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Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
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Advanced Search

The advanced search finds exact matches only. Do not use quotes. Please note that search results will only cover the years that i've logged entries for so far. See the main page to see what years are covered.

Multiple Field Search

This section lets you search for the same value across multiple fields. So for example, if you were looking for issues where John Byrne was involved as either the writer, artist, or inker, you could input his name and check the Writer, Pencils/Layouts, and Inks/Finishes boxes (only). Description will look for words anywhere in the description of an entry (same as the regular sidebar search) and Issues will only search for series titles, e.g. Avengers (same as the Search issues only box on the sidebar). Since these options duplicate the sidebar search, it only makes sense to use these in conjunction with other search criteria on this page. Note that the Single Field section will give you the ability to search each field specifically (whereas this section searches for the same value across multiple fields).

If using the Issues field, i recommend including a # symbol. Searching Issues for "Captain America #" will return all issues of the Captain America series. Searching Issues for just "Captain America" will return all entries where the word "Captain America" is in the title, like "Marvel Comics Presents #2 (Captain America)".

*Data for these fields is incomplete, especially prior to the mid-1980s.

Single Field Search
Ok, this requires a little syntax but it adds some great flexibility to the search. You can use the below fields to narrow your search results. So for example, you can search for an artist using the above Multiple Field search (with just Pencils/Layouts checked) and then narrow it here to just when that artist is inked by a certain inker.

Applicable fields (As noted above, Assistant Editor and Editor data is incomplete at this time):

EntryDataIssues
EntryDataWriter
EntryDataArtist
EntryDataInker
EntryDataAssistant_editor
EntryDataEditor

Syntax is "field:value" (no space before or after the colon)

Example:

EntryDataInker:Joe Sinnott

You can have multiple narrowing parameters, one in each box below. Note that you can use the same field twice, so if, for example, you were looking for issues that were co-written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, you could use the EntryDataWriter twice. And obviously you don't have to fill all (or any) of the boxes in. The EntryDataIssues field (same as the Issues checkbox in the Free Word section and the "Search issues only" on the sidebar) is a powerful way to limit the search results to a single series. So for example you could search for just Avengers issues where Roger Stern was the writer and John Buscema was the artist:

EntryDataIssues:Avengers #
EntryDataWriter:Roger Stern
EntryDataArtist:John Buscema

Note that improper usage will cause these fields to be ignored, so if you are getting more results than you were expecting, check your syntax.

Exclude Series

These fields will allow you to exclude results where the series title matches an inputted word. For example, if you were searching by Issues for "Avengers #" and you didn't want any West Coast Avengers to appear in the search results, you could enter the word West or Coast into one of the fields below. Only enter one word per box. Entering West or Coast will have the same effect, but entering both into the same field will not work. Note that if you only wanted a list of West Coast Avengers issues, you would do that using the Issues search (single or multiple field method).

Be cautious of cases where multiple books are covered in the same entry (e.g. excluding "Giant-Size" would prevent Avengers #129-135 from showing up, since Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 appear in the same entry).

These parameters will not work when the Include Character Filter option is selected.

Crossover

You can leave all the other search criteria blank and just use this drop-down to see all issues in a particular crossover. But it does work with the other criteria as well, so if, for example, you only wanted to see issues of The Evolutionary War written by Steve Englehart, you could do that.

I know making these next two fields searchable is just asking for trouble.
It's really for my own calibration of scores.

Quality Rating
     Historical Significance

Continuity Inserts

Include regular books
Include continuity inserts (e.g. Untold Tales of Spider-Man)
Include partial continuity inserts (e.g. Classic X-Men with back-ups)

Search Results

Normal
Include Character Filter
Include Sales Info     Include only issues with sales data

You may also consider using the search created by Karel Bilek.

Character Intersection Search

Want to see when Spider-Man first met Nightcrawler? Want to see how many times the Hulk fought the Abomination? Wondering if Captain America ever fought Stilt-Man?

The Character Intersection Search lets you see all the entries/issues where two characters appear. One caution: just because two characters appear in the same entry doesn't necessarily mean that they've met each other, so this search should only be considered a starting point for your investigation.

Note: For the full character listing page, you can always click on the "Face Box" in the top left corner, or click here.

And here are a couple of hints. You should be able to click on the drop-downs and start typing to find a character, so you don't have to open up the huge drop-downs and manually scroll through them to find who you're looking for. And in my activity log I sometimes see searches for 3D-Man + Abe Brown. And then 3D-Man + Abner Little. Etc., etc. I guess it's people trying to figure out how to use this thing. The idea is that you pick two characters that have likely met, and it returns all the books they've jointly appeared in. As much as i'd totally read a 3D-Man/Abner Little team-up, just sort of randomly using this search is probably going to be frustrating.

UPC Spider-Man
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