't the original) continuity version of the character's history. Note that such a biography should assert the character's fictionality in their biography and should not be written in a manner that asserts that the events happened themselves. Biographies that retell storylines in detail are strongly discouraged. For more guidance in this matter see Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction, Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction) and Wikipedia:Notability (fiction).
This section gives biographies for other versions of the character, for example an Ultimate Marvel version section. It should note divergences. If the article is unmanageably large, then this should be short and a new article created with a Main article: ARTICLE NAME link provided. New articles should only be created in this way if the main article has been has already been copy edited in line with editorial guidance. Note that such biographies should assert the character's fictionality in their biography and should not be written in a manner that asserts that the events happened themselves. For more guidance in this matter see Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction, Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction) and Wikipedia:Notability (fiction).
In other media
This section details the character's appearances in other media. It should note divergances. If this section becomes too long, then this should be shortened and a new article created with a Main article: ARTICLE NAME link provided.
Awards
This section notes any awards that the character has received.
See also
This section is only included where necessary, and is designed to list other articles which would be of interest to the reader, which may not have been mentioned in the text.
References
All Wikipedia articles should give references where possible. It is appreciated that with fictional characters the works in question are usually the source of reference. However, specific issue numbers should still be cited, and any other sources, for example Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, DC's Who's Who, magazine articles in Alter Ego, Comic Book Artist or The Comics Journal, or books 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. For examples of how to do this and the style to follow, please see Wikipedia: Cite sources.
External links
This section provides links to other "for further reading" sites of interest to readers. This section should not be overly long; generally, five links is considered suitable.
Exceptions
In the Introduction:
When several different characters have used the title, such as the Flash and Green Lantern, the birth name of one particular character should not be in parenthesis next to the name of the character.
When a superhero has been owned by more than one company such as Captain Marvel, then an explanation of ownership can wait.
When a character is not exactly a superhero or supervillain, such as Catwoman or Venom, then a neutral terms such as character should be used.
When the exact circumstance under which a character was created or developed is complex, such as with Wolverine, whose creators did not develop him into the character we know today, or X-Force, which developed from prior concepts and using mostly extant characters, then the exact manner of creation should wait until an appropriate section. No one person and persons should be misleadingly listed as the creator.
No actual heading required. This section lists the creator's name, date of birth and other details. Currently, the format preferred for the opening sentence is as follows: "{Name of creator} ({date of birth - date of death}) is/was a {nationality of creator} {occupation of creator} best known for {notable achievement}.
Example: Joe Shuster (July 10, 1914 - July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-born artist best known for co-creating Superman.
This section is included if the creator has had a notable impact either within or outside of the field. Examples are Will Eisner or Scott McCloud.
Inspirations
This section details any works or situations which inspired the creator. Note this section must be referenced, otherwise it is considered to be original research.
Awards
This section details any awards won, and the years they were won, formatted in a bulleted list.
Bibliography
This section would detail the publications a creator has worked upon, formatted in a bulleted list with publication dates, companies and ISBN numbers given where known.
See also
This section is only included where necessary, and is designed to list other articles which would be of interest to the reader, which may not have been mentioned in the text.
This section provides links to other sites of interest to readers. This section should not be overly long, generally five links is considered suitable.
No actual heading required. Currently, the format preferred for the opening sentence is as follows: {Graphic novel title} is a {publication year} graphic novel created by {name of creator(s)} and originally published by {name of publisher}.
The section would then go on to give a brief summary of the main points of the article.
Plot
This section details the plot of the graphic novel.
Impact
This section is included if the work has had a notable impact either within or outside of the field. Examples are A Contract with God or Understanding Comics.
Inspirations
This section details any works or situations which inspired the work. Note this section must be referenced, otherwise it is considered to be original research.
Publication
This section details how the work has been published, if it started as a serial in a comic book or an anthology and was later collected, or if it has been published in many different versions.
Editions
This section is a sub-heading of the Publication section, and lists the ISBN number and date of any publication mentioned above where known.
See also
This section is only included where necessary, and is designed to list other articles which would be of interest to the reader, which may not have been mentioned in the text.
References
All Wikipedia articles should give references where possible. It is appreciated that with fictional characters the works in question are usually the source of reference, however, any other sources, for example Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, DC's Who's Who, 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'sUnderstanding Comics, should be listed. For examples of how to do this and the style to follow, please see Wikipedia: Cite sources.
External links
This section provides links to other sites of interest to readers. This section should not be overly long, generally five links is considered suitable.
Exceptions
In the Introduction:
Where a graphic novel was originally serialised, then the year of publication and publisher should not be mentioned, as in Maus.
No actual heading required. Currently, the format preferred for the opening sentence is as follows: {Comic book series title)) is a comic book published by {name of publisher} since {year first issue was published}.
The section would then go on to give a brief summary of the main points of the article.
History
This section details the history of the comic book series, detailing major characters who have appeared and notable creators who have worked upon the book.
Regular features
If the work is an anthology, list any recurring strips or features. See Viz for an example.
Plot
If the work contains one or many storylines, then they should be noted here or spun off into their own page.
Creators
This section should list creators who have worked upon the series, in a bulleted list, giving issue numbers where possible. If this section grows too long it should be broken off into a separate page and a link placed in the see also section.
Collections
This section lists any collections made from issues of the series, in a bulleted list, giving publication dates, creators and ISBN numbers where known.
Impact
This section is included if the work has had a notable impact either within or outside of the field. Examples are Sandman or Viz.
Awards
This section details any awards won, and the years they were won, formatted in a bulleted list.
See also
This section is only included where necessary, and is designed to list other articles which would be of interest to the reader, which may not have been mentioned in the text.
References
All Wikipedia articles should give references if possible. 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. For examples of how to do this and the style to follow, please see Wikipedia: Cite sources.
External links
This section provides links to other sites of interest to readers. This section should not be overly long, generally five links is considered suitable.