pullboxapp
diff --git a/‎packages/provider_contract/src/pullbox_provider_contract/comic_parser.py‎
Lines changed: 3 additions & 3 deletions b/‎packages/provider_contract/src/pullbox_provider_contract/comic_parser.py‎
Lines changed: 3 additions & 3 deletions
diff --git a/‎providers/getcomics/src/pullbox_provider_getcomics/service.py‎
Lines changed: 18 additions & 4 deletions b/‎providers/getcomics/src/pullbox_provider_getcomics/service.py‎
Lines changed: 18 additions & 4 deletions
diff --git a/‎tests/unit/test_getcomics_service.py‎
Lines changed: 5 additions & 0 deletions b/‎tests/unit/test_getcomics_service.py‎
Lines changed: 5 additions & 0 deletions
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def parse_comic_title(raw_title: str) -> ComicTitleEvidence:
         release_group = scene_match.group("group")
         series = scene_match.group("group_series") or scene_match.group("series")
         working = _SPACE.sub(" ", re.sub(r"[._]+", " ", series)).strip()
-        issue_numbers = (_normalize_issue(scene_match.group("issue")),)
+        issue_numbers = (normalize_issue(scene_match.group("issue")),)
 
     range_match = _HASH_RANGE.search(working)
     if range_match:
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def parse_comic_title(raw_title: str) -> ComicTitleEvidence:
     if not issue_numbers:
         issue_match = _HASH_ISSUE.search(working) or _TRAILING_ISSUE.search(working)
         if issue_match:
-            issue_numbers = (_normalize_issue(issue_match.group("issue")),)
+            issue_numbers = (normalize_issue(issue_match.group("issue")),)
             working = working[: issue_match.start()].strip()
 
     series_title = working.strip(" -\u2013:()")
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def parse_comic_title(raw_title: str) -> ComicTitleEvidence:
     )
 
 
-def _normalize_issue(value: str) -> str:
+def normalize_issue(value: str) -> str:
     numeric = value.rstrip("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz")
     suffix = value[len(numeric) :].casefold()
     if "." in numeric:
 
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from urllib.parse import urlencode
 
+from pullbox_provider_contract.comic_parser import normalize_issue
 from pullbox_provider_contract.errors import ProtocolError
 from pullbox_provider_contract.models import Artifact, Candidate, SearchIntent
 from pullbox_provider_contract.search_terms import (
@@ -78,9 +79,20 @@ async def search(
                 seen_candidate_ids=seen_candidate_ids,
                 resolver_profile=resolver_profile,
             )
-            # Exact queries can return unrelated releases first. Prioritize the
-            # fallback pack that explicitly covers the requested issue instead.
-            return [*fallback_candidates, *candidates][:limit]
+            # Exact queries can return unrelated releases first. Prioritize only
+            # fallback packs that explicitly cover the requested issue; broad
+            # fallback noise must not displace a targeted exact-search result.
+            covering_fallbacks = [
+                candidate
+                for candidate in fallback_candidates
+                if _candidate_covers_intent(candidate, intent)
+            ]
+            noncovering_fallbacks = [
+                candidate
+                for candidate in fallback_candidates
+                if not _candidate_covers_intent(candidate, intent)
+            ]
+            return [*covering_fallbacks, *candidates, *noncovering_fallbacks][:limit]
         return candidates[:limit]
 
     async def _append_search_candidates(
@@ -225,7 +237,9 @@ def _has_requested_issue_coverage(
 
 def _candidate_covers_intent(candidate: Candidate, intent: SearchIntent) -> bool:
     """Return whether a candidate covers this issue for the requested series."""
-    if intent.issue_number not in candidate.parsed.issue_numbers:
+    if intent.issue_number is None:
+        return False
+    if normalize_issue(intent.issue_number) not in candidate.parsed.issue_numbers:
         return False
     if _normalized_series_title(candidate.parsed.series_title) not in _intent_series_titles(intent):
         return False
 
@@ -260,6 +260,11 @@ async def pages(url: str, **_kwargs: object) -> str:
             """
         return """
         <html><body><h1 class="search-title">Search Result</h1>
+          <article><h1 class="post-title">
+            <a href="https://getcomics.org/dc/example-heroes-1-2026/">
+              Example Heroes #1 (2026)
+            </a>
+          </h1></article>
           <article><h1 class="post-title">
             <a href="https://getcomics.org/dc/example-heroes-5-10-2026/">
               Example Heroes #5-10 (2026)