How to Cite a Comic Book in APA, MLA, or Chicago

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She’s fierce, she’s powerful, she’s a skillful fighter, she’s…..WONDER WOMAN! Wonder Woman is one of the most popular DC Comics superheroes to make it to the big screen. Her first movie made over $435 million in box office sales after just two weeks in theaters, so it’s safe to say she’s kind of a big deal.

Quickly cite a comic by using our online form here.

If you’ve caught the Wonder Woman buzz and you’d like to cite her comic books, or any other characters’ comic books, in your own projects, follow the steps below to cite them correctly. We have instructions on how to cite your comic book, both in print and online versions, in MLA format, APA format, or Chicago formats.

To cite a comic book in print, find the following pieces of information:

1. The author’s name and the names of any relevant artists/illustrators
2. The title of the comic book issue
3. The title of the comic book series
4. The volume and issue number
5. The name of the publisher
6. City, or city and country of the publisher
7. Year published
8. A page or page range (if citing only a specific portion of the comic book)

To cite a comic book in print using MLA 9, follow this format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Comic Book Issue. Title of Comic Book Series, vol. number, issue no., Name of Publisher, Year Published.

If the comic book has separate writers and illustrators and you’d like to credit them all equally, begin your citation with the issue title and include additional contributors (e.g., writers, illustrators, inkers, colorists, or letterers) in the contributor container instead.

Title of Comic Book Issue. Title of Comic Book Series, by Author First Name Last Name, illustrated by Artist First Name Last Name, vol. number, issue no., Name of Publisher, Year Published.

Here are two examples of how to cite a Wonder Woman comic book found in print in MLA 9:

Azzarello, Brian. Wonder Woman. No. 1, DC Comics, 2011.

Wonder Woman. By Brian Azzarello, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, no. 1, DC Comics, 2011.

*Note that this specific issue of Wonder Woman does not have a separate title for the issue and another title for the series. This issue and series are both titled Wonder Woman. When the issue and the series have the same exact title, it is not necessary to type out both titles. Only include the series title.

In MLA citations, place a period after the first title and a comma after the second title, if there is one.

MLA 9 In-text Citations

The information in a parenthetical citation should match the full reference on the Works Cited page. If you begin your reference with the comic book’s author, their last name should go in the parentheses. If you begin with the title of the comic book, use the title (or a shortened version of it) in the parenthetical citation instead. Also include a page number if applicable.

(Azzarello 12)

(Wonder Woman 12)

To cite a comic book in print in APA 7, follow this format:

Author’s Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of comic book issue. Publisher.

If the comic book has separate writers and illustrators and you’d like to credit them both, begin your citation with the author’s name and include the illustrator (or other contributors) in parentheses after the comic book’s title.

Author’s Last Name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of comic book issue (First initial. Middle initial. Last Name, Illus.). Publisher.

Here are two examples of how to cite a comic book in APA 7:

Azzarello, B. (2011). Wonder Woman. DC Comics.

Azzarello, B. (2011). Wonder Woman (C. Chiang, Illus.). DC Comics.

APA 7 In-text Citations:

Parenthetical: (Azzarello, 2011)

Narrative: Azzarello (2011)

Though you include the illustrator’s name in the reference list entry, do not include it in the in-text citations.

To cite a comic book in print in Chicago’s author-date style:

Author’s Last name, First Name. Publication Year. Title of Comic Book Issue. City of publication: Name of publisher.

Here’s an example of how to cite a Wonder Woman comic book found in print in Chicago’s author-date style:

Azzarello, Brian. 2011. Wonder Woman. New York: DC Comics.

Chicago In-text Citation:

(Azzarello 2011, Page#)

How to a Cite a Comic Book Found Online:

To cite a comic book found online or read on an e-reader, find the following pieces of information:

  1. The author’s name and the names of any relevant artists/illustrators
  2. The title of the comic book issue
  3. The title of the comic book series
  4. The name of the e-reader, if read on one
  5. The volume and issue number
  6. The name of the publisher
  7. City, or city and country of the publisher
  8. Year published
  9. The page or page range, if viewed online
  10. The name of the website, if viewed online
  11. The URL, if viewed online

To cite a comic book, found online or through an e-reader, use the following structure if citing in MLA 9:

To cite a comic book found on a website using MLA 9, follow this format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Comic Book Issue. Title of Comic Book Series, vol. number, issue no., Name of Publisher, Year Published, Website Name (if different from publisher), URL (remove https:// or https://).

