What's new in CLZ Comics for Android?

It’s Wednesday, so…. New Comic Book Day!
A big week again, with 581 new comic books released today. That is 581 releases, including variants. If we don’t count variants, there are 255 actual new issues!
The CLZ content guys have been working to add and finalize all these entries in our Core online database. Ready for you to find them by series, by issue, by barcode, OR using the cool Pull List tab that lets you browse all new releases per week.
Most of the new comics and their variants now come complete with cover art, variant descriptions and cover artists.

It’s New Comic Book Day! This week, NCDB brings 602 new comic releases. Of course, that number includes many variants, but still, there are 276 actual new issues!
Our CLZ Content Team (Rowdy, Justin and Taco) have prepared nice entries for all these new releases in our Core central online comic database, complete with cover art, variant descriptions and creator lists with the specific cover artists listed for all variants.
When you return home with your weekly purchases, everything will be ready for you. Easily add your new books By Barcode or By Issue. Or, browse all new releases using the Pull List tab of the Add Comics screen!

New:
- Added in-app getting started tips for new users (tap “dismiss” to dismiss)

In this update, we try to tackle a problem that we often see in our support system:
Users changing phones without updating their CLZ Cloud first. Or even worse, without even having a CLZ Account yet.
Which of course cause data loss (and a lot of sadness).
So in this version, we are trying to create more awareness of:
- The importance of creating a CLZ Account, so that you can Sync with CLZ Cloud.
- The importance of keeping your CLZ Cloud up-to-date by actually Syncing with CLZ Cloud.
New Sync button in main screen
When not in sync with CLZ Cloud, a new Sync button will appear on the main screen, above the Add button. This way you will always know if there are still items to sync up to CLZ Cloud or down from CLZ Cloud (even when you use auto-sync).
(Don’t like this button? In the Settings screen, switch OFF the setting that says “Show on-screen sync button”)
New “Sync with Cloud!” bar when not logged in
When using the app while not logged in to a CLZ Account, a new bar will appear at the bottom of the main screen that says “Sync to CLZ Cloud for an online backup”.
Hopefully that will help prevent future data loss.
(Don’t like this bar? In the Settings screen, switch OFF the setting that says “Show backup suggestion bar”)
New 5-comic “Demo Mode” for new users
For new users who just downloaded the app, we introduced a new “Demo Mode” that lets you add 5 comics before committing to the actual 7-day free trial subscription.
Fixed on iOS:
- When adding comics and you were prompted to change the collection status of an existing item, pre-fill data was ignored.
Fixed on Android:
- Edit Comic: When you’ve edited something, and you tapped “Next”, it would skip an item.

First, what is Core?
CLZ Core is our central online comic database, that is the database that you search when adding comics by barcode or title, the database that provides you with automatic issue details like variant, variant description, release dates, cover art, creator lists, character lists, etc…
(Not to be confused with CLZ Cloud, which is your database, stored in the cloud. Cloud is what you sync with, to make online backups of your data and to sync your data between devices.)

After the CLZ Comics 8.5 release, we have seen some common questions, by email and in this group. So let me answer the most common ones here:
Q: Will my changes to creators/characters automatically affect Core?
A: No, they will not. Just like with any other change or correction you make: if you want to change it in Core too, you need to use the Submit to Core command.
In version 8.5 of the app, the Submit to Core feature has been expanded to also upload your custom creator/character list to the Core submit form.

Fixed:
- When using Update from Core it would keep coming back with updates (even though there weren’t any further updates)
v8.5: Modify the Creators and Character lists of your comic entries!

I know it was a long wait, but here it finally is: CLZ Comics 8.5, with the long awaited editing tools for your creator and character lists!
The entire CLZ development team has been working on this major feature for several months. A huge project that we have been postponing for many years, because of the complexity and the enormous amount of work. But today we can finally go public with it, resulting in a major 8.5 update for the CLZ Comics mobile app:
As of today, it is finally possible to modify the CREATORS and CHARACTERS lists of your comic entries! And of course, to sync your customized lists to and from the CLZ Cloud.

Coming up soon: the ability to add and edit the creators and characters lists, in both the CLZ Comic mobile app and the Comic Connect web-based software. And of course, the syncing of these custom lists between the desktop, web-based and mobile editions.
Read more

Fixed:
- Adding: the app could crash while adding a comic

Fixed:
- Shake to Shuffle could cause a crash in some cases
- Opening an item, swiping to the next, then edit “in-details-panel” would reset the details to the first item
- Add Screen: Scanning a barcode: When the device was rotated, the barcode scanner could stop working
- Add Screen: Tapping between results could end up showing a different result
- Multi-level folders: When using the “Show sort names” feature, the breadcrumb at the top could show strange sort names for certain folders

