Or, you mean they are supposed to be read?!?

It's no secret. At the onset, I hated CGC. Ok, maybe hate is a bit extreme. Comic books were meant to be read, weren't they? And what could a well read comic book ever hope to achieve? In my early collecting years I read the same books over and over again. It's not like I had a large supply to peruse through. The idea of encapsulating felt utterly ridiculous.

Of course, my thought process has changed, and I have even been fortunate enough to see the process first hand. However, the one thought I still remain true to is this, comic books are meant to be read. I have recently been buying .5 copies of books I might never have purchased before. The majority of these copies are missing a page. Most do not affect the story, a few do. I won't crack them to read them, but I am purchasing a book I might not otherwise be able to afford, like the Brave and the Bold #57 for $10.50. Of course, I might not even have tried if it wasn't graded.

But don't we all look for the best book possible, the books that CGC graders might even ooh and ahhh over when it crosses a desk? I have yet to purchase a CGC graded book to crack open and read, but I have sent some books in that I have read which attained that grade. My signed copies of East of West were all books I enjoyed. My New Mutants 99 achieved a 9.8, without a pressing, after surviving my teen years. And even my X-Men 109 was read, before turning it over after purchasing it raw at the Baltimore Comic Con 2012.

Currently my collection is morphing and I have started to collect books from April of '72. This has slowed down my desire to get multiple signatures on my New Mutants books, a series my brother has passed me on. These "birth month" books are a bit more to get and harder to find. Did you ever look for a Young Romance before in a high grade? Not to mention, my grading skills in the Bronze Age is slightly lacking.

I'll continue to collect the coveted grade, but I'm more inclined to read them first.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

And then something extra...

http://ashotofcomics.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-3rd-shot-of-reviews-10-1-2014.html

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