Talk:Comic series

Other series

Should we even include other series here? And if we do, how many categories should we ad as series. For instance Confusion matrices is our word. But My Hobby and Fun Fact is Randall's. Not even sure we should list those as series but for sure not Confusion Matrices? Originally only two was mentioned, the smarter planet which is two comics belonging together, but not being part of xkcd release. And the comics sharing name. And the covid19 was mentioned as not a series. Just a collective category where many comics in a row was with that topic. For instance we could have sharks dinosaurs etc included as well, spiders, weather etc. Where is the limit. I'm mostly for deleting the entire section and removing those from the comic series category! --Kynde (talk) 11:23, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

In my view, "Comic Series" should only contain three distinct sub-Categories, and allow us to not need to try to explain each Series we had to it (in a never-ending job, potentially) as an increasingly long pre-list (collapsed) description. Those three sub-Series are:

Sequential Series(es)

Things like Parody Week, or <Foo> 1..5 'stories' - from the inception, one imagiesnes, a linear and probably finite sequence with either no non-sequence comics between them or maybe a small break before revisiting.

Thematic Series(es)

A revisited theme (that may or may not even be planned as a Series, but turns out to be), and may even be deliberately asequential (if numbeted at all), like the Bad Map Projections or Cursed Connectors or Computer Problems. Perhaps the various 'seasonal' notable groups. As long as it is clearly the same scenario revisited (with potential for more), could be groups of no more than two (so far). But the hazier/vaguer/wider the connection, the higher the threshold should be.

'Meta' Series(es)

Any grouping that is for our organisational/cataloguing purposes only, like Comics Changed After Publication. We can perhaps also link Comics Published On <Day Of Week> and the other Month-/Year-specific groupings, but I'm not really sure how far we should go in that direction.

I don't think, at a first serious look, there are any groupings that lie outside that triad of sub-sets (possibly some groupings might be difficult to place, but no reason not to add the group-page to both [[Sequential Series]] and [[Thematic Series]] if circumstances demand, for example).

And I'm sort of not convinced that we need to catalogue the circumstances of every member-group in the 'header' above either the Super-Series or Sub-Series pages. A simple case of "the first such example of this is <Barrel Boy/whatever>", maybe, otherwise leave the documentaion of the whys and wherefores of specific members to the respective Grouping page, where it should be already ("this seemed to be a theme that inspired Randall across the whole of 2012 and into 2013, but nothing has been seen since then...", sort of thing, at least until that theoretical scenario changes by a surprise revisit of whatever it may be).

But I would need to seriously sit down and review everything that I'm suggesting might be affected, which I haven't done yet, and can only suggest such changes (not even implement the new pages needed as a fait accompli, requiring reverting and removing if you actually totally disagree), and so that's what I'm doing here... ;) 172.71.178.11 14:45, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

What even is the logic of having a manual list of series(es?) above the autogenerated list, if some things in the manual list haven't been given category membership (to also appear below) and vice-versa? And it's not even a split between "true" series-pages and other (or sequential, thematic and/or meta splitting, as suggested above).

If we're going to blather on about (as of the last update) the place of every comic series in the grand scheme of things, include everything that has a Cat for it and Categorise everything that we have included in the blathering bit. It's not hard to cross-reference and update the missing counterpart to this, surely?

Or don't try to explain everything like that. Keep the blather short with a "some are this, some are that, representative examples of each..." sort of thing that doesn't even need collapsing because it aint that long in the first place. This is not the only Cat-listing page that has this problem, but I'm noting that it was (half) updated just recently (with something I'm surprised wasn't already there, under the circumstances)... 172.71.241.101 10:52, 2 April 2025 (UTC)

I don't have time to read all that but i happened to notice this sentence:

What even is the logic of having a manual list of series(es?)

I think it's useful for a summary, to see what Randall has been up to in this cat, without opening 4637289 tabs. --FaviFake (talk) 14:38, 2 April 2025 (UTC)

Then, if you want it said shorter, make it an actual summary. Not an incomplete and inconsistant (p)rehash.

