Search Tutorial

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There are several ways to search in our database

Everything Search

The regular search is a free-text search for (most of) our database content. It behaves like a regular web search, you enter a few terms which should be in the result you are after. For example the name of the creator, series name, issue number, or character names. The search returns all occurrences, by default sorted by a relevance score. Sorting in alphabetical or chronological order, or by country code, can be selected on the top right. Filters for stories, issues, series, etc. are at the top. Additional filters by country, language or publisher are available on the left. If there are too many results, additional search terms should be added to reduce the number of hits. See also the bottom of the result page for some further instructions.

Credit Search

Using the drop-down selection in the search header you can perform credit specific searches. For example, selecting 'Pencils' and entering 'Jack Kirby' (or 'Kirby Jack') will get over 20.000 sequences matching that name, or a search 'Joe Simon Jack Kirby' will give not quite 500 results. The search performs a free text search in our data for pencils. The default sorting is alphabetical by series name (and issue number), but can be changed to chronological.

Advanced Query

The Advanced Query allows field specific queries. It is a somewhat experimental query builder and has known oddities and limitations. In difference to the former searches, here the queries match exact substrings, e.g. "Jack Kirby; Joe Simon" and "Joe Simon; Jack Kirby" will give different results.

  • You can select a sort order beforehand under 'Ordering'.
  • The resultant page for a search on stories, issues, and series can be sorted.
  • The results of an advanced query can be downloaded into a .csv or .json file.
  • Advanced query is used to select issues for bulk editing.
  • The "OR credits, AND other fields" Behavior setting is for if you want to find something that may be in different fields, but might not be in all fields. The "OR" operator applies only on the credits fields, while the other fields are "AND"ed together. Meaning, that ALL the fields you have filled in must apply, EXCEPT for credits, ANY of them can apply. An example:
Let's say you are trying to find credits for John Doe. You DON'T want to find results that are in characters or notes (ie, letter writers). But maybe you don't know if he was a writer, artist, letterer, etc. So:
Use "OR credits, AND other fields"
Script: John Doe
Pencils: John Doe
Inks: John Doe
Letters: John Doe
Story Editing: John Doe


Additional Information

Note that currently most of our credit data is in the form of free text fields. This can result in not finding all credits (due to name variations) or too many credits (due to similar names). In late 2019 we started the process of migrating our credit data to real database connections, but the migration of the existing data is expected to take a long time.

  • The [a], [b], and [m] behind a series name are short cuts for the three publication types album, book, and magazine.
  • A preview symbol Preview.png is displayed at the beginning of a column entry on the results of a search. Clicking on it will display a preview of the sequence or issue.

Creator Checklists

  • On the Creator page the following searches are available:
    • Issue Checklist (via credit search for name "Creator Name") - this returns a sortable list of issues where the creator has a story credit.
    • Issue Checklist (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of issues where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a story credit.
    • List of to be migrated issues (via credit search for creator official name) - this returns a list of issues with text credits for that creator that still need to be migrated.
    • Issue Edit Checklist (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of issues where the creator has been linked via the creator record as an editor.
    • Cover Checklist (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of covers (with thumbnail images) where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a cover credit.
    • Series List (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of series where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a story credit.
    • Characters List (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of characters where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a story credit and where that character record has also been linked.
    • Features List (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of features where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a story credit and where that feature record has also been linked.
    • Sequences List (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of all sequences where the creator has been linked via the creator record to a story credit.
    • Story Credits in the GCD (via search for "Creator Name") - this returns a sortable list of stories where the creator has a credit.
    • Co-Creators List (via linked credit records) - this returns a sortable list of creators who have worked that creator.
  • Also from the Creator page:
    • A sortable list of credits linked to a particular creator name can be obtained by clicking on that creator name.
    • A sortable list of credits linked to a particular creator signature can be obtained by clicking on that creator signature, then clicking on the 'Sequences List (via linked credit records)' link.
  • On each Series page there is a search 'Creator Checklist (via linked story records)'
    • This returns a sortable list of all creators who have had their creator record linked to a story in that series.
  • On the Feature page there exists a search for Creator Checklist
    • This returns a sortable list of all creators who have worked on stories linked to the Feature.
  • A checklist of the issues a creator worked on can also be obtained by using an URL of the form
    • www.comics.org/checklist/name/<creator-name>)/
    • www.comics.org/checklist/name/<creator-name>)/country/<country-code>/
    • www.comics.org/checklist/name/<creator-name>)/language/<language-code>/

Other Lists

  • A list of Indicia Publishers for a Publisher can be seen by clicking on the number next to Indicia / Colophon Publisher on the Publisher page.
  • A list of Brand Groups for a Publisher can be seen by clicking on the number next to Brand Groups on the Publisher page.
  • A list of Brand Emblems for a Publisher can be seen by clicking on the number next to Brand Emblems in Use on the Publisher page.
    • For these lists, clicking on the name of the Indicia Publisher, Brand Group or Brand Emblem will return a sortable list of issues linked to that Publisher, Group or Emblem.
  • A List of Issues that contain stories that have been linked to a specific Feature is available from the Feature page.
  • A List of Sequences that have been linked to a specific Feature is available from the Feature page.
  • A List of issues linked to a specific Printer is available from the Printer page.

Search Improvements

We know about the limitations of our search. These exist not for a lack of wants and ideas, but a lack of technical volunteers. We welcome any volunteer who is willing to improve our search capabilities.

(end of instructions)


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