50 States of Comics: Building an Understanding of Locality in Comic Culture through Wikidata

Since 2019, Comics as Data North America (CaDNA) has used metadata from the MSU Library (MSUL) Comic Art Collection to understand comic culture in North America. In the project's first phase, we developed a dataset for researchers. This effort highlighted the need to address inconsistencies in the archive catalog and the impact of missing or incorrect data. Building on the dataset's potential, we embarked on a collaborative community-driven solution to address gaps in the data record using Wikidata, the world's largest open-linked data repository. These efforts improved historical information about comics from the 1930s and 1940s and leveraged this data landscape to create visualizations revealing information about comic creators and publishers. In the latest phase of CaDNA, we turn to a state-level project called 50 States of Comics, partnering with colleagues across the United States to conduct Wikidata edit-a-thons to build a more robust and inclusive picture of comic culture in the United States. This presentation will discuss the potential impact of making comic data more searchable and accessible at the state level. The presentation will consider how more nuanced stories about communities of practice linked to graphic narratives can be realized through data. With 50 States of Comics, we seek to leverage the transformative power of Wikidata to ensure a more holistic narrative about comics can be shared in a rapidly changing digital landscape. In particular, we recognize how Wikidata's role in training generative AI models offers a unique opportunity to intervene in how this new technology describes comic production, creator identity, and communities of practice.