Adrift

On 4/21/2022 at 9:29 AM, Bird said:

I believe it to be what it sounds like. I have had squarebound comics get hammered with that note/defect, I assume the book was folded hard at one point. When it was in my notes I interpreted it as the spine "breaking" at the point the book was bent.

Hmm. Well if that's what happened, it would have to have happened during delivery to the presser or CGC, but I don't see anything like a hard bend through the slab.

On 4/20/2022 at 9:50 AM, Bird said:

whole book bend maybe? cant be seen but hammer the grade? (just guessing)

What's a "whole book bend?" Is that exactly what it sounds like? The book looked flat to me when I sent it to the presser.

On 4/20/2022 at 9:49 AM, comicginger1789 said:

were the rip and the frayed corner top right there prior to submitting?

Yes, that was there before I sent the books out. To be clear, while the corner does appear to be a bit beat, the "rip" is from a page inside the book, and as I recall, it didn't appear to be a rip, so much as it appeared to be how that particular inner page was cut from the manufacturer.

On 4/20/2022 at 9:27 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

In the slab, it appears that it could be in the 7.0 range, but there could be internal defects that bring it lower.

Yeah, that makes sense, but wouldn't they have mentioned internal defects in the grader notes?

On 4/20/2022 at 9:02 AM, comicginger1789 said:

I can tell you that those bends seen in the one picture below the "S" in Wars are what are killing it. Yes the tiny top rip hurts too but those bends are likely very pronounced outside of the slab. Should they be graded that harshly? Perhaps not but colour breaking creases get hit hard and even these sorts of bends get hit hard. If pressed, it would smoothen out and likely get you the 7.0-7.5 that this book deserves.

As for the waviness that is also seen, this is either poor pressing or a result of CGC's new stupid inner wells, which squish the comic in odd ways sometimes, resulting in that effect. 

My biggest question though is the red in the "S". Looks like crayon to me. If it is a printing defect, CGC graded it harsh or perhaps viewed it as a foreign addition to the comic unrelated to printing. If it is a foreign substance, well I think that played a role in the 6.0 when combined with noticeable bends, spine ticks and tiny edge tear. 

I believe what you're seeing is just a weird reflection in the slab. If you look at the full cover pictures, you'll see that there aren't any bends in that area. I had actually sent the book to a popular presser before he sent them off to CGC.

As mentioned above, I've always believed the red on the "S" was a printing defect. It's been on the book ever since I grabbed it in 91, but I suppose it's possible some kid got his hands on it before then.

Thanks for your input!

On 4/20/2022 at 7:45 AM, Pontoon said:

It's really tough for me to see problems through a slab, especially with reflections. First and foremost, I'd recommend scans and photos before you send any books off. It's just a good idea - you want to be able to document the condition in case any damage happens along the way.

I also have never seen that red streak on the "S" before. Was that there before you sent the book off? Looks almost like crayon. The upper right corner is bent and has some color loss. What's that piece of paper sticking out? Tear on an interior page? Looks like an impact ding upper left corner. There's a few spine tics. Looking at the back cover, the upper edge looks a little wavy to me. Did it get squished nice and flat by your presser? The upper edge of the front cover has a small tear, but it might be production related.

Structurally it looks nicer than a 6.0. If that red streak is foreign matter, we know that CGC doesn't take kindly to stains.

Thank you. I'll definitely take your advice to do scans and photos before sending books off next time. 

I'm almost certain that the red streak on the "S" is a print issue. I've had the book since 1991, when I grabbed it out of the dollar bin. I suppose it's possible that some child marked it with a crayon before I got my hands on it, but the entire time it's been in my possession it's been bagged and boarded.

The piece of paper sticking out of the corner is an interior page, but as I remember it, it appeared to be how the comic was cut from the press, and not a tear after the fact.

I don't know why the upper edge is wavy. I figured the presser should have fixed that before sending it to CGC, but I guess not. 

Thanks for helping out!

On 4/19/2022 at 10:14 PM, rjpb said:

Grade seems a bit harsh, but hard to see bends can knock the grade down. Some of those defects seem like they should have pressed out. What grade did it seem to you prior to pressing?

I thought about an 8, but I'm relatively new to all of this, so wasn't sure if I was missing something.

Oh, I'm sorry. I just looked at the back cover, and that's not a water stain, it was some sort of residue from the box or something. I even have one book that came back with what looked like a strings of plastic, when they cut the slab or something, stuck inside the cover. I blew off the back, and this is what it looks like now:

Hey folks,

So I just received a shipment back from CGC that I had my presser, Avery Comic Pressing, submit on my behalf last year.

This is the first time I've ever submitted books to CGC, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. The other 9 books I sent in ranged between 8-9.6, which made sense to me, but the lowest returned was Secret Wars #8 at a 6.0. 

I'm not complaining about the grade, I'm more interested in why I received it, and what I can look out for in the future when submitting books to CGC.

CGC defines a 6.0 as: A slightly above-average collectible with a major defect and some smaller defects, or a significant accumulation of small defects.

The grader notes I got back for the book were:

light bends to cover
light creasing to cover
light spine stress lines to cover

I know it's hard to judge after it's been slabbed, but I tried to take pictures of anything I could think of that might be considered a defect. 

As far as I can tell there are no major defects on the book. Could it have been graded a 6.0 because of "significant accumulation of small defects?"

Thanks!

Wow! Thanks everyone. I assumed maybe a 5 or possibly 6, so what you're all saying seems to be in line with that (of course, it'd be nice if it were higher with a press).

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Hey folks, this is my first post here. Hoping someone might be able to help out with a grade.

Lies flat. Great looking cover with a light bend on the bottom right corner.

Back cover has a decent sized chip from the edge taken out of it, and there's some wrinkling near the bottom staple.