Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics)/Proposals/Disambiguation

There are several issues which I think desperately need to be discussed/clarified.

Please comment on the talk page.

(Note: As I am intentionally not linking to articles in the examples, please do not wikify the examples.)

Heroic name vs Secret ID disambiguation
Most common names is the rule. We wouldn't list Superman under Clark Kent (indeed, an article about the persona of Clark Kent would ALSO be fully notable).

Pseudonyms that are less commonly known would be an exception. For example: John Constantine is most commonly known by that name, rather than by Hellblazer.

The standard in common usage is typically one of two options:
 * Roman numerals - which has been rightly disallowed for confusion reasons.
 * Hero name (secret ID)

Anytime there is more than one character of the primary heroic name, use the latter standard.

However, unless there are more than one Martian Manhunter, there is no need for Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), but merely Martian Manhunter (and not J'onn J'onzz).

In the case of a character having several heroic names (Hal Jordan, or Hector Hall, for example) - and when article length is a factor - each identity is broken out to a separate article, a disambiguation phrase may be necessary. For the extensive examples of Hal Jordan two options are presented, either using a disambiguation phrase or avoiding one: (etc.)
 * Hal Jordan: An overview page of the character, summarising the sub-articles per summary style. (This article will likely have several cases of using the main template.)
 * Parallax (Hal Jordan): Jordan as Parallax
 * Spectre (Hal Jordan): Jordan as the Spectre
 * Spectre (Jim Corrigan): Corrigan as the Spectre
 * Spectre (Crispus Allen): Allen as the Spectre
 * Green Lantern (Hal Jordan): Jordan as GL
 * Green Lantern (Guy Gardner): Gardner as GL
 * Green Lantern (John Stewart): Stewart as GL
 * Green Lantern (Kyle Raynor): Raynor as GL

Notice how easily this disambiguates, the name itself does it. (As per Manual of Style (disambiguation pages))

In the case of the semi-complex case of The Sandman, these are some potentials for a Sandman disambiguation page (some were copied directly from that page:
 * Sandman (DC Comics), an overview page on the various characters who have assumed the Sandman identity
 * Sandman (Wesley Dodds), a comic book superhero first appearing in the 1940s
 * Sandman (Garrett Sanford), a comic book superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in the 1970s
 * Sandman (Hector Hall), Dr. Sanford's temporary replacement
 * Sandman (Daniel Hall), Hector Hall's son
 * Sandman (Morpheus), also known as Dream
 * The Sandman volume 1, a title starring the Simon and Kirby character.
 * The Sandman volume 2, a title starring Dream (aka Morpheus), the king of dreams, written by Neil Gaiman
 * Sandman (William Baker), a Marvel comics super villain who could transform his body into sand

This is clear, concise, and should aid in searches.

Disambiguation between a name or a group name, and a publication
For example, if we need to disambiguate between: The Justice League of America and The Justice League of America

This is not directly covered under Naming conventions (books) or Naming conventions (comics)

I've seen (comic) and (comic book) and (comic book series), as well as the generic (comics) freely used, with no standard.

In most cases, comic books are periodicals (the exception being when they are published as books for trade).

I suggest that we use the unambiguous: (publication)

This avoids several potential disputes, including:
 * comic book vs graphic novel (standardizes usage)
 * periodicals vs books released for trade (trade paperbacks, hardcovers, etc.)
 * character vs publication (Green Lantern vs Green Lantern)
 * series vs "one-shots"

In cases of several titles of the same name from the same publisher, X-men, volume 1, X-men, volume 2, etc. should work as a suggested standard. It has the added benefit of essentially being the way the publishers themselves disambiguate between titles, and avoids a disambiguation phrase. However, we should not use this where only one volume exists, instead use the bracketed publication phrase.

If they come from separate publishers, then we default to publisher imprint: Starman (DC publication) or Starman (Marvel publication), for example. (Publication, in order to differentiate between pubs and the individual characters, obviously).

Combining the two: Starman, volume 1 (DC publication)

Naming conventions (precision) suggests to me that more precise is better. So The Sandman (Vertigo) would be preferred, instead of The Sandman (DC comics), for referring to comic book series of the character Sandman (Morpheus).