Axe Elf

Is this supposed to be a dilemma for anyone?

I remember seeing that you had reproduced that cover somewhere on the boards; maybe it was in your journals. I didn't know it was the one that introduced you to Warren/Frazetta though. It was also because of your thread on the hardest CREEPYs to find that I went out looking for this one. Next stops, 19 and 29 maybe...? Still need 10, 22, 34, 40, 41, 44, 48, 55, 56, 123, 137 and 146 after those two...

And YAY! CREEPY #32 arrived by way of third party forwarding today! Unfortunately, the time machine wasn't working this trip, and it did not arrive in Gem Mint condition. Still, it's in better condition than most copies I've seen at this price point ($37/free shipping). If it wasn't for the 1/4" triangle out of the upper right of the front cover, and the 1/8" corner off the bottom right, the rest of the book is pretty 7ish. Probly still around a 5.0-5.5 or so...?

They would probably be inundated with consumer complaints if the grader's notes came back dogeared with scratches on them.

Story by Ralph Macchio? The Karate Kid wrote Transformers?

I don't know if Venn diagrams would help, but all businesses exist as a subset of life--a thing that isn't fair.

Good question! I'm thinking maybe I get a few made and auction them; maybe with a $10 reserve? I've never sold on eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter), but with what I'm seeing about seller's fees, I'd about need that just to break even on materials, let alone time and effort (though admittedly, it's a labor of love). Ambitiously, I'd like to think I'd pay $20-$25 myself for a nice piece of Rook art ripped straight from the actual pages, or an EERIE Monster Gallery page I could hang on the wall or something like that--but I realize it would have kind of a niche (which is to say "limited") market appeal. So $25 would be Christmas, I'd be pretty happy with $15-$20, but if all I can get is $10-$12, I'll take it... ...if not for profit, at least as the In.Tenths motto goes, "Better to exist in pieces than to rest in peace."

Massager? I barely knew her...

Hofstadter's Law is that it always takes longer than you think, even when you take Hofstadter's Law into account. There is probably a corollary for the cost of engaging in collecting comics, to the effect that it always costs more than you think, even when you take that corollary into account.

I don't see how it could have been chopped too close at the top AND at the bottom--that means it would be shorter than a normal copy of the same comic, and suggests that it was trimmed later.

In other words, a cover gets to be designated as an Overstreet Classic Cover when Overstreet says it does. Fairly easy to understand.

Every answer leads to new questions.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I've seen a few people use the Heritage Auction guidelines in this forum, but this is basically what I'm seeing everywhere--loose, ok in a 5.0; detached at one staple, ok in a 4.0. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present. 4.5 VERY GOOD+ (VG): Fits the criteria for Very Good but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 4.0 VERY GOOD (VG): The average used comic book. Cover shows moderate to significant wear, and may be loose but not completely detached. Cover reflectivity is low. Can have moderate creases or dimples. Corners may be blunted. Store stamps, name stamps, arrival dates, initials, etc. have no effect on this grade. Some discoloration, fading, foxing, and even minor soiling is allowed. As much as a 1/4" triangle can be missing out of the corner or edge; a missing 1/8" square is also acceptable. Only minor unobtrusive tape and other amateur repair allowed on otherwise high grade copies. Moderate spine roll may be present and/or a 1" spine split. Staples may be discolored. Minor to moderate staple tears and stress lines may be present, as well as some rust migration. Paper is brown but not brittle. Minor to moderate interior tears may be present. Centerfold may be loose or detached at one staple.

Life isn't fair. Enjoy it when it's your turn. Move on when it's not.

Fair point. I read the standards for posting when I first got here and it struck me that the standard for resolution is only 100 dpi--so that's what I scanned. And maybe that's partly because "normal" comics are a little smaller; maybe the 100 dpi is a good resolution for them. But not only does it not seem to be a very good resolution for discerning small flaws in these larger magazines, at least, but my scanner itself is barely wide enough to fit the whole book in at once, so it's kind of hard to pick up the edges clearly from top to bottom too. Thanks for the input and the grade!

I don't think you can go above a 4.0 with a centerfold detached at one staple. It's got a lot of spine wear and some corner creasing, but it presents pretty well, so I'm not seeing anything else that would be inconsistent with the 4.0 from the centerfold issue.

El pliegues es bastante menor; yo diría que sigue siendo un ocho.

If they are over the tape and there is no cut/slit for the staples to have passed through, then barring magic, the staples have been replaced--and badly, judging by that top one.

Now that I'm satisfied with the prototype, I made one that might be a little more marketable--now with an attached hanger at the top and an actual sticker on the front (the first one I just Photoshopped on). Who doesn't like man-hating warrior women strapped into futuristic death machines displayed prominently on their man cave walls?

Maybe slightly moreso, but in general, a legit datestamp isn't going to affect a grade much except at the highest levels, or if it's a really big sloppy ugly one.

Date stamp is pretty unobtrusive; it won't affect the grade any, relative to the other flaws, which, without scrutinizing particularly intently, appear to have the book in the high Fine range; 6.5-7.0.

Just be glad they haven't started folding them in half to save on plastic.

Pretty solid book outside of that spine tear; should still be an easy 8.0.

Well, it's not exactly a RANDOM page; I'm hoping maybe each book will yield 3 or 4 nice splash pages or opening pages to iconic series (like the Rook, Haggarth, Dax the Warrior, etc.) illustrated by some iconic artists; but I'm not trying to sell a framed page of Star Wars merchandise or something.