Proper use of Item Title

[Fred Slota]

So, I've done a quick survey of the use of Item Title, and I'm not sure I this is being used in a useful manner.

Of course, there are inconsistent/incomplete coverage.  "A-1 comics" and the various "Coloring DC" titles...

Then there are some that think Item Title is the same as Item Description...

 

 

The message that shows up in Item Title when editing an issue's information is "The title of this item, if it differs from the series name"

 

Here are a few examples

An issue of "The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book" with the cover reading "The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book"

The entire 1963 series, where the covers have "1963" looking more like a publisher identification.  The Item Title is what looks like the title on the cover.

The series "Archie & Friends"  Ever issue has "Archie & Friends" prominently on top, followed by a suffix or subtitle, where the Item Title is suffixed as "Archie & Friends Music Jam", etc.

The series "B&V Friends Forever".  Like "Archie & Friends", but here the Item Titles are subtitled as "Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: At the Movies", etc.

"The Defenders" #147, with the one-off stunt cover title of "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Defenders"

 

These make sense - the title you would expect based on the cover is not the series name and the title you would expect based on what is on the cover is in Item Title.  A little consistency on suffix vs. subtitle might be nice, but all the obvious printed words are all there.

 

 

But then we have:

 

 

The TPBs of The Avengers, like "The Avengers Bk 2"  Typically, these covers feature the series title prominently on top, followed by the name of the collected Storyline.  In this example, the book collects the Storyline "Under Siege" (which is in the Storyline field), and the cover fully reads "The Avengers Under Siege".  Similar to "Archie & Friends", should these not have Item Titles like "The Avengers Under Siege"?

What appears to be the entirety of "Classics Illustrated".  Not only do the Item Titles only include the Storyline, but on some, the cover reads "Classic Comics Presents", which is mentioned in the Title description, but not reflected in the Item Titles of those that reflect this on the cover.

"Dell Junior Treasury" is maybe understandable at not including "Dell Junior Treasury", which is on the covers,, but issue 1 also shows "Walt Disney's" first.

 

 

Bottom line, I thought the purpose of Item Title is to aid someone who picks up a comic and attempts to find it in ComicBase using the reasonable assumption that what looks like the title on the cover is the title.  As such, the Item Title should have the full obvious text on the cover when it differs from the official CB title.

[Gregory Hecht]

Item Title is a relatively recent feature, so it is possible that some of the items you list *should* have an Item Title but neither editorial nor the user base have gotten around to getting these updated.  

[Fred Slota]

Your answer is responsive to my second line, "Of course, there are inconsistent/incomplete coverage.  "A-1 comics" and the various "Coloring DC" titles..."

 

Your answer does not address the point of my post, that the attempts to legitimately use the item Title field fail to make the feature useful.

 

Example 1:

You pick up a bagged book, preventing you from accessing the indicia or the UPC.  The cover bears text that appears to clearly label the book "Star Raiders".  You enter "Star Raiders" in the search bar, and are shown the "Star Raiders - Named Items in Other Titles" entry.  You select that, and are shown the correct issue and only the correct issue.  Mission accomplished.  This is the point of the Item Title field.

 

Example 2:

You pick up a bagged book, preventing you from accessing the indicia or the UPC.  The cover bears text that appears to clearly label the book "Hellblazer Original Sins".  You enter "HellBlazer Original Sins" in the search bar, and are shown... Nothing.  Mission failed.  Because the Item Title has "Original Sins" and not "Hellblazer Original Sins"

 

 

And don't even get me started if you try to find a book clearly labeled as "The Avengers Under Siege" because of the unfriendly handling of the "The" when searching...

[Fred Slota]

Couple of questionables, wanted some consensu

 

"Spooky & The Strange Tales: Monster Inn" #1/HC currently has an Item Title of "Monster Inn".  The cover shows both the title and the subtitle.  Should Item Title be used for a subtitle only?  If so, there's probably thousands and thousands of issues that could/should be updated...  I personally don't think this is right.

 

"Tales from the Wedding Present"  BK 1 currently has and Item Title of "Go Out and Get 'm, Boy! Tales from the Wedding Present Volume One".  The cover shows both the title and the subtitle.  Should Item Title be used for subtitle followed by a title?  I personally really don't think this is right.

[Fred Slota]

No response to these question examples for proper use of the Item Title field...

My understanding, it should be used to represent the full printed on the cover information when it differs from the proper title.

 

1) Instances where the cover includes both the proper Title and a subtitle, should the Item Title be the subtitle only, or the full Title and subtitle? (ex. Hellblazer #Bk 1 cover reads "Hellblazer Original Sins")  I vote for the full apparent title (Title + subtitle) as printed on the cover.

1a) Instances where the cover includes both the proper Title and a subtitle, should the Item Title be the subtitle followed by the proper Title? (ex. Tales from the Wedding Present #Bk 1)  I vote for the full apparent title (Title + subtitle) as printed on the cover.

2) Instances where the full proper Title includes a subtitle, should there be an Item Title for the subtitle only?  (ex. Spooky & Strange Tales: Monster Inn #1/HC)  I vote for no Item Title for a subtitle only, as that does not represent what is completely printed on the cover.