Author Guidelines
Submission and drafting guidelines
Submitted articles may address all types of subjects related to comics: authors, works, language, schools of thought, history and background, etc. Contributions may be focused on any field of study or science, provided a thorough methodology is followed, verifiable bibliographic references are used, and conclusions are included.
Furthermore, reviews of theoretical works in relation with comics are accepted, as long as they have been published within a maximum of two years previous to the proposal, although exceptions can be made upon consultation.
Interviews with comics authors or other public figures of the field: publishers, researchers, disseminators, etc. are also accepted.
CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic does not charge any rate or fee for the publication of the texts submitted.
Authors certify that their articles must be original and unpublished, and that they are not being considered for publication elsewhere. Contributions shall comply with the following submission and drafting guidelines:
Texts shall be written in Spanish, although CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic accepts texts written in other languages, provided their corresponding translation into Spanish is also attached.
Any article must include an abstract (both in Spanish and in English), up to 120 words each, plus five keywords (in Spanish) and five keywords (in English), avoiding generic terms such as “comics”, “graphic novels”, “comic authors”, in order to focus on identifying the subject or field of study or the methodology used in its theoretical framework.
Both articles and reviews shall be accompanied as well by a biographic note written in third person, up to 120 words. If the text is written by multiple authors, a biographic note of each of them shall be included.
The Spanish and English abstracts, the Spanish and English keywords, and the biographic notes shall be provided by means of the forms available for this purpose on the OJS system. For the biographic notes, the appropriate space depends on each collaborator.
Dossier submission
CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic accepts dossier submission. The first step for the submission of a dossier entails a formal proposal, which shall include a short subject introduction/justification (up to 500 words), the expected delivery date and a table of contents of the included articles, with an abstract of each of them and a biographic note of the authors. The number of articles included in a dossier shall be at least four and up to six. The dossier editor or editors will be in charge of the proposal and of facilitating the communication between CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic and the authors.
Once a dossier is approved by the journal’s Editorial Board, the dossier editor or editors will take care that, while producing their texts, the authors abide to the formal guidelines of the rest of the journal articles, in particular, that they observe the word limit within a range of 6000-8000 words, excluding footnotes and references. Likewise, the dossier editor or editors will report as soon as possible, for its authorization, any change regarding the original schedule (for instance, modifications on any of the article titles, changes in authorships, etc.).
The evaluation process will take place once the authors sign up and upload their texts via OJS, within the deadline agreed with the editors. The dossier editors must recommend one of the two individuals who will carry out the double-blind peer review, acknowledging that the individual in question is an expert on the subject and is willing to carry out the evaluation. Once the revision process is finished, the journal publishing directors will notify the results to the authors and modifications will be recommended, or any of the articles may be rejected. In the event that less than four articles succeed in the evaluation process, the dossier will be rejected, although the possibility will be offered to the authors of the successful works to be published in the CuCoEstudio section.
It is possible to publish an article in languages different from Spanish, provided its corresponding translation into Spanish is also attached. The author or the dossier coordinators shall be responsible for providing said translation to the journal publishing directors. When all of the articles are available in its definitive version, an approximate date for publication of the dossier will be assigned, subject to the journal schedule.
The main criteria to set a publication date will be by first-come, first-served basis, but the journal reserves the right to change this order according to editorial criteria, such as avoiding the consecutive publication of two similar-themed dossiers. A dossier will be published annually, in the December number. The journal will not accept any new proposals once the dossiers of the following three years are covered.
Each dossier shall be accompanied by an introduction by the editor or editors, up to 3000 words, which will not be subject to evaluation. The aforementioned introduction shall include the general theoretical framework, the purpose of the dossier and a note about each of the articles.
Drafting guidelines
Texts shall be written in Spanish, although CuCo, Cuadernos de cómic accepts texts written in other languages, provided their corresponding translation into Spanish is also attached. Hence, the following guidelines only apply to the Spanish texts submitted for publication
Word limit
Contributions shall have a word limit within a range of 6000-8000 words, excluding footnotes and references. Reviews of theoretical works shall have a word limit up to 3000 words. Interviews shall have a word limit up to 8000 words. All texts shall be submitted in Times New Roman, 12 points font size and 1.5 line spacing.
Citations
Citations up to three lines shall be included in the main text, between quotation marks. Citations over three lines shall be written after a hard return, indented, 10 points font size, in order to clearly differentiate the citation from the rest of the text.
Accented words
According to the latest recommendations of the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE), demonstrative pronouns must not be accented, nor the adverb “solo”.
Punctuation marks
Angular double quotation marks must be used (« »). If, inside a text enclosed between quotation marks, there is the need to include another item between quotation marks, double quotation marks must be used (“ ”) and, if there is another additional item between quotation marks inside that one, simple quotation marks must be used (‘ ’).
Explanations out of the scope of the text must be inserted herein between square brackets ([ ]).
Digressions and dialogues will be enclosed between two em dashes (—). If the end of the digression coincides with the end of the paragraph, the second em dash will be omitted.
Punctuation marks shall always have a space after them and before a word. This applies to the initials of proper names, for example: “E. C. Segar”.
Italics
In the main text, titles of books, journals, newspapers, theatre plays or films will be written in italics, whereas titles of articles, sections or chapters will be enclosed between quotation marks.
To highlight any word or term in the text, italics will also be used.
Foreign words and neologisms not accepted by DRAE will always be written in italics, such as: comic-book, shonen, underground.
In the event that a word that falls in one of the previous cases appears in a sentence written in italics, that word or those words will be written in roman type. For example: Nazario. La vida cotidiana del dibujante underground.
Figures
Roman numbers for indicating centuries or the numbering of chapters of cited works will be written in small caps [in the latest Microsoft Word versions, small capitals are activated by Ctrl+Caps+L].
Figures that may be written down with one or two words, or two words joined by the “y” conjunction, will be spelled out. For example: “trece”, “mil quinientos”, “treinta y seis”. Otherwise, figures will be written in number. For example: “1345”, “154”. Thousands, millions, etc. will be separated with a whitespace, not a period. Decimal numbers, followed by its magnitude or referring to serial publications, page numbers, etc. will always be written in number.
Abbreviations
Every abbreviation shall be accompanied by a full stop. The abbreviation accepted for “number” is “n.º”; for “page”, “p.”; for “pages”, “pp.”; for “volume”, “vol.”.
Inclusive language
It is recommended to submit the text according to the inclusive language, in which case RAE recommendations will be followed and gender pairs (“autores y autoras”) and collective nouns (“el alumnado” instead of “alumnos y alumnas”) will be used. In exceptional cases in which the inclusivity cannot be solved with any of these formulas, the use of the suffix “e” is accepted as gender marker. The use of @ or X is not accepted for this purpose to avoid accessibility and readability problems.
Images
Up to six images are accepted per article (there might be exceptions upon consultation to the Editorial Board) and their use has to be justified by the analysis which is made of them. Authors undertake to manage the required copyright clearances for every image they wish to reproduce.
Images shall be referenced in the main text, using the following formulation (FIG. 1). They must be also inserted, with the order and size deemed appropriate, numbered at their caption using the following formulation (FIG. 1) in Times New Roman, 10 points font size. Their source, their copyright where appropriate and their bibliographic citation if this corresponds to a certain work will be indicated in this caption. In the event that the images are created by the authors themselves, it will be likewise indicated. The assigned place for each image can vary due to design and layout purposes, but the author preferences will be met whenever possible. Author will be able to revise the final layout.
Images will also be attached separately via OJS, and they will be appropriately numbered and have acceptable quality for reproduction. Publishing directors reserve the right to reject one or more images if they consider that these do not meet minimum standards for their publication. Nevertheless, the opportunity to resend them with a better quality will always be given.
Titles and headings
The titles of sections and headings of the texts shall follow a strict order in their format. The first level, i.e., the first time a heading title needs to be inserted, will be written in bold letters; if, inside that section, there is a subsection, its title will appear in italics; if a third sublevel is needed, its title will be written in roman type and indented. Authors are advised against using more than three levels. The use of numbering, bullets, letters or any other symbol is not allowed. For example:
El cómic americano
La tira de presa
El cómic de superhéroes
La era Marvel
General recommendations
Authors are kindly requested to carefully review both spell and grammar of the text before submitting. Likewise, they are also asked to observe the comments and corrections made by the journal, in order to adapt the text for its publication. Do not hesitate to contact us if you do not understand any comment. Articles can be rejected if they are not deemed to be up to a minimum criteria of spell check.
For any other questions, please look up http://www.rae.es/ and http://www.rae.es/recursos/diccionarios/dpd.
Citation guidelines
Footnotes
They will be placed at the end of the page, numbered by means of Arabic numerals, and as a superscript. If the footnote call is located next to any orthographical sign, it will be place immediately after said sign.
Footnote calls in image captions are not allowed.
Bibliographic references
Bibliographic references will always be placed in footnotes at the end of the page in Times New Roman, 10 points font size.
Footnotes will be placed at the end of the corresponding page, never at the end of the document, and they will be submitted in Times New Roman, 10 points font size, simple line spacing.
Bibliographic references will be compiled according to Latin system, which is as follows:
Books
Last names in small caps [in the latest Microsoft Word versions, small capitals are activated by Ctrl+Caps+L] and complete name of the author followed by a period. In the event there are authors using a pseudonym, this can be included as long as their last names and first names precede it. When the use of small caps is not possible, lower case letters must be used, never upper case letters. Complete titles and subtitles of the work in italics. Place of publishing, year and page numbers, where appropriate, using the abbreviations “p.” or “pp.”.
Example:
CAMPBELL, E. Mi libro sobre el dinero. Esa cosa maravillosa y horrible. Bilbao, Astiberri, 2012, pp. 23-30.
If the individual indicated is the editor, after the initial of their name (ed.) will be added; if they are coordinators, (coord.), and if they are directors (dir.).
If authorship is composed by various authors, last names and the initials of the first names from up to three authors will be indicated, according to the same system; if there are four or more, the first one of them will be indicated accompanied by the formula “et al.”.
Examples:
VARNUM, Robin y GIBBONS, Christina. T. (dir.). The Language of Comics. Word and Image. Jackson, University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
GAIMAN, Neil. et al. The Sandman. Preludios y nocturnos. Barcelona, Norma Editorial, 1999.
In the event a reprinted work is cited, and the date of the first edition is deemed to be of interest, this information will be indicated between square brackets.
Example:
ECO, Umberto. Apocalípticos e integrados. Barcelona, Tusquets Editores, 1995 [1964].
In the event of translated works, the information pertaining to the translation has to be added at the end, using the formula “Traducción de” followed by the name of the translator.
Example:
HOWE, Sean. Marvel Comics: La historia jamás contada. Barcelona, Panini, 2013.
Traducción de Santiago García.
Book chapters
They will be included indicating its author in small caps; the title of the chapter between quotation marks, the preposition “en”, and, immediately after that, the name of the work in which it is included, as stated above.
Example:
JULIÁ, Santos. «Echar al olvido: memoria y amnistía en la transición a la democracia», en BURDIEL, Isabel (ed.). El otro, el mismo: Biografía y autobiografía en Europa (siglos XVII-XX). Valencia, Universitat de Valencia, 2005, pp. 134-167.
Articles from journals
They will be included indicating its author in small caps as it is usual, the title of the article between quotation marks, the preposition “en”, and, immediately after that, the complete title of the journal in italics, the number of the journal by means of the abbreviation “n.º”, the year of edition between round brackets, and the referenced pages.
Example:
PEÑAMARÍN, Cristina. «El humor gráfico del franquismo y la formación de un territorio translocal de la identidad democrática», en CIC: Cuadernos de información y comunicación, n.º 7 (2002), pp. 321-380.
Presentations and communications in conference, congress or meeting proceedings.
They will be included indicating its author in small caps, the title of the presentation or communication between quotation marks, the preposition “en”, and, immediately after that, the name of the conference, congress or meeting to which the proceedings belong, including the name of the city and the dates in italics and between round brackets, and, after a full stop, the city where the proceedings were published, the publishing house and the year.
Example:
LOPATA, Marine. «El papel de la prensa satírica española durante la Transición democrática: el caso de la revista El Papus (1973-1986)», en XII Congreso de la Asociación de Historiadores de la Comunicación (Barcelona, 24 y 25 de mayo de 2012). Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2012.
Doctoral theses
They will be included according to the system used for any book, but after the title, the following formula will be added, “[tesis doctoral]”. If the thesis is unpublished, that information will also be added, “[tesis doctoral inédita]”. After that, the university in which the thesis was defended must be indicated, apart from the year in which the defence took place. In the event that the cited text is found on the Internet, the access address will be included at the end of the bibliographic citation, using the formula “Disponible en” followed by the URL with the embedded hyperlink.
Example:
LLAMAS CASCÓN, Ángel. Los valores jurídicos como ordenamiento material [tesis doctoral]. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 1991. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10016/15829.
CASULLERAS GONZÁLEZ, Sergi. El aguijón del artista. Las historietas de Carlos Giménez. El cómic como instrumento de lucha sociopolítica en la historia contemporánea española [tesis doctoral inédita]. Universidad de Barcelona, 2001.
Primary sources citation
Archive documentation
The author, the title, the type of document, and the issue date will be indicated. After these data, the archive to which they belong will be indicated [if more than one document from the same archive is cited, this will be indicated by means of abbreviations], the city where it is located, and, ultimately, its location and complete signature, if applicable. If the document belongs to a not classified archive, this will be indicated by means of the formula “Sin catalogar”. Due to the heterogeneous nature of these documents and the archives where they are kept, it is particularly important to include as much information as possible for its location. In case of doubt, it is highly recommended to follow the standard rules applied in the field of study to which the text belongs.
Examples:
S.a. Memoria general. Universitarias, 1944. Archivo de la Acción Católica de Madrid (España), caja 8, carpeta 8-2-1 Bodas de Plata de la rama. Datos.
KIRBY, A. Carta dirigida a Milton Caniff, 17 de marzo de 1940. Archivo de Milton Caniff en Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, Columbus, Ohio (EE. UU.). Sin catalogar.
Printed press and periodical publications
They will be included indicating their author in small caps, the title or headline of the section or article between quotation marks, followed by the preposition “en” and the title of the publication and number, the publishing date, and, ultimately, the page or pages in which they can be found. If the author is a corporation, such as a news agency, it will be likewise indicated, but without small caps. In the event that the contribution is untitled, the first four words of the text will be written followed by three dots and between quotation marks.
Examples:
EFE. «Desconvocada una quedada multitudinaria para cazar “pokémones” en Sevilla», en El Diario, 24 de julio de 2016. Available at http://www.eldiario.es/economia/Desconvocada-quedada-multitudinaria- pokemones-Sevilla_0_540696180.html.
Audiovisual resources
The author in small caps, the title in italics, and the type of resource between square brackets, for example, [DVD], [podcast], [archivo mp3]. Immediately after that, the location, the producer/record label and the production date will be inserted. Due to the heterogeneous nature of this kind of resources, it is particularly recommended to include as much information as possible for its location. If the resource in question is available online, that must always be indicated.
Example:
FERNÁNDEZ DE CASTRO, David. El Papus: anatomía de un atentado. [Documental de televisión]. Cromosoma S.A., Televisión Española y Televisió de Catalunya, 2010. Available at: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el- documental/documental-papus-anatomia-atentado/1025161/
General guidelines
If this same document is cited again, only the author’s last names and their initial in small caps will be written; the expression Op. cit. in italics, in addition to the pages where the citation appears.
Example:
CUESTA, Josefina. Op. cit., p. 141.
If various works of the same author have been cited, after their last names and their initial, the year of publication will be added between round brackets.
If the same work is cited on two or more consecutive notes, that will be indicated from the second one through the expression Ibid. followed by the corresponding pages, where appropriate. If the same work and the same page are cited, i.e., the citation is identical, that will be indicated through the expression Idem.
Bibliographic references
They must be included at the end of the articles. They will be alphabetically sorted by the author’s last name, followed by their initial. If more than one work of the same author is cited, from the second citation, the last names and the first name initial will be omitted and an em dash will be written instead.
Example:
VARILLAS, Rubén. La arquitectura de las viñetas. Sevilla, Viaje a Bizancio Ediciones, 2009.
—«Un acercamiento al metacómic. Reflexión, autoparodia y experimentación en las historias gráficas», en GIL GONZÁLEZ, Antonio Jesús (coord.). Anthropos, n.º 208. Barcelona, Anthropos Editorial, 2005, pp. 152-166.
—El cómic: texto y discurso. Una propuesta de análisis narratológico. [Tesis doctoral].
Universidad de Salamanca, 2007.
Submission and revision of texts
Every article will be evaluated for its publication by external reviewers according to a double-blind peer review method. In the event it is accepted, the article will be published within a maximum period of one year. Before its publication, the final version of the article will be sent to its author for a final revision.
Translated by Julia C. Gómez Sáez