Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/John Linton Roberson
I'm of two minds. It's all verifiable, I've pulled an extensive edit on the page, but it still has that smell of vanity. I'm not sure if the published work for eros is notable, the e-book isn't a major publication that set the world alight, he's not currently a huge name in comics, and so I bring it here. Steve block talk 14:31, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Delete - there's really nothing here, just self-publication and "e-books", neither of which indicate an encyclopedic level of success as an author. CDC (talk) 17:54, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Comment. I've left a message on List of cartoonists talk page (which, for some reason is the target of the Cartoonist talk page redirect, {whatever}), pointing here. comment by User:Wiki alf.
- Keep - Is the Wiki Comics Project about being completist or being a hall of fame? If being self-published disqualified you from being considered a professional cartoonist, many alternative cartoonists would be disqualified. Self-publishing is very common in comics, and Roberson has published others under his imprint too, and has been working in the field for close to a decade. I would also add that the comics references in Wikipedia are, in general, at present biased heavily toward mainstream comics with far less on alternative creators. Is this an oversight or reflective of a prejudice against non-mainstream cartoonists? Just because he hasn't worked for Marvel or DC doesn't mean he isn't a cartoonist, and incidentally, why has the stub reference been removed? I vote against deletion. gilesgoat talk 16:31, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Comment. It's not the self publishing that excludes Roberson, see my statement above for my reasoning. I removed the stub template because the article is not a stub, it's a fairly decent article given the subject. I don't think he'd need to have worked for Marvel or DC, but I don't think the body of work he has produced at present deems him worthy of an encyclopedic entry. Feel free to prove me wrong. I tend to see Wikipedia as falling in between completist and hall of fame. And to be honest, if all you need to be to be a professional cartoonist is a self-published one, then I need to change my job description, having also self published comics. I think the description professional cartoonist means one earns one living at it. And look, if one does the old google test we get 56 hits. That's not huge is it? Steve block talk 21:31, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Keep. This guy seems notable enough for me, has longevity, and his self-publication is definitely not of the vanity kind. Requiring cartoonists earn a living from cartooning would exclude a very large number of people wiki covers. Sdedeo 21:35, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Comment Most cartoonists not working for the majors don't make a living at it. It's the work that matters. Roberson did a 252-page graphic novel, still works in the field, and is a very active presence in the comics community. And if you had done a google search under his full name, which he always goes by(because there's a lot of Robersons, after all), you'd have found a lot more hits Also, there are a lot of alternative cartoonists who turn up fewer hits because they have no web presence. The e-book in contention, incidentally, got a lot of notice within the community and included about 30 very notable people, as it was a benefit for EPICURUS and JOURNEY creator Bill Loebs. It wasn't a small thing. According to the info on it, it was done as an e-book only to minimize expense so LOebs would get most of the money.- gilesgoat talk 21:35, 28 August 2005 (UTC)