Fixed:
- Fixed a possible Crash on startup

A huge update for your CLZ Comics mobile app today, which introduces a powerful feature for browsing and filtering your comic collection: using nested folders.
Previously, it was only possible to use one level, so either Series folders OR Tag folders OR Series Group OR Storage Box folders, etc… But starting with this version, you can use nested folders, so for instance, use Series Group folders, then within each series group folder have Series folders.
v8.3.2: Fixes for downloading values, sorting by values and slab label colors

Fixed:
- Sorting by value didn’t work for raw comics without a grade set
- Adding or Updating values for comics without grade didn’t fetch a value
- Fixed colors for generated slab label of Qualified Grade, Signature Series Restored, Signature Series Conserved
v8.3: A new look for slabbed comics, plus 3 new slab-related fields

Version 8.3 is here, a big update that is all about slabbed comics!
More and more CLZ Comics users are using the app to catalog slabbed comics (CGC, CBCS, PGX, etc..). So let’s take our slab support to the next level!
Here’s what’s new in CLZ Comics 8.3:
- A cool new look for your slabs in Card View and the comic details page.
- Three new slab-related fields: Label Type, Page Quality and Custom Label.
- Four new options for the Grade field: NG, PG, CVR and ART.
- A new setting “For raw comics, show Grade as letters”

Introduced in November 2021, the Update Key Info tool is one the biggest and most popular features of the CLZ Comics app. It automatically gives you crucial information about your collection, that is, which of your comics are major keys, which ones are minor keys. Of course, it also tells you why, for example: first appearances of characters, deaths, cameo appearances, first team appearances, origins, iconic cover art, etc…
However, since we introduced this feature, one of the most requested improvements has become:
“After updating my key info, I would like to see WHICH comics were updated and WHAT has changed.”

We’re closing in on the end of the year, so it is time for the
CLZ Comics Wrap-up 2022!
CLZ Justin has been gathering some stats and has created some nice top 10 lists for you.
These are the most popular 2022 comics and series based on your usage of the CLZ software:
Enjoy!
v8.1.4: Updated menu and improved messaging for subscription status

New:
- Menu now shows last “Sync with CLZ Cloud” date
- Menu now shows last “CovrPrice values update” date
- Improved messaging for subscription status

New in Update Values report screen:
- Now shows the “report date” at the top
- Tap an entry to visit the CovrPrice page for that comic!
- “no value” is now shown as a dash “-“, instead of $0

Version 8.1 of the CLZ Comics app is now live in the App Store and Play Store. Based on your feedback and questions, we have made 2 big improvements to the CovrPrice integration, that is, to the way values are displayed in your app:
- Improved value displaying for My Value entries
- CovrPrice value box now also visible when CP value is 0
Also, version 8.1 also FIXES the barcode scanning problem on iPhone 14 Pro!
IMPORTANT: IMPORTANT: for the displaying of the CovrPrice links, the app now downloads “CovrPrice IDs” for all entries. This means that after your first Update Values action with v8.1, it will modify almost ALL your entries, causing a HUGE amount of changes when Syncing to the CLZ Cloud the next time!
TIP: before Updating Values for the 1st time with this version, switch OFF Auto-Syncing, then Update Values, then Sync with CLZ Cloud MANUALLY. This is much more efficient than letting it auto-sync. When done, feel free to switch ON the AutoSync again.

Fixed:
- Crash when opening the camera to take a picture.
- CovrPrice icon was missing from the “Update Values” Action menu.
- Edit Screen: moved the “Cover” tab to the left of the “Links” tab.
- Updated Values Report: could show a wrong “old value” in some cases.

A crash could happen while updating values, which has been resolved in this version.
Fixed:
- When updating values for comics without an index number, the app could crash

This is it, the big Launch Day of the CovrPrice integration!
As of today, you can get comic values from CovrPrice inside your CLZ Comics mobile app!

Great news: WE HAVE A DATE!
Launch Day for the CLZ / CovrPrice integration is OCTOBER 4 !!!
That’s less than 2 weeks from now… The teams at CLZ and CovrPrice cannot wait to show you all what we all have been working on for many many months.
In fact, we won’t wait… Sneak Preview screenshots below!
Reminder: Try CovrPrice now, US $4 discount on your first month

Just 5 weeks to go before the CovrPrice integration goes live in the CLZ app and software.
So today, a quick remember of the CovrPrice trial offer:
Wanna give COVRPRICE a try? – $4 discount on your first month!
Just use this coupon code: CLZ2022
Follow the instructions below for the Promo!
1) Go to https://covrprice.com/ and sign up for the Free 10 Day trial
This will make you a BASIC (free) CovrPrice member, then…
2) After you’ve created a COVRPRICE account, click here for 30 days of Unlimited Membership for only $2.99 (coupon code: CLZ2022):
https://covrprice.com/register/unlimited-monthly/?coupon=CLZ2022
After 30 days your account will automatically revert to the $6.95/month account.
IMPORTANT: please note that this is a trial of the CovrPrice.com website, so that you can research comics and check out their value system. You will not get values in your CLZ software yet, neither will the CovrPrice.com site automagically list your database.