Letters and Fan Art

These detailed instructions for using the Type 'Letters' were created by votes of the Policy List in July, 2014.

Indexing Letter Column pages are optional

If Letter Column pages are indexed, indexing the names of letter writers or creators of fan art are optional. If Letter Column pages are indexed, indexing the names of creators or editorial personnel responding to letter writers, or any additional creator content (photographs, artwork, etc.), is mandatory.

Letter Column Script and Editorial Comment Credits

Names of creators or editorial personnel responding to letter writers are to be entered into the script field. If the name of the person responding is unknown, then the credit is listed as “?”. If the name of the person responding is that of a character in the comic or any other fictional person, then that name would be recorded following the rules for recording aliases. For example:

• ? [as Sgt. Rock]
• Pat Mills [as Tharg the Mighty]

If there is no response, then the NO script check-box must be checked. (At that point, it will be assumed the selection and editing of the Letter Column pages had been done by any of the editorial personnel listed in the Issue-level Editor field.)

Optionally, if known, an explanation of the credit can be added in parenthesis, some examples (but not limited to) of possible explanations:

• Julius Schwartz (response)
• Pat Mills [as Tharg the Mighty] (promo)
• Bob Harras (blurb)
• ? [as Miss America] (advice)
• Will Shetterly (historical discussion)
• Dave Sim (political discussion)

Letter Column Photograph and Art Credits

Credits for photographs reproduced in Letter Columns are considered creator credits and are mandatory for indexing. The rules for crediting the creators of photographs apply here as well. Color, two and three-color photographs are credited in the pencil, inks, and colors fields. Black and White photographs are credited in the pencil and inks fields. If the photograph is of a person or persons, credit who they are (if known). Optionally, additional information can be added to the credit to better document the photograph. For example:

• ? (photo)
• Bruno Bernard [as Bernard of Hollywood] (photo)
• ? (photo of Bryan Talbot)
• Robert West (photo)
• Eliot R. Brown (photo, signed)
• ? (photo, see notes)
• ? (photo, movie still)
• ? (photo of Michael Keaton)
• Bob Beerbohm (photo of Comic-Con)

Crediting any characters that appear in photographs in Letter Columns are optional. If indexing this information, follow the standards for Rules Regarding Photographed Characters.

Art by known comic artists may also appear in a letters page and this art may also be credited. While there is no specific rule for this, the general rules for art credits would apply, whether for a single illustration panel or longer strip. See Credits for details.

• for an illustration of one panel or similar, you can use the format "Jack Kirby (illustration)" to indicate that only the single panel is present.
• for an illustration of one panel or similar, you may instead enter the information in the Notes field.

Letter Column Letters Field Credits

With the vast majority of Letter Column pages, “typeset” would be used in the Letters Field. Credit any reproduced handwritten creator/editorial responses in the Letters Field when known. For example:

• typeset
• Alex Toth (response)

Letter Column Logo Art Credits

If the letter column logo uses creator art or was designed by a known creator, the rules for crediting cover logos would apply here as well; the name of the creator would be listed where the credit was applicable (Pencils, Inks, Colors, and/or Letters), but only for the first appearance of that logo art. For example:

• Al Plastino (Metropolis Mailbag logo)
• Jim Aparo (Brave & Bold Mailbag logo)
• Jim Mooney (Super Fe-Mail logo)

If that letter column logo artwork has a job number, that will be recorded in the Job Number field on its first appearance or each time it changes.

Letter Column Letter Writer Credits

If indexing letter writers, their names would go into the Notes field. For example:

• Letters from: Roy Thomas, Augie De Blieck Jr., Bob Rozakis, Irene Vartanoff, et al.

Include real name of an alias or misspelled name if known. For example:

• Letters from: James Burke [as T.M. Maple], Jerry Bails [as Jerry Baik], Jerry Bails [as Robert Ronald Lindsey], et al.

It is optional to notate if the original handwritten letter was reproduced as written. For example:

• Letters from: Tony Isabella (letter reproduced), Mark Gruenwald (portion of letter reproduced), Mary Jo Duffy (letter reproduced), et al.

It is optional to notate where the letter writer is from (if mentioned). For example:

• Letters from: Jerry Bails (from Detroit, Michigan), Lionel English (from San Diego, California), James Burke [as T.M. Maple] (from Toronto, Canada), et al.

Letter Column Fan Art Credits

If indexing the names of those submitting fan art that was reproduced, their names would go into the Notes field. For example:

• Fan Art from: Wendy Smith, Dorothy Jones, Kenny Johnson, et al.

It is optional to notate where the fan art creator is from (if mentioned). For example:

• Fan Art from: Don Thompson (from Cleveland, Ohio), Denis Gifford (from London, England), Wendy Fletcher (from San Francisco, California), et al.

If the fan art is indexed, and that art is of a recognizable character from the comic or another source, then it is optional to include those character's names in the Characters field. If recording the character, it must be recorded as follows:

• Big Boy (fan art), Hawkman (fan art), Archie Andrews (fan art), et al.

Use of Commas or Semi-Colons in Separating Names of Letter Writers and Fan Art in the Notes Field

When crediting the names of letter writers and/or creators of reproduced fan art in the Notes field, separate their names by commas, NOT semi-colons.

Letter Column Title and Feature

The Name of the Letter Column shall be placed in the Feature field only. The Title Field for Letter Columns shall be left blank unless the letter column has a separate title that is not the name of the Letter column itself. The first line of text (other than the name of the letter column) can be used as an alternate choice for letter column title.

Note that it has not yet been determined how or whether to address editorials with their own specific, recurring names WITHIN company hype pages (such as Stan's Soapbox within Bullpen Bulletins) or letters pages (such as From the Den within various places).

(end of definition)

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Policy Votes Affecting This Topic

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/249/ - 2015-06-09

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/216/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/217/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/218/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/219/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/220/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/221/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/222/ - 2014-07-27

http://www.comics.org/voting/ballot/223/ - 2014-07-27

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