Basic Usage

Search for Characters

import ComicVine from 'comic-vine-sdk';

const client = new ComicVine({ apiKey: 'your-api-key' });

// Search by name
const results = await client.character.list({
  filter: { name: 'Spider-Man' },
  limit: 10,
});

for (const character of results.results) {
  console.log(`${character.name} (ID: ${character.id})`);
}

Get Issue Details

// Retrieve a specific issue with selected fields
const issue = await client.issue.retrieve(6, {
  fieldList: ['id', 'name', 'issueNumber', 'coverDate', 'volume', 'image'],
});

console.log(`${issue.volume?.name} #${issue.issueNumber}`);
console.log(`Cover Date: ${issue.coverDate}`);
console.log(`Image: ${issue.image?.originalUrl}`);

Browse a Volume’s Issues

// Get all issues in a volume
const issues = await client.issue.list({
  fieldList: ['id', 'name', 'issueNumber', 'coverDate'],
  filter: { volume: 796 },
  sort: { field: 'issueNumber', direction: 'asc' },
  limit: 100,
});

console.log(`Found ${issues.totalCount} issues`);
for (const issue of issues.results) {
  console.log(`#${issue.issueNumber}: ${issue.name} (${issue.coverDate})`);
}

List Publishers

const publishers = await client.publisher.list({
  fieldList: ['id', 'name', 'image'],
  limit: 20,
});

for (const pub of publishers.results) {
  console.log(pub.name);
}

Get Character with Full Details

const character = await client.character.retrieve(1443);

console.log(`Name: ${character.name}`);
console.log(`Real Name: ${character.realName}`);
console.log(`Publisher: ${character.publisher?.name}`);
console.log(`First Appeared In: ${character.firstAppearedInIssue?.name}`);

Search Story Arcs

const arcs = await client.storyArc.list({
  filter: { name: 'Civil War' },
  fieldList: ['id', 'name', 'publisher'],
});

for (const arc of arcs.results) {
  console.log(`${arc.name} (${arc.publisher?.name})`);
}

Field Selection for Smaller Responses

When you only need a few fields, use fieldList to reduce response size:

// Full response - all fields returned
const full = await client.character.retrieve(1443);

// Minimal response - only selected fields
const minimal = await client.character.retrieve(1443, {
  fieldList: ['id', 'name', 'image'],
});

// TypeScript enforces which fields are available
console.log(minimal.name); // OK
// console.log(minimal.realName); // TypeScript error