Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics/Getting Involved

Welcome to Wikiproject Comics (WP:CMC), a project to increase and expand 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 helps us to discuss what we're doing, ask for help, and advertise new articles we have written. Any Wikipedian (someone with a user account) is free to join. Look at Portal:Comics to see some of our better articles. Category:Comics will allow you to locate every comics-related article we've got. As you'll see, there are quite a lot of them, but there's a long way to go.

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 Guide to Comics. You can also use information from solicitation information, such as you might find in Previews, but try not to speculate

A look at the useful pages will help you with your editing, as will the WP:CMC Templates.

Contributing images

[Image:ScottMcCloud Angouleme2000.jpg|thumb|150px|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.

Other comics projects

• Do you know a non-English language? You can help out by translating comic-related text. See the full list of non-English wikipedias.
• You could also add comic terms to wiktionary: our sister dictionary concern
• Or you could write up comics in a simple language in the English wikipedia.
• Or you could add comics quotes to wikiquote: another sister concern.
• Or you could help out in the Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia by creating audio versions of the text.

Again good luck! And if you need any help, we're always there to answer it.

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 request outside 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.