# Metropolis Comics Scraper - Vintage Keys, Grades & Prices (`lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Metropolis Collectibles (metropoliscomics.com), the largest vintage comic dealer. Get title, series, issue, publisher, CGC/CBCS/raw grade, price, availability, restoration notes, cover image and URL for golden/silver-age key issues.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Metropolis Comics Scraper

Scrape **Metropolis Collectibles** (metropoliscomics.com) — the world's largest dealer of vintage and key-issue comic books. Search their live inventory and get every listing with grade, grader, price and availability.

### What it does

For each search query, the actor walks the paginated search results and outputs one row per listing (each row is one physical copy with its own grade and price):

| Field | Example |
|-------|---------|
| `title` | `BATMAN (1940-2011) #1` |
| `series` | `BATMAN (1940-2011)` |
| `issue` | `1` |
| `publisher` | `DC` |
| `grader` | `CGC`, `CBCS` or `Raw` |
| `grade` | `NM+`, `VF/NM`, `Coverless`, ... |
| `gradeNumeric` | `9.6` |
| `price` | `225000` (USD, Buy Now price) |
| `availability` | `For Sale` / `Make Offer` |
| `acceptsOffers` | `true` |
| `comments` | Restoration notes, page quality, key-issue notes ("1st appearance of the Joker") |
| `imageUrl` | Cover scan |
| `url` | Direct item link |

### Input

```json
{
    "searchQueries": ["batman", "amazing spider-man"],
    "category": "Comics",
    "maxItems": 60
}
```

- **searchQueries** — titles or keywords to search.
- **category** — `Comics` (default), `All`, `Original Artwork`, `Posters`, `Pulps`, `Magazines`, and more.
- **maxItems** — max listings per query (20 per result page).

### Use cases

- Track asking prices for golden/silver-age key issues (Action Comics #1, Batman #1, Amazing Fantasy #15...)
- Compare CGC vs CBCS vs raw pricing for the same issue and grade
- Monitor high-end vintage inventory for investment research
- Feed comps into pricing models alongside auction results

### Notes

- No login or proxy required; the actor reads the public server-rendered inventory.
- Prices are fixed Buy Now asking prices in USD; most listings also accept offers.
- Restoration and pedigree details are preserved in `comments`.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Comic titles / keywords to search on metropoliscomics.com (e.g. 'batman', 'amazing spider-man', 'action comics'). Each listing (one physical copy with its own grade and price) is one row.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Restrict results to one inventory category. 'Comics' is the main vintage/key-issue inventory.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of listings to scrape per search query (20 listings per result page).

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. Metropolis serves server-rendered HTML directly, so no proxy is needed by default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "batman"
  ],
  "category": "Comics",
  "maxItems": 60,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "batman"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["batman"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "batman"
  ]
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lulzasaur/metropoliscomics-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/itENtGcVj6g0XU60I/builds/xpru4z8veXL6VTZuF/openapi.json