KEY ICONS FOR KEY COMICS

[mark d. smith]

was wondering if a key icon would be good next to key comic,perhaps a gold key for major keys and silver key for minor keys,just a idea

[mark d. smith]

was wondering if a key icon would be good next to key comic,perhaps a gold key for major keys and silver key for minor keys,just a idea

[mark d. smith]

ive asked this about 3 times now,but for some reason ones ever replied,just wonder if you could add a gold key icon for a major key and a silver for a minor

thoughts please?

[Gregory Hecht]

From a netiquette perspective, it is preferred that you post within a thread you have started for this topic rather than start a brand new thread for the exact same topic.  This is the second time that I have merged one of your posts into the original thread.  

As to your original question, my personal opinion as a CB user (I'm not a Human Computing employee and do not serve any formal role on the CB editorial team) is that while it is obvious which comics would qualify as a "major key" (e.g., Action Comics #1, Amazing Fantasy #1, Showcase #4, etc.) there will always be some subjectivity as to which comics constitute a major key and especially what should count as a minor key. 

Is Thor #337 a major key or a minor key?  If you choose minor key, does that change if Beta Ray Bill gets a starring role in an MCU movie or TV show?  What about Amazing Spider-Man #545?  It's not expensive on the back market, but it is a key moment in Spider-Man history and continuity (even if it is not necessarily a popular moment).  Wolverine's first appearance was only a cameo in Incredible Hulk #180.  Presumably #181 is a major key, but is #180 a major key b/c it is the true first appearance or is it a minor key b/c it is only a couple of panels?  Wolverine has a similar cameo in Incredible Hulk #182... is that a minor key or not a key?  

Should keys for non-super-hero comics be included?  So does Bone #1 (1st printing) count as a major or minor key?  What about subsequent printings of Bone #1?  Do all of the first issues of EC's "New Trend" titles get labeled as major keys?  What about the first issues of EC's "New Direction" titles?  Is Sugar & Spike #1 a major or minor key?

Do non-English comics get "key treatment" for the first appearances of One Piece, TinTin, or Asterix?  What about various issues of Weekly Shonen Jump from Japan (such as #43 that introduced Naruto) or the reprints of those stories that Viz published in Shonen Jump in North America?   

Captain Underpants and Dog Man are really popular, so the first appearances of those characters should probably be labeled as a "key" in some way... but there are people who argue that those characters aren't enough like comic books to warrant that kind of attention (even if the CB database categorizes them under Comics rather than Books).  

To varying degrees, a lot of major and minor keys are in the eyes of the beholder.  

I wouldn't want to speak for Pete, but my guess (and I emphasize that this is a **guess**) is that with everything that the CB editorial/corrections team needs to field each week, adding editorial decisions about what is (or is not) a major or minor key is something that would eat up a ton of the team's time without a lot of "value added" to the CB product.  YMMV, of course.  

[mark d. smith]

thanks for replying and i do get your point its a matter of opinion in some cases