It may seem like a simple idea, but the importance of crediting all the people who work on a comic book - especially creators such as inkers, colorists, letterers, and often even editors - is still a growing concern for the comic book industry.
In that vein, starting on January 10, the digital cards of the digital collectible card game Marvel Snap will feature the full artistic credits for the art on the card, as announced on Twitter by Marvel Snap senior producer Nicki Broderick.
"So excited to share our updated artist credits in Marvel Snap!" reads Broderick's tweet. "The team worked super hard on this and I’m stoked it’s finally live."
So excited to share our updated artist credits in @MARVELSNAP ! The team worked super hard on this and I’m stoked it’s finally live. Ever wonder who worked on your favorite art? Head to your collection and tap on the nameplate to see the artist details! #marvelsnap pic.twitter.com/5PHelTH1ZwJanuary 10, 2023
Broderick's announcement includes an example of how fans can view the full artistic credits for a given card, using two shots of the card for Colossus of the X-Men as an example.
Now, when Marvel Snap collectors tap the character's nameplate, they're shown the credits above the image itself as it appears on the card. In the case of Colossus, that means penciler Dave Wilkins, inker Jomaro Kindred, and colorist Ryan Kinnaird are all credited directly above the art alongside emblems denoting what role each artist played in the creation of the image.
The idea of crediting creators at all was an addition to the comic industry in the '50s and '60s, driven in part by then Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee's use of creative nicknames and apocryphal anecdotes in his Stan's Soapbox column to play up Marvel creators as personalities to be followed alongside the actual characters whose adventures they were responsible for creating.
Speaking of Stan Lee, read up on the legendary writer's best Marvel Comics creations and co-creations.
