New Table For Issue Cover Details
By pikahyper 15 Comments
Ok I was supposed to do this like a month ago but I've been busy so here it is :D
Since we don't have a visible caption area for issue covers I figured we shouldn't waste the perfectly good data that many users like to see, cover details, so basically the table is a four column table with however many rows based on the number of covers, example & example.
The headers for the table should always be the same as to not confuse people so the four headers would be Cover, Name, Creator(s) and Sidebar Location.
The Cover column holds the cover designation: A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, Reg, Pull, Sub, Wrap, Virgin, RI, RE, Sketch, 2nd Print, 3rd Print, Var, etc. The order of variants varies by publisher but generally it goes from most common to most rare descending. The label for each cover designation should be what that publisher generally uses.
The second column is for the Name of the cover if it has one or a short description can be used, this is also where you would add ratio and/or limited edition numbers.
Third column is for the cover Creators, if a cover has more then one creator then a role initial is tacked on: artist (a), colorist (c), inker (i), penciler (p), photographer (ph), model (m), etc. if the role is known. If the creator is unknown this field should not be left empty so just use Unknown (if you don't know), Unlisted (if it's not listed in the credits) or ? (for a general catch all).
Fourth column is for the location in the sidebar i.e. the cover stack on the right. If a cover is missing it should be marked as Missing.
So far the cover table has been very beneficial since the associated creators can get cluttered with multiple roles, this table is optional so if any editors don't want to add it that is fine, I hope more editors will use it though so if you add covers and you see the table I do ask that you please add the details to the table so that the data and order stays accurate. Also I think it goes without saying but if an issue only has a single cover the table isn't needed and if the issue does have a couple covers but they are by the same exact creator and there is nothing special (i.e. two regular covers) the table isn't really necessary again.
If a cover takes more then one spot it only gets one row in the table (front and back) unless each side has different creators then it is ok to use two rows but try to keep it to one row per cover, if there are multiple images like a front, back and/or full cover and they are the same creator or part of a wraparound both numbers would go in the same row like 1 & 2 or 1-3 for front/back/front, example (bottom). Merged covers should not be included in the table since it is semi redundant, the location in the sidebar can just be skipped.
If you have any questions just post them below and here are more examples broken down by publisher:
I've been adding the tables for a couple months now so they are sprinkled all over.
Here is a (maybe complete) list of roles:
- (a) artist
- (c) colorist
- (d) designer
- (i) inker
- (l) letterer
- (ld) logo designer
- (p) penciler
- (ph) photographer
- (m) model
- (t) toner