I'm also guessing that you probably spent more time typing in that you didn't read everything than you would have done in reading it all, but never mind. 162.158.216.66 23:05, 2 April 2025 (UTC)

---

Note: I moved over the discussion page from my talk page, which is where the project was organized. The topic below (but not any following topics) was originally created on User talk:FaviFake. Thanks! --FaviFake (talk) 14:44, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Why only 3 or more comics in a series

Hi FaviFake

I just now realized that you have decided that a Comic series need to have three comics in it to be a series. Since when did you get to choose this. I can see you in such was has removed several of the series I believe to be clear series. Some even have numbers 1 and 2. Realized this when I was going to add the new series that just came now. I'm very unhappy with this definition and I WANT the comics, I have categorized as series, even if they only have two in them, back in the series category. Will you fix this error yourself? Or do really need to fix your mistake? I had even some problems finding my old version but did manage. Not happy about what I saw! Here are the list of series that needs to be reinstated:

• Well
• Synonym Movies
• Android
• Online Communities
• Etymology-Man
• Exoplanet Names
• Time traveling Sphere
• ISS Solar Transit
• Horror Movies
• Coronavirus Genome
• Old Days
• Alien Visitors

--Kynde (talk) 07:00, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

I agree that any particular two linked comics are worth recording as notable, I'm also sympathetic with the idea that "two points, loosely linked" isn't a series, especially if there's a lot of time between them. (For the Unsolved Problems comics, their extreme similarity overcomes the extreme temporal separation, IMO... but MMV on that. Whereas something like "every comic with Danish in it", for example, is still not 'a series' even after many more instances. With a rather vague boundary somewhere betwixt these two 'examples', the exact position of which might be hotly contested.)

Can I suggest an intermediate solution? If a (formerly standalone) comic ever gains a 'second in a potential series' candidate, might it be best to instead describe those as "twinned" (or 'paired') comics, up until the point at which there is a (possibly still subjective) third-or-more to justify it.

"Category:Twin comics" (or whatever) can be added as a subcat/onward-page of the Comic Series category/explanative-page, until they are justified by identifying their third member (perhaps retroactively, if it's not so straightfoward).

Still might be subjective. Looking at the recent [:Category:Home Inspections] 'pair', it's actually more than a pair if you widen your categorisation (I think that we might even consider 3078: Anchor Bolts to be related, as in the same sort of mindset as 3070: Orogeny leads). It could get messy. But it already is that. 92.23.2.228 22:48, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

I'm back from vacation. I guess I have to explain a few things here. While I was tidying up the comics series category, I noticed a few "series" were just 2 comics, so I started removing them because I thought they didn't qualify as a proper "series". I also noticed their explanation was often just one or two lines and didn't add anything that wasn't explained in the comics. They were also sometimes very broad, to the point that, as IP said, you sometimes couldn't include comics unambigiuosly. I concede I should've asked you or the community in general. The main reason I didn't do that is that, initially, I thought these 2-comic series were just a few. I only discovered how many they were after I started removing them, and at that point I think I stopped? I don't remember exactly.

This is another reason why I think they shouldn't be considered a "series": there are so many mini-series that they clutter the main Series category and mmake it harder to find the series that are intentionally defined as such by Randall. But I am very willing to do the following, if that's ok with you Kynde:

• Create an article/category for these pairs of comics for these series, as IP suggested, or add them back to the original Comic series article in a separate section. This would avoid the cutter in the main series category that i have talked about.
• But, I do not think it's a good idea to restore the categories for these miniseries, mainly for two reasons. (However, I will still do it if you want me to, given the amount of wor you put into it.)
  • They usually didn't contain more information that what was already avaialble in the explainations for the 2 comics, so at this point it's better for the reader if they just open the 2 comics instead of reading a short summary with not picures. The categories for each series are useful when they include 5-10 comics, because opening all the 10 explanations would be annoying. Reading 2 explanations isn't much work in comparison and is easier to understand because there are the comics pictures to look at. Reading the short summary explanation of two comics was useless when you could just open them just as easily.
  • As I previously said, I'd like the Series category to only contain proper series, not just a pair of loosely-related comics. This is why I tried to narrow down the definition of a series in the article Comic series below:

