How to Cite a Comic in MLA

Use Italic for the Titles of Comic Book Series and Graphic Novels: When referencing graphic novels or comic books in MLA format, remember to use italics when referring to the title of the comic book series or graphic novel. This applies to both the major series and independent graphic novels. Italicizing these titles makes them stand out from issue titles or smaller parts of the citation.

Use “no.” for Issue Numbers and “vol.” for Volume Numbers: The markers “no.” and “vol.” are employed in the citation of issue and volume numbers. “No.” is used for the number of a particular issue of a comic book, while “vol.” is used for the volume within a series or collected work. These are the MLA standard markers which help the reader easily identify the specific part of a work being mentioned.

List All Main Contributors with Their Jobs: Citations must also list all main contributors, where possible. This would be the writer, illustrator, letterer, colorist, and any other contributor who contributed significantly creatively. Each contributor’s job must be designated using MLA’s contributor labels. It is important to include all individuals involved in creating a comic or graphic novel, especially when the research involves both textual and visual aspects.

Use “Print” at the End of Printed Comic Citations: For printed books, the word “Print” should be included at the end of the citation. This describes the publishing platform and is a standard requirement for MLA citations of printed books and comics.

Begin with the Greatest Contributor of Collaborative Works: For collaborative works, the one most pertinent to the contribution in the research comes first. If what is under discussion is the story or dialogue, the writer may come first. If the analysis is on visual or artwork, the illustrator may be better suited as the initial one. MLA is accommodating based on the source used under focus.

Cite the Volume as Part of a Series When Appropriate: If it is a portion of a series that has several volumes, then both the number of the volume and the title of the series need to be mentioned at the end of the citation. This enables it to be easily recognizable as part of a series and provides the readers with an easy means of locating it within the greater collection.

Use Title Case for Titles, and Comply with MLA Capitalisation Rules: Finally, titles should be in MLA title case style. In other words, important words in titles should be capitalized, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions should still be in lower case, unless the conjunction or preposition appears at the start of the title. This makes it uniform and conforms to MLA’s rules for formatting.