diff --git a/comicvinetalker.py b/comicvinetalker.py
index 83a5ed6..2fbec7b 100644
--- a/comicvinetalker.py
+++ b/comicvinetalker.py
@@ -183,7 +183,9 @@ class ComicVineTalker(QObject):
 		volume_results = self.fetchVolumeData( series_id )
 	
 		found = False
-		for record in volume_results['issues']: 
+		for record in volume_results['issues']:
+			if IssueString(issue_number).asFloat() is None:
+				issue_number = 1
 			if float(record['issue_number']) == float(issue_number):
 				found = True
 				break
diff --git a/issuestring.py b/issuestring.py
index b3d4fcb..3884c51 100644
--- a/issuestring.py
+++ b/issuestring.py
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ import re
 
 class IssueString:
 	def __init__(self, text):
+	
+		if text is None:
+			self.num = None
+			self.suffix = ""
+			return
+			
 		self.text = str(text)
 		#strip out non float-y stuff
 		tmp_num_str = re.sub('[^0-9.-]',"", self.text )