Comic Vine Wiki Style Guide
By Red L.A.M.P. 205 Comments
Article Sections
The following are H2 section titles for each type of wiki page. Please maintain the same order and spelling for section titles that you see below. Other applicable H2 section titles are, but not limited to, "Powers and Abilities", "Equipment and Weapons", "Alternate Version" and "Other Media".
Character Article
Current Events
- Firstly, this section is optional, but if you use it then it must come first on the page.
- No more than one paragraph in length. Approximately 100 words or less.
- Must cover current events and NOT speculating future events.
- Must link to issues or volumes or story arcs for even more information.
- Paragraph can discuss more than one story arc.
- The purpose of section is to point new readers in the right direction for current story arcs.
- Keep this section current or remove it.
Example Text:
Currently Superman, in Action Comics, and the other super people are fighting multiple Doomsday's in space, read more in Reign of Doomsday story arc. In the comic book title Superman, Superman continues his walk across America to connect with the common man, but a mysterious foe may be manipulating him. Also, Grant Morrison and George Perez continue to write the relaunch adventures of the Superman titles.
Origin
In narrative form please explain the most popular origin story of the character. Do not write a scene-by-scene retelling. This should be a paragraph.
Creation
Write about the artists/writers who created this character, or who had a significant impact on the characters.
Character Evolution
How has this character changed over the years? Do NOT write plot summaries depicting the story lines of the characters here. This is a section to talk about the character as it applies to our real world.
Major Story Arcs
This is a place to talk about the important storyarcs (or over all story lines) that impact this character. We would prefer you to write plot summaries on the Story Arc page, as this section should really talk about how the character was affected by the major story arcs, and should not be a retelling of the story arcs. See What is a Plot Summary?
Powers and Abilities
This section is meant for all the abilities and power the character might have. It should contain the powers from the main-continuity though. Powers of the alternate versions should go to the Alternate Versions section.
Alternate Versions
Since we don't create multiple pages for every alternate earth and future variation, we suggest a section for all those variants on the main character page.
Other Media
This section is meant for versions of the character outside of the comic books, like movies, video games and television series.
Team Article
Origin
In narrative form please explain the most popular origin story of the character. Do not write a scene-by-scene retelling. This should be a paragraph.Creation
Write about the artists/writers who created this character, or who had a significant impact on the charcacter.Team Evolution
This is the place to put the current and past team rosters. Do not just write out a list, but do this in paragraph form. Also discuss how the team has changed over time. Do not write plot summaries here.Major Story Arcs
Story Arc, Movie, Volume and Issue Article:
Plot Summary
Please read the What is a Plot Summary? post. Do not re-tell the story. 2-3 paragraphs. Present Tense!
Other H2 tags that are acceptable for the Story Arc page are, but not limited to,
- Full Plot (this would be a detailed version as opposed to a plot summary.
- Collected Editions
- Related Issues
- Non-U.S. Editions
- Examples of them in use can be found here and here .
Creator Article
Career
Personal Life
Object, Concept, Location Article
Overview
What NOT to do with H2/H3 tags:
Please keep the spelling and grammar of the H2 tags consistent across the character pages and:
- Do NOT use the character name in the H2 (e.g. "Alternate Versions of Superman" should just be "Alternate Versions")
- Never link a H2 or H3 section title
- Never add bold, underline or italics to an H2 or H3 section title.
- Do NOT use H2 tags to create sections for story arcs on a character/team page. Major story arcs should be summarized under the H2 "Major Story Arcs". (Please read What is a Plot Summary?)
What is an H3 tag for?
An H3 tag is to make sub sections under the H2 section titles. The same rules of formatting apply to H3, as they do H2, don't hyperlink, bold, underline, italicize an H3 header. Under a character's "Character Evolution" H2 section you might have the following H3 sub sections: "Golden Age", "Silver Age", "Modern Age".
Inserting
Images:
Please add images sparingly to sections and make sure they are appropriate.
- Please insert images aligned RIGHT, almost always.
- Remove images without captions.
- Remove jumbled up images.
Links:
We want our articles to have links in them, but only link the 1st occurrence of a character name, team name, etc in an article.
Wiki guide for foreign comic books
This foreign language section drafted by CV user Aiden Cross.
The wiki of Comicvine isn’t just for American and British comics. We’re striving to become the biggest comic book database and that includes comic books of all countries and languages. While all the descriptions and page content have to be English, the names of the volumes and pages do not and can be any other language. Where possible be sure to use Roman characters (characters that are known in the English language) otherwise people may have problems searching for the subject in the search function.
If you want to add a volume but the same volume already exists under a different foreign name it’s not a problem. Multiple volumes in different languages can exist next to each other. Here’s an example:
http://www.comicvine.com/blade-of-the-immortal/49-9069/
http://www.comicvine.com/limmortale/49-40356/
http://www.comicvine.com/blade-a-lamina-do-imortal/49-40357/
However, what goes for the volumes doesn’t go for the wiki pages. There do not need to be multiple pages of the same character only because of a different foreign name, they can simply be added by writing the name under the ‘alias’ list so it shows up in the search function.
