Django Bohren
Django is the code half of Comic Shop Assistant, and the co-owner of The Comics Place in Bellingham Washington. He loves Data almost as much as he loves comics, and he is a co-author of The COMET Standard.
About the Data B.R.O.S.
Data B.R.O.S. is about comics and technology. We have conversations about the comics industry, comic store retailer concerns, metadata, and technology. Dedicated to identifying and discussing solutions for modern comics, games, and hobby stores.
Who Are the Data B.R.O.S.?
Jeffery Figley
Jeff is the customer advocate half of Comic Shop Assistant and the co-owner of The Comics Place in Bellingham Washington. He loves comics almost as much as he loves Django, and he was responsible for there being a COMET Standard in the first place (although he doesn't think this is true, Django and Brian will tell you it indeed is).
Brian Garside
Brian is the guy behind the guys behind Manage Comics and the owner of Earth 519, a comic shop in London, Ontario, Canada. He also loves data, is a co-author of the COMET Standard, and is either attempting to sabotage Django and Jeff, or trying to join their collective…we're still not sure which it is. Oh, he's Canadian. Ask him to say "about" and then tease him about it.
What Is the Data B.R.O.S.?
"Data B.R.O.S."—short for the Data Bureau of Records, Objects, and Standards—is a unique initiative that blends the worlds of comics and technology. Their mission revolves around fostering conversations about the comics industry, addressing retailer concerns, and exploring the intersection of metadata and technology within the comic book realm.
The platform serves as a hub for discussions on how technological advancements can support comic store retailers, emphasizing the importance of data standards and metadata management. By delving into these topics, Data B.R.O.S. aims to provide insights and solutions that can help retailers navigate the evolving landscape of the comics industry.
What Is the COMET Standard?
The COMET Standard is a developing industry-wide data standard designed specifically for the comic book direct market.
At its core, COMET is about clean, consistent, and complete metadata for comics — so retailers, publishers, distributors, and software platforms are all speaking the same language.
What Problem Does COMET Solve?
- The comic industry has traditionally relied on inconsistent product data: different naming formats, missing fields (like series codes or clear issue numbers), conflicting release dates, and no shared definition of what fields are required.
- This creates friction: retailers struggle with subscriptions and inventory accuracy, publishers lose visibility and discoverability, distributors manage duplicate or mismatched records, and software platforms have to "guess" at structure.
- COMET aims to remove that friction.