Am I still impartial if they're mine?

I didn?t understand grading when I was younger. I only cared what I wanted to read over and over. One of the Richie Rich comics I had I read until the cover came off. I didn?t care how I handled my comics until New Mutants #15 came out. After reading that I immediately went back to the 7-11 and bought X-men #180, Avengers #242, and Amazing Spider-Man #251. They were all the comics they had that caught my eye.

At first I placed them on my book shelf, but every week I would go back and find more books. The stack on my shelf grew. I needed a place to put them safely. I eventually emptied one of my dresser drawers of its contents and used the drawer as a safe haven for my collection. (Don?t ask about the clothes, I wasn?t much a folding type kid but under my bed space became scarce.)

When I discovered back issues at an inflated price I picked up my first price guide. I didn?t buy it, I just looked through it. I also started to pay attention to the Mile High ads predominately displayed in the center of my books. I never ordered from them, (for some reason I was anti-mail order and would be for years later). I used the advertised prices as a guide to go by.

Years passed and my collection grew large enough where I needed something else then a clothes drawer. I purchased my first box and started a paper log on what I owned. I wrote down all my books in and graded each one. Of course I wanted my comics to be the best there was so certain books were over looked. It was my young ego speaking more than anything else. Well, that and I wanted my collection to be worth a lot. Over time I regraded my collection (partially) and when I found books originally graded higher than they are I actually realized how na?ve I was. Of course this also could be because my constant reading of them (I know it sounds like an excuse right?you?re probably right).

I have recently started regrading all my books again. I am doing this armed with an Overstreet?s grading guide and some of the CGC books I have in the different grades. I am using a computer program rather than a spiral notebook. I am hoping this will be the last time I do this. Anyone who knows, doing this chore becomes very tedious ( good thing I love it, it takes longer when I get to a book I love because I start reading.)

I am starting with (of course) The New Mutants. I have three copies of #1. One is a CGC graded copy: 9.8. Another is my readable copy I purchased more years ago then I can remember and a third is a copy I swore if I got graded would at least be a 9.8 if not a 9.9 (I still am envious of BagoFleas 10 grade, how did he get that one).

I have had the book for a few months and it was the first book I placed over my clean slate coffee table (hmmm coffee) and brought out the utensils I was going to use. Gloves, guide, and other encapsulated books. I sat down with my ?must be? 9.9 copy of New Mutants #1 and graded it. DRUM ROLL PLEASE?? ( WHAT???, no I didn't see that flaw there?.and what?s that? is that a crease?.and that?noooooo). My lovely 9.9 Copy of #1 is actually (by my more adult unbiased mind) no greater than a 9.4. I am confident in this that I believe if I send this into get graded they will also grade it a 9.4. I guess I will have to wait till June when they come to Philadelphia to get it graded. This is probably due to my anti-mail order stance on why I am not sending it in directly.

Until I can afford to get every book graded I want to get graded I believe I can grade my collection unbiased and correctly within a point. If I dedicate myself to this task and grade everything I get as I get it I should be done by year?s end. Of course I can?t work in the interim. I guess I?ll just have to win the lottery or find out if CGC is hiring.

Thanks for reading.

Tnerb