Comicvine encourages all you wiki submitters out there to start submitting those comics from other countries!
Update: 10/21/2012
If the foreign comic has been translated into English or was originally in English and was translated into another language please include the English title in the volume description and a link to the American volume.
Example: VvX: Los Vengadores Vs. La Patrulla-X. Spanish translation of the American series Avengers Vs. X-Men.
The Comicvine database can't handle all foreign characters especially Cyrillic, if every single character in the volume title is in Cyrillic the page will become inaccessible. If the page becomes inaccessible hit your browsers back button and edit the page again to fix it, the volume title should be translated if possible as it must contain at least one non-Cyrillic character to work.
Manga/Manhwa/Manhua
As more manga volumes are being added to the wiki some guidelines have been established for how they should be set up.
English Manga Translated From Other Languages
The original language title should always be included in the volume description, include a link if the original language series is on Comicvine:
Example One: Oh My Goddess!. This series translates the Japanese manga Ā Megami-sama.
Example Two: Fairy Tail. English translation of the Japanese manga Fairy Tail (フェアリーテイル).
Asian Manga
The volume title should be the most well known/used title in its original country either Romanized or in English (the site can't handle most foreign characters) but the original title should be included in the volume description in the following format:
Proper Japanese/Korean/Chinese/Thai Title: Original Language Title (Romanized Title, Alternate/Literal Translation If There Is One)
the English title can also be included:
English Title: The English Title
and if the manga has been translated into English it should include links like so:
Example: Berserk. Translated into English as Berserk by Dark Horse Manga.
Other Manga
Manga released in other countries should be formatted the same as American translated manga and the volume title would be in that countries language.
Non-Asian Original Language Manga
Some countries produce their own manga so in these instances you would not need to include translation information or "Proper X Title:", instead you would add a description saying that it is an original language manga:
Original English-Language (OEL) manga.
Original German-Language (OGL) manga.
Example: Redakai.
Appropriate Headers
Outside the before mentioned headers there are a few other appropriate ones that can be used for manga:
on the volume page an Upcoming Releases H4 can be added to show release dates for upcoming manga, example:
Upcoming Releases
- Volume 2 - December 4, 2012
and for the individual issues Proper Japanese/Korean/Chinese/Thai Title: can be used as well as Chapter Titles or Story Titles (H2 followed by unordered list), page numbers should not be included but original language names can be used and if available the English and/or Romanized translation.
Manga Tips
- Pay close attention to covers as they should not be mixed, each language edition gets its own volume.
- Many Asian manga have multiple editions as they are re-released, often times the editions have a different number of volumes and different contents, the original 27 volume manga may be re-released and condensed into 14 manga. These different editions should not be mixed and would each get their own volume page so make sure you are using the correct covers for the edition you are working on and the correct chapters.
- Covers that have been photoshopped to include scanner group tags or English translations of cover text should never be used.
- If you add release dates make sure they are for the right edition.
Specific Guidelines
Story Arc
Story arcs should start with a H2 section title called "Plot Summary". Please read What is a Plot Summary? Please do not go into scene-for-scene detail. Articles should not re-tell the story of the story arc. The article should help readers understand the main points and repercussions of the story arc on the characters involved.
Next, do not type out in a list the comic book issues that are part of the story arc! Remove these typed out lists if you find them. Story arc pages have a section -- below the article -- for attaching the comics. Make sure you fill in the order field too, so people know what order to read the issues in. Do NOT attach trades/graphic novels UNLESS the story only takes place in a trade/graphic novel as opposed to an issue. Only attach the comics that are a must read.
Character / Team
Many people have added super long plot summaries -- that read like transcripts -- under the story arc section of the character/team articles. Firstly, we have story arc pages, so ask yourself if the character page truly needs this section written out on the character page, or is it clearer to move it to the actual story arc page? Secondly, don't list out story arcs as h2 or h3 section titles. Just write about them under the "Major Story Arc" H2 section in paragraph form, and link the name of the story arc to the appropriate page. In general the paragraphs explaining the "Major Story Arcs" should be connected to each other in a linear narrative.
Issues
This is the only article page where we allow you to paste in the plot summary from the official publisher. Our style is to always put this in italic. If you choose to expand on the plot summary, leave the official publisher's plot summary in italic, and any original text you add to the issue page -- that you write yourself -- should NOT be in italic.
Enemies/Friends/Team Pages
These pages are super duper important to us. Check out Jean Grey's enemies for example. Each enemy listed should be accompanied by a unique short paragraph that explains Why/How they are enemies. Don't just leave in the default character description that gets inserted when you add a new character.
-
205 Comments