Metadata for Superheroes: Designing a MODS Schema for Dark Horse Comics
By Mickayla McDowell
San José State University, School of Library and Information Science
INFO 281: Metadata | Dr. Mary K. Bolin | April 2025
Introduction: Why Metadata Matters in a Creative Company
Dark Horse Comics isn’t just a publisher—it’s a universe. From iconic graphic novels to film adaptations and licensed merchandise, its catalog spans multiple formats and generations. Yet for a company that thrives on intellectual property and storytelling, organizing and preserving those assets for internal use can be a challenge. How do you keep track of comics, scripts, production notes, and creative ephemera in a way that supports both legal clarity and creative inspiration?
Enter MODS: the Metadata Object Description Schema. Designed to bridge the gap between traditional library cataloging and modern digital asset management, MODS offers a flexible XML-based structure that can be adapted to corporate archives. It supports bibliographic control, rights management, and archival context—making it an ideal candidate for building a metadata system tailored to a creative powerhouse like Dark Horse Comics.
Why MODS?
MODS is a rich descriptive standard created by the Library of Congress. While it began as a library-oriented schema, its flexibility has made it attractive for use in museums, digital repositories, and now—corporate archives.
For Dark Horse, MODS presents several key advantages:
Structured Rights Tracking: Essential for managing licensed properties.
Descriptive Flexibility: Accommodates everything from comic issues to creator memos.
Interlinked Records: Supports relationships across adaptations, franchises, and departments.
XML-Native: Compatible with digital systems and easily mapped to MARC, METS, or Dublin Core when needed.
Tailoring MODS to Comics and Corporate Archives
To make MODS truly work in this context, I designed two core templates: one for cataloging comic book issues and one for administrative documents like scripts and correspondence. These templates include fields for things like creative teams, formats, rights holders, and even condition notes for physical items.
🗂️ Comic Book Issue Metadata Template
Designed for use in both publishing and archives, this format captures the creative and legal essence of each issue.
Key fields:
Title, Series, Volume, and Issue
Creators (writers, artists, colorists, letterers)
Format (print, digital, hardcover, etc.)
Genre and Language
Rights Holder and Copyright
Relationships to adaptations and media spin-offs
Provenance and condition notes
📝 Administrative Document Metadata Template
Built for internal documents like scripts, contracts, and editorial notes.
Key fields:
Title and Document Type
Creator (e.g., department or individual)
Associated works (e.g., linked comic titles or projects)
Access restrictions for confidential materials
Digital asset links and contextual notes
Sample Records: A Peek Inside the Archive
To illustrate how this schema would be used, I created sample records for ten titles and one internal script. Here are a few highlights:
📖 2 Past Midnight (2014)
An action-packed crossover featuring Ghost, X, and Captain Midnight.
Identifier: DHC-EDITORIAL-01
Title: 2 Past Midnight
Creator(s): Duane Swierczynski (Story), Eduardo Francisco (Art), Stefani Rennee (Colors), Nate Piekos of BlamBot (Letters), Paolo Rivera (Cover, Chapter Break, and Pinup Art)
Series Title: Stand-alone crossover
Issue Number: #1-5 (Collected Edition)
Volume Number: N/A
Publication Date: 2014-06
Publisher: Dark Horse Books, Mike Richardson (Publisher)
Format: Print, Collected Edition (Softcover)
Genre: Superhero, Action, Crossover
Language: English
Description/Abstract: “A madman is on the loose. His goal: Shock, awe, panic, and hysteria. Can three disparate heroes–an investigative specter, a psychopathic vigilante, and a genius fighter pilot–put aside their differences and defeat this terror-obsessed socio-path? Or will he be able to play upon these heroes’ mistrust and pit them against one another? Either way, somebody’s getting punched right in the face…find out what happens when Ghost, X, and Captain Midnight–the three pillars of Dark Horse’s superhero line–meet up and team up for the first time!”
Right's Holder: Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
Copyright Statement: Captain Midnight® © 2013, 2014 Dark Horse Comics, Inc. X™ © 2013, 2014 Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Ghost® © 2013, 2014 Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Dark Horse Books® and the Dark Horse logo are registered trademarks of Dark Horse Comics, Inc. All rights reserved.
Relation: Captain Midnight (Comics, Artbooks, Merchandise); Ghost (Comics, Artbooks, Merchandise); X (Comics, Artbooks, Merchandise)
Subjects/Keywords: Captain Midnight, Ghost, X, Superheroes, Omnibus, Dark Horse Superhero Line
Provenance: [Provenance of item]
Digital Asset Link: [URI to scanned issue]
Condition Notes: [Condition notes for item]
Location: [Location of item in archive]
🎨 300 by Frank Miller (1999)
A landmark graphic novel turned cinematic blockbuster.
