Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics/Getting Involved

Welcome to Wikiproject Comics (WP:CMC), a project to increase, expand and improve the comics-related articles in Wikipedia, the largest encyclopaedia in the world! We rely on comics enthusiasts worldwide to make this the best comics encyclopaedia on the web.

What is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a user-created encyclopaedia run by a non-commercial, not-for-profit organisation. Type a subject in the "search box" and see what appears: Try "Comics," for instance, and read our article on the medium. The "edit this page" tab at the top of the page means you can, if you so wish, edit any page in Wikipedia and have your changes appear immediately. If you would like to try it out, you can experiment on Wikipedia:Sandbox. Enter anything you want, and see what appears! Remember: No constructive edit is too small!

Wherever you see a word or phrase underlined in blue, that means you can click and read an article. And, of course, if you can spot an improvement, you can just make it there and then. Where a word or phrase is underlined in red, that means that article has not yet been written - and, if you wish, you can click on that word or phrase and create that article.

User accounts

Anyone can edit Wikipedia, regardless of whether they have a user account; however, if you find yourself contributing regularly, it's a good idea to create a user account. Edits by registered users tend to be taken a little more seriously. You don't have to use your real name if you don't want to, and it helps if others want to contact you to discuss the work you're doing or even to thank you for your contributions.

• Click here to create a user account.

What is WikiProject Comics?

Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics (WP:CMC) is a group of Wikipedia editors interested in comics. WP:CMC allows us to discuss what we're doing, ask for help, and announce new articles. Any Wikipedian (someone with a user account) is free to join. Look at Portal:Comics to see some of our best articles.

How to get involved with WP:CMC

Editing articles

Many articles need to be edited, updated, or even created. These include articles about notable creators, comic books, comic strips, characters, and country-specific topics. Because Wikipedia's editorial staff is made up of volunteers, everything should be cited. You can find relevent information at sites such as Comics Newsarama and Comic Book Resources and magazines like The Comics Journal, Back Issue Magazine, and Wizard: The Comics Magazine. You can also use information from older solicitation information, such as you might find in the Previews catalog; be sure only to write about comics that have hit the shelves and not to speculate — "Wikipedia is not a crystal ball".

A look at the useful pages will aid you in your editing, as will the WP:CMC Templates. WP:CMC Editorial Guidelines and exemplars and naming conventions will guide you in how WP:CMC articles should look and help you refine your editing techniques.

Contributing images

Comics creator Scott McCloud

We always need new images and photographs. We of course must respect copyrighted images, but photographs you've taken are welcome. We need images that are licensed under {{GFDL}}, {{PD}} (Public Domain) or {{cc-by-sa}} (Creative Commons); copyrighted but fair to use; or free.

We need images of comic book panels, covers and promotional art; comic strips; comics exhibitions; conventions; the tools used in creating comics; and creators, particularly if the image is of the creator working.

Related comics projects

• If you know a language other than English, you could translate comics-related text. See the full list of non-English wikipedias.
• You could add comics terminology to Wiktionary:, our sister dictionary concern.
• You could add comics quotes to Wikiquote: another sister concern.
• You could create audio versions of comics article text for Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia.

WP:CMC resources

The Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics project page gives you a short overview of the resources available to you as part of the project. Among them are:

• The WikiProject Comics talk page This is the central page to visit for general discussion of the project. You can see what other editors are working on, ask questions, and keep track of the project's progress.

• The Notice Board keeps editors apprised of comics articles whose talk pages are involved in ongoing debates; merge, move, and delete decisions; and discussions of interest. Editors of articles can also announce new articles and projects and request comment from uninvolved editors.

• The To-Do List lets editors request the expansion, condensation, updating, and cleaning up of articles and the creation of new articles. If you think something needs to be done and you don't know how to do it, please ask on the applicable talk page. Another editor will help you.

• WP:CMC Editorial Guidelines explains proper grammar and formatting for comics articles. The Exemplars page gives examples of accepted article structure for comics articles. The Naming conventions page describes the best ways to name new articles.

• WP:CMC Templates make constructing and editing a comics article easier.

• Copyright informs editors which images are appropriate for uploading and use in comics articles and how best to use them.

• The WP:CMC Comics Collaboration of the Month organizes editors to improve an article to Featured Article-quality each month.

• Useful pages is a collection of links to resources on Wikipedia that can help editors further.

In closing

Welcome to Wikiproject Comics. We look forward to your edits. Once again, if you need anything, just ask.