Hey, none of us are perfect either.... right?

OK, picture the scene.

You're perusing through your raw comic books, searching for those top notch copies to either get signed and graded or just simply graded.

You're thoroughly eyeballing each one, checking their spines, staples, edges, corners, fronts, backs, interior pages, surface texture... you name it.

On one particular issue, you decide that it looks pristine! A real chance at a 9.8 or 9.9 or even a vaunted Gem Mint 10! Your heart leaps with joy! The heavens open up! Angels begin singing!.... except for one thing.

It has what you determine to be a manufacturing defect (MD). Things like printing smears, wrinkle creases, ink drips, missing pages, wrong interior pages and even missing staples that were never put in are some examples of MDs.

Oh no, you think! How will this affect the grade? Is it worth even submitting to CGC now? What should you do?

Ok, the first thing is to make sure that it really IS a MD and not some sort of damage from mishandling. CGC knows what to look for to determine this, but until they look at it, you will have to make that determination yourself. Once you are sure that it is a MD, you are left with the choice of submitting the issue or not.

How will the MD affect the grade? Tnerb posed a question in his last journal as to whether a comic with MDs could reach a Gem Mint grade or not. I can answer that one.

YES!!!

It CAN happen and HAS happened. I know this for a fact, so always keep that in mind when examining your comics for grading. CGC does NOT count MDs against the grade they apply to a comic. If you can identify something as a MD, you can rest assured that it won't drop the grade.

These things may seem like grade breakers, but the truth is that as long as these things occurred during the production of the comic and not by human handling, the grade will not be affected by them.

I have cracked a boatload of comics lately for SS opportunities, and have come across a MD or two on 9.8 copies. My Rom #3 is among them with a wrinkle crease on the front cover. My Rai #0 has a red smear on the front cover and a printing hiccup on the back cover. Both of my New Mutants #16 copies have problems. One has spine-corner wear on the top and bottom of the back cover with a bad ink drip on the bottom one. The other copy has two wear-tears on the front cover at the top, caused by production.

All of these are graded 9.8, even with these MDs scarring their flawless beauty.

As to whether a Gem Mint issue with a MD is possible, I know it is because I HAVE ONE!

That's right, I have one. My Gem Mint copy of New mutants #1 has 4 different MDs on the front cover! A print smear under the TM next to the title, a white blotch on the "S" in "Mutants", a light blue ink drip next to the "S" and the TM, and a print streak right down the center of the "A" in "Mutants". See the pic below.

This does nothing to reduce the enjoyment and appreciation I have for this ultra rare Copper Age first issue. The truth is, it is being extraordinarily nit picky to point these minor MDs out at all. I do so now to prove a point. MDs do not reduce grades and also do not keep top grades from being achieved.

What MDs have you found on your raw issues or your graded issues? Did finding them ever keep you from submitting a comic? What is YOUR opinion about MDs?

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