Comic Vine MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides structured access to the Comic Vine API, allowing AI assistants to easily query and retrieve comic book information in a conversational format.

Features

• Rich, markdown-formatted responses for easy reading and display
• Comprehensive coverage of Comic Vine resources:
  • Characters
  • Issues
  • Volumes/Series
  • Publishers
  • Story Arcs
• Unified search across all content types
• Detailed information with images and relationships
• Support for filtering, pagination, and sorting
• Type-safe API with Zod schema validation

Available Tools

Character Tools

• get-characters: List comic book characters with filtering and pagination

• get-character: Get detailed information about a specific character

  View Character Tools Documentation

Issue Tools

• get-issues: List comic book issues with filtering and pagination

• get-issue: Get detailed information about a specific issue

  View Issue Tools Documentation

Volume Tools

• get-volumes: List comic book volumes/series with filtering and pagination

• get-volume: Get detailed information about a specific volume

  View Volume Tools Documentation

Publisher Tools

• get-publishers: List comic book publishers with filtering and pagination

• get-publisher: Get detailed information about a specific publisher

  View Publisher Tools Documentation

Story Arc Tools

• get-story-arcs: List comic book story arcs with filtering and pagination

• get-story-arc: Get detailed information about a specific story arc

  View Story Arc Tools Documentation

Search Tool

• search: Unified search across all Comic Vine content types

  View Search Tool Documentation

Each tool supports:

• Field selection to customize response content
• Pagination for large result sets
• Sorting options
• Filtering by various criteria
• Rich markdown formatting with images
• Display of relationships between resources

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or higher
• npm or yarn
• A Comic Vine API key

Getting a Comic Vine API Key

1. Visit Comic Vine
2. Sign up for an account if you don't have one
3. Go to your account settings
4. Request an API key
5. Copy your API key

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/urlyss/comic-database-mcp.git

cd comic-database-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

Running the Server for the HTTP Transport

Development mode with hot reload:

npm run dev

Production mode:

npm start

Running the Server for the STDIO Transport

Development mode with hot reload:

npm run stdio-dev

Production mode:

npm stdio-start

Testing with HTTP Transport

After building and running the server, you can test it.

Using the MCP Inspector:

# Start the MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector 

• Visit the MCP Inspector URL shown in the console in your browser
• Change Transport Type to Streamable HTTP
• Change the URL to http://localhost/mcp (or whatever url you use to run the server)
• In the Authentication section, enter your API key in the Bearer Token
• Select Connect. Select List Tools to see the available tools

Testing with stdio Transport

After building and running the server, you can test it.

The server supports stdio transport for direct integration with AI assistants:

You can test the stdio transport using the MCP Inspector:

# Start the MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

• Visit the MCP Inspector URL shown in the console
• Change Transport Type to stdio
• In the Process Path field, enter: node path/to/the/server/dist/api/stdio-index.js
• In the Environment Variables section, add:
  • Name: COMIC_VINE_API_KEY
  • Value: Your Comic Vine API key
• Select Connect.
• Select List Tools to see the available tools

The stdio transport is particularly useful for:

• Direct integration with AI assistants
• Automated testing and scripting
• Environments where HTTP transport isn't suitable

Response Format

All responses are formatted in markdown for easy reading, including:

• Resource IDs for precise reference
• Properly formatted images using markdown syntax
• Structured sections for different types of information
• Links to related resources
• Clean formatting for lists and details

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. API Key Issues

Error: Invalid API Key

• Verify your Comic Vine API key is correct
• Check that the API key is properly set in your authentication headers
• For stdio transport, ensure the API key is passed in the environment variables when starting the process

2. Connection Issues

Error: ECONNREFUSED

• For HTTP transport: Verify the server is running and the port (80) is not in use
• For stdio transport: Make sure the process path in MCP Inspector points to the correct file

3. Format Issues

Error: Invalid format specified

• Check that your request includes the correct field names
• Verify the field values match the expected types
• For image fields, ensure you're handling the URL format correctly

4. Rate Limiting

Error: Too Many Requests

• Comic Vine API has rate limits
• Implement request caching in your application
• Add delays between requests in testing scenarios

Getting Help

File an issue on GitHub with:

• Transport type (HTTP or stdio)
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs actual behavior