To cite a comic book published as an E-Book using MLA 9, follow this format:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Comic Book Issue. Title of Comic Book Series, vol. number, issue no., E-book ed., Name of Publisher, Year Published.

Here’s an example of how to cite the Wonder Woman comic book in MLA 9, when viewed on an e-reader.

Azzarello, Brian. Wonder Woman.* No. 1., E-book ed., DC Comics, 2011.

*Note: Since the name of the issue and the name of the series are both Wonder Woman, the name is only included once in the citation.

In MLA citations, place a period after the first title and a comma after the second title, if there is one.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation:

(Author Last Name Page#)

(Azzarello 1)

To cite a comic book in APA 7 that is found online, use the following structure:

Author’s Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of comic book issue. Publisher. DOI or URL

Here’s an example of how to cite the Wonder Woman comic, read on an e-reader, in APA format:

Azzarello, B. (2011). Wonder Woman. DC Comics. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wonder-woman-vol-1-brian-azzarello/1111115880?ean=9781401238773#nok-dapps

To cite a comic book found online in Chicago’s author-date style, use the following format:

Author’s Last name, First name. Publication Year. Title of Comic Book Issue. City of publication: Name of Publisher. E-book format (Kindle, Nook, etc.) or Database Name (Overdrive, ProQuest ebrary, etc.) or URL.

Here are examples of how to cite a comic found online in Chicago’s author-date style:

Azzarello, Brian. 2011. Wonder Woman. New York: DC Comics. Nook.

Azzarello, Brian. 2011. Wonder Woman. New York: DC Comics. https://www.comicextra.com/wonder-woman-2011/chapter-52

Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation:

(AuthorLastName Year, Page#)

(Azzarello 2011, 1)

Photo Source: “Infinite Wonder Woman” by JD Hancock. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. Original image was cropped.

 

Citation Guides

APA Format

MLA Format

 

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How do I cite a graphic novel in MLA?

To cite a graphic novel in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the name of the author, title of the graphic novel, publisher, and publication date. MLA treats citations for graphic novels the same as citations for regular novels. The templates and examples for an in-text citation and works cited list entry for a graphic novel are provided below:

In-text citation template and example:

In parenthetical and in-prose citations, use the artist’s surname.

In-prose:

Moore

Parenthetical:

(Moore)

Works cited list entry template and example:

Template:

Author Surname, First Name. Title of the Graphic Novel. Publisher, Publication Date.

Example:

Moore, Alan. From Hell. Top Shelf Productions, 1999.

How do I cite Shakespeare?

To cite Shakespeare in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information, such as the title of the play, the original publication date, the editor’s name, the publisher name, and the republished date.

APA reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. (Publication Year). Title of the play (F.M. Editor1’s Surname & F.M. Editor2’s Surname, Eds.). Publisher. (Original work published year)

Shakespeare, W. (2020). Much ado about nothing (B.A Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). Simon & Schuster. (Original work published 1607)

MLA works-cited-list entry template and example:

Surname, First Name. Title of the Play. Original Publication Date. Edited by Editor1’s First Name Surname and Editor2’s First Name Surname, Publisher, Republished Date.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. 1600. Edited by Beth Mowat and Patricia Werstine, Simon & Schuster, 2020.

How do I cite a comic strip?

To cite a comic strip in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the artist, the title of the comic strip, publisher name, publication date, and URL.

APA reference list entry template and example:

Artist’s Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the comic strip [Comic strip]. Publisher. URL

King, F. (1921). Gasoline Alley [Comic Strip]. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/comic-strip

MLA works-cited-list entry template and example:

Artist’s Surname, First Name. Title of the Comic Strip. Publisher, Publication Year.

King, Frank. Gasoline Alley. Britannica, 1921.