The xkcd strips that are part of a comic series are directly related to each other, rather than simply sharing a recurring topic. [This was already the case before i changed it.] It should be clear that Randall intentionally created it as a series. This can usually be inferred from similar patterns in the comics' titles (xkcd Phones) or captions (Cursed Connectors), sequential numbers in the titles (Stargazing), release dates purposefully deviating from the normal schedule (Journal), a partnership with other artists (Guest Week) or companies (A Smarter Planet), or Randall simply posting a list of all the comics that are part of a series (The Boy and his Barrel)

I'll await for input from Kynde (and from the IP please!) before doing anything. I would prefer it if you didn't choose to go back to the same exact situation as before, as i have explained above, but I don't want to bother you more that I already have and will try to do what you want. --FaviFake (talk) 16:55, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi FaviFake. Also been busy since I wrote this, back from holiday and swamped at work. So this is the reason I first reply now. I believe that any comic series where number two is given a 2 after the title like Well 2 is clearly a series and must have been thought to be by Randall. But I could live with making a different category for series with only two comics. And then linking between the current series category and this, back and forth. And then a 2 comic series can be upgraded if a third entry comes in. (Just for the record a comic that refers to a character, real og in comic, a thing or a subject can be categorized after these things/characters. This will never make them into a series unless there is other things that connect certain comics. So Danish comics would never be a series because she is in them, but the one where se meets Blach Hat is a series, but not because she is in it, but because of the connected story line. This as a reply to the IP above your comment). Could the category be called "Two comic series"? Would like to have all those I listed as well as the new one that made me realize they where missing, included in this. I think it is very interesting to easily find these series, but fine by me if they are and under category of the "true series". --Kynde (talk) 13:48, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Alright then! This sounds good:

• A proper series will have at least 3 comics.

• All other series will be called "Two-comic series" or maybe "Miniseries"? I think i like "Miniseries" better, it's simpler and more direct. They will be treated exactly the same as the main series, with a spot in Comic series (the written article) and their own category, under the "Miniseries" category, itself under the main Comic series category.

I'll get to work. --FaviFake (talk) 20:48, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Great, this is fine by me. Miniseries is a good category name. Also still think it is nice to have an easy way to find the instances where Randall made two comic series, as there are several with number 2 on the second without a number 3. Even if you do not have much info on the category page it is a special type of comics that should be easy to find. And now it becomes even easier with two types of series. By the way, I do not think all the tips and stuff should be on the comic series pages. I do not see them as a series. --Kynde (talk) 12:03, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

Well, the 1-2 comics are easily accessible at Category:Comics sharing name, so a different way to display these pairs would be unnecessary in my opinion. Also, after looking at the comics sharing name category, I discovered a new Miniseries! Category:Hamster Ball, created during covid. I'm glad you think the tips and my hobbies don't coult as a series, it seems they were added aby a mysterious IP user and never removed. --FaviFake (talk) 16:50, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

Great work. I have removed April Fools' and Sketches as they are not series. And added the Unsolved problems comics miniseries that started the this discussion. --Kynde (talk) 09:14, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Hmm, I'm not sure whether sketches is a series. Take a look at the titles:

2: Petit Trees (sketch)

3: Island (sketch)

4: Landscape (sketch)

7: Girl sleeping (Sketch -- 11th grade Spanish class)

They all have the word "sketch" in parentheses, they were uploaded all on the first day of xkcd.com, and they're all on a checkered background. No other comic has "sketch" in the title. But I'm not sure it qualifies. --FaviFake (talk) 13:01, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

I do not think they form any kind of series at all. No relation between them just that it was sketches he scanned and loaded. They have a category so if you find one you can find the other. --Kynde (talk) 15:03, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Yeah alright. --FaviFake (talk) 16:21, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Also, do you think this comic is part of the Unsolved Mystery miniseries? 2943: Unsolved Chemistry Problems. The title is in the exact same format as the other two. --FaviFake (talk) 13:01, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Wow I had forgotten about that. It is very difficult decision. The other two are identical setup. And although you could probably claim that the first two problems could be labeled like the other and the last would be a cursed problem, it is not the same setting. So the other two forms a series, where this one is more a category for unsolved problems. I'm really not sure what to say about this. It also comes in between the other two with 2529: Unsolved Math Problems from 2021 and 3115: Unsolved Physics Problems from 2025 and the chemistry from 2024. --Kynde (talk) 15:03, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Yeah after thinking about it, the comic titles were obviously made to be linked. And, as you said, Randall created the chemistry one before the physics one. For I've added it to the category, they seem too similar not to be related. --FaviFake (talk) 16:21, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

I put back the April fools in another section, "see also", where there are also the comics sharing name and the covid category. --FaviFake (talk) 13:01, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

I'm still not convinced by either of those mentioned below. Comics sharing names have nothing to do with series, unless they are already in such a series anyway. And if you include a type of comic that commemorate one kind of day then why should the Christmas and New Year and for that matter tribute categories then not also be mentioned here. And covid-19 is a special category but they are as little a series as those about weather or blimps etc. So in my opinion that section should just be deleted. --Kynde (talk) 15:03, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

I mean, that section was just for links to other interesting articles, like on Wikipedia ("Further reading", "see also"). I removed it.

I might be wrong, but don't the Covid-19 comics all say at the start of the explanation "this is the 12th comic/another comic in the covid-19 series"? The categories for blimps and weather aren't mentioned in the explanation as a series, they're only referred to as "recurring topics". I agree we can delete the categories "Comics sharing names" and "April fools' day comics", but to me it feels the Covid-19 is more than just a topic. But it might not be a main series. It feels like that's the only outlier, and I'd really like for it to either be categorised as a proper series, or be removed. I can't stand having a third, vague header on that page. --FaviFake (talk) 16:21, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

I just checked, there have once been 19 comics in a row about COVID. Nineteen!! --FaviFake (talk) 16:28, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Yes I know, I wrote that. And counted it. But the comics them selves was not part of a series and Covid19 was not necessarily mentioning Covid-19. It was just what filled Randall and everyone's lives so naturally there where comics about it. But from comic to comic there was no relation and he also continued after breaks and much later. And if he again makes a comic about covid-19 it will go in that category like next time he makes one about blimps. Du not see it as a comic series. --Kynde (talk) 08:40, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

For now I have removed it. And also its category as a comic series. It is a topic not a series! --Kynde (talk) 09:10, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

Ok I'm convinced. Thanks! Finally, that page is fully complete! --FaviFake (talk) 11:58, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

...not going to cause a fuss about it, now that it looks like there have been various other consensuses reached, though I just want to say that it never sounded right (to me) unless I used the plural of "series" that was "serieses". But never mind! :) 82.132.246.11 18:08, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Open your favourite dictionary and you'll find the plural is "series". -- FaviFake (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Sorting the comic series

How did the mini series become sorted the way there are? The main series are sorted by release day, of third comic. But seems like secod comic is not used for min series? --Kynde (talk) 08:42, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

I have also just cleaned up the categories for the series and miniseries so they are not included of those list, and now the number of comic series in the list on this page fit with the number of comics in the two categories. --Kynde (talk) 08:51, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

I have ordered the miniseries as the main series with second release dictating the order.--Kynde (talk) 09:09, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

Hey, I initially ordered them based on the list you provided, but it's likely I've made some mistakes. Thanks for fixing them! --FaviFake (talk) 11:41, 3 August 2025 (UTC)