How to Read a Comic Book Barcode
Most comics sold in US comic shops carry two barcodes side by side: a 12-digit UPC-A and a small 5-digit add-on (an EAN-5 supplement). The UPC names the publisher, through a company prefix licensed from GS1, and the title or series, through an item reference. Its last digit is a check digit worked out from the other eleven, so a scanner can tell when it has misread one.
The add-on tells one issue from the next. By the convention most direct-market publishers follow, its first three digits are the issue number, the fourth is the cover variant and the fifth is the printing — so 00111 is issue #1, cover A, first printing. It is a convention rather than a rule, and some publishers number things their own way.
Newsstand and UK periodicals often use a 13-digit EAN-13 instead, starting 977 followed by the title’s ISSN, with a 2-digit add-on for the issue.
Decode a comic barcode
Type the numbers printed under the bars — the big group and the small one beside it.
Spaces and dashes are fine. Most US comics have 17 digits: a 12-digit UPC and a 5-digit add-on.
Examples are made up, but every check digit is real.
Your barcode, and what every digit means, will appear here.
Good to Know
- Company prefixes are not all the same length. The decoder splits a UPC the classic way — one digit, five, five, one — but a longer prefix moves the line between the company and the item to the right.
- Every issue of a series usually shares one UPC. That is why the add-on matters to a collector: it is the part that says which issue, which cover and which printing you have.
- A variant or printing digit outside the usual pattern is not necessarily a mistake. The indicia — the small print inside the front cover — is the final word on what you are holding.