Identifier: DHC-EDITORIAL-02
Title: 300
Creator(s): Frank Miller (Writer & Artist), Lynn Varley (Colorist)
Series Title: 300
Issue Number: #1-5 (Collected Edition)
Volume Number: N/A
Publication Date: 1999-08
Publisher: Dark Horse Books, Mike Richardson (Publisher)
Format: Print, First Edition Hardcover (collected graphic novel)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel, War, Action
Language: English
Description/Abstract: “The army of Persia—a force so vast it shakes the earth with its march—is poised to crush Greece, an island of reason and freedom in a sea of mysticism and tyranny. Standing between Greece and this tidal wave of destrauction is a tiny detachment of but three hundred warriors. But these warrior are more than men…they are SPARTANS.,”
Right's Holder: Frank Miller, Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2006 Frank Miller, Inc. Published by Dark Horse Comics, Inc. 300 and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Frank Miller, Inc. All rights reserved.
Relation: 300 (2007 Film), Promotional Posters, Limited Edition Art Prints, Interviews, Art Books of Frank Miller
Subjects/Keywords: Frank Miller, 300, Thermopylae, Spartans, Persian Empire, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, First Edition Lynn Varley, Ancient Warfare
Provenance: [Provenance of item]
Digital Asset Link: [URI to scanned issue]
Condition Notes: [Condition notes for item]
Location: [Location of item in archive]
💾 A Wind Named Amnesia/Invader Summer Novel (2009)
The novel that inspired the classic anime by director Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Identifier: DHC-EDITORIAL-03
Title: A Wind Named Amnesia & Invader Summer
Creator(s): Hideyuki Kikuchi (Writer), Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator), Joe & Yuko Swift (Translation)
Series Title: N/A
Issue Number: #1-2 (Collected Edition)
Volume Number: N/A
Publication Date: 2009-12
Publisher: Dark Horse Books, Mike Richardson (Publisher)
Format: Paperback
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
Language: English
Description/Abstract: “What was left for Humankind after it lost all of its memories? The basis for the classic, beloved animated film, A Wind Named Amnesia poses that question, as the world is wiped clean, the pasts of every man, woman, and child blotted out with the whisper of the passing breeze. What caused it–aliens, magic, or a war gone horribly wrong? When a young man named Wataru journeys across America in search of answers, he finds a world lost without the most basic knowledge. Can humanity rebuild from the aftermath?
In Invader Summer, a hot June afternoon in Yubue City is thrown into turmoil when a pale young girl appears, as if from nowhere, and captures the hearts of all the boys on the school playground. Quickly that love spreads, the entire town entranced by the beautiful young invader from outside their village. But a darkness has come to the town with the mysterious visitor, an other-worldly shadow that stretches across the blue mountain ranges, filled with menace and evil…”
Right's Holder: Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano, Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
Copyright Statement: © 2005 Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano. English translation © 2005 Dark Horse Comics, Inc. All rights reserved.
Relation: Related works by Kikuchi (e.g., Vampire Hunter D), A Wind Named Amnesia (1990 anime adaptation), Amano artbooks, Japanese editions
Subjects/Keywords: Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano, Japanese Fiction, Light Novels, Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Alien Contact, Memory Loss, First English Edition, Dark Horse Manga
Provenance: [Provenance of item]
Digital Asset Link: [URI to scanned issue]
Condition Notes: [Condition notes for item]
Location: [Location of item in archive]
Challenges & Takeaways
While MODS offered powerful structuring tools, adapting it for a corporate environment came with trade-offs. Some of the biggest challenges included:
Workflow Alignment: MODS doesn’t always map cleanly to proprietary business tools and software.
Granularity vs. Simplicity: Balancing rich description with ease of use required restraint.
Creative Assets Are Messy: Comic book metadata includes unique fields that MODS wasn’t originally designed for—but it adapted surprisingly well.
Ultimately, this experiment showed how a flexible schema like MODS can bring order to a creatively chaotic environment, while still honoring the stories behind each asset.
Final Thoughts
Comics may be colorful, but managing them is a serious archival challenge. Whether you're preserving a script for The Umbrella Academy or cataloging a rare hardcover edition of 300, metadata plays a crucial role in ensuring that these materials remain accessible and meaningful for future creators, researchers, and fans.
MODS offers a compelling path forward—not just for libraries, but for studios, publishers, and entertainment companies that want to future-proof their collections and keep their stories alive.
References
Eden, B. L. (2004). MARC and metadata: METS, MODS, and MARCXML: Current and future implications (1st ed.). Emerald.
Guenther, R. S. (2003). MODS: The Metadata Object Description Schema. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 3(1), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2003.0006
Guenther, R. S. (2004). Using the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) for resource description. Library Hi Tech, 22(1), 89–98.
Kurth, M., Ruddy, D., & Rupp, N. (2004). Repurposing MARC metadata: Using digital project experience to develop a metadata management design. Library Hi Tech, 22(2), 153–165.
Rayan, R., et al. (2023). A modular ontology for MODS – Metadata Object Description Schema. In Knowledge graphs and semantic web (Vol. 14382, pp. 168–182). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47